How to choose best performing Mutual Funds in India?

Mutual funds have been the preferred investment route for the investors for their simplicity, ease of access and suitability for any kind of financial goal. However, selecting the mutual fund scheme to invest in remains a challenge owing to more than two thousand primary schemes in the market.

Thousands of schemes present tons of data that has to be analyzed before one can make a choice of investment.

In this post, let’s see how we can make use the heap of data easily.

TheFundoo.com is a recently launched portal that aims to make mutual fund analysis easy for advisors and investors. FundPicker, the mutual fund analytics platform on the Fundoo.com, can help you in analyzing and selecting the right mutual funds for investment.

Making the heaps of data USABLE?

All mutual fund data is freely available. Right? But how much of it is usable?

Let’s try to understand this question.

Say I have to select Large-Cap funds that have been top performing (as compared to peers) on alpha generation for the past 1y, 3y and 5Y, have less risk (Volatility) and high risk adjusted return (Sharpe Ratio).

If we think of it, all the data in the above question is FREE. We can look at fund factsheets, websites that provide mutual fund analysis and we will find all the information asked in the above question for all funds. The problem is that all that information is not present in just one view at one place. Some information might be available where all large-cap funds are listed while others might be available on individual funds’ pages.

So how much time would it take us to get the list of mutual funds that qualifies the filters in question?

We might have to pick the data one-by-one into excel from individual fund pages and then apply sorting and filtering. And overall it might take an hour if not a few hours.

In real world, we would look at many more parameters simultaneously including holdings, consistency, fund bio like age, assets, expense ratio, exit load etc. to make a comprehensive analysis. Such analysis might demand substantial time and resources.

FundPicker solves this problem with its powerful mutual fund screener. With more than 50 filters that span parameters based on Return, Risk, Style, Holdings, Consistency etc. one can do the above mentioned analysis in a matter of seconds. We can set filtering limit on any number of parameters in parallel and get to see the results immediately. The entire set of parameters is collectively exclusive and helps in short listing mutual funds.

Let’s do a small exercise. You can do it yourself on FundPicker.

The snapshot below shows the default page loaded. FundPicker is showing all Large Cap funds. Note the dropdown on the left with LargeCap funds selected (by default) and the count showing 84 funds out of a total of 2180 primary schemes.

Fundoo

The schemes are put into 5 grades/buckets based on how good they are, on various parameters. Schemes that are the best, are put in the 5th bucket, while the worst are in 1st bucket. A scheme may be in bucket 3 on risk but in bucket 5 on return depending on the numbers. Such bucketing helps in filtering schemes more efficiently.

Let’s apply some filters now. Pull down the filter dropdown by clicking on the gray FILTERs button. You can see parameters grouped into Basic, Return, Risk, Fund Manager, Style and Ratings tabs.

Say we want to apply filter on the 3y and 5y return. To do this, Select the Return tab and you will be able to see the filters that you can use.

Fundoo1

You can see various sliders which can help you in selecting the range of schemes that you want on a particular parameter. Say we want to select schemes that have been in the 4th or 5th bucket based on 1Y and 3Y return.

We will move the left knob of the slider (1y) to the position 4. This will make only 4-5 portion of the slider selected (in blue). We will repeat this for 3Y return slider.

As you move the slider, you will see the filtering going on and once you have applied both filters, you can see that FundPicker has shortlisted 13 schemes.

Fundoo2

You could do all of this in hardly a few seconds. You can apply any number of filters, depending on how you wish to select funds and the result shall be instantaneous.

Once we have shortlisted the schemes, they can be analyzed in more detail in the results section.

Fundoo3

In the results section you can see the red-green dots on the statistics which suggest the bucket in which that particular stat lies in. The visual clues make it easier to compare the funds briefly. You can also add more columns to compare the funds in the grid.

The tiny icons, along with the Scheme name on the left, help you in the following:

  1. View the fund Mini-Card with a few important details of the fund in a tiny pop-up (complete details in FundCard section)
  2. Add the fund to ‘Comparison Bucket’. Once you have added a few funds, you can compare them in detail

You can also analyze the results in ‘Scatter View’ by selecting the view option on the top left. This view presents the selected funds on risk-return map signifying how  much return and what risk is being generated by the fund.

Fundoo4

Besides, the mutual fund screening functionality, FundPicker presents a lot of other features on detailed fund analysis, fund comparison and a number of tools to make the mutual fund analysis holistic.

Do try them and hope they help you in doing good analysis.

Note-This is guest post by Mr.Sharad Singh, CEO, Valuefy Solutions, a man behind “The Fundoo”.

60 Responses

  1. Hi Basavaraj,

    My father after retirement, i am insisting him to do Fixed deposit which earns him 70k per monthly payout interest.

    So I am asking him to put 40k-50k in existing SIPs he is doing and remaining g 20k for house maintenance as medical expenses are beared by his office for both mother and father.

    But he is saying to buy a single house for 1cr with his retirement money.

    I am saying to invest in SIP..In this way his original amount is safe in FD and interest amount gets invested in SIP planning for 15-20 years and will be useful .

    He is saying mutual funds returns are not guaranteed, but I say if we invest major portion of retirement money in buying house is bad

    Please tell me good option

  2. Dear Basu.,
    I am 27 yrs old and i can save 17 k a month frm which i am planning 10k towards mutual fund and 7 k in ppf ac..
    My time horozon is 15 to 20 yrs and the goal is fr my daughters highr education.
    For mutual funds am plaaning to invest in following funds each 2k
    1.SBI BLUECHIP FUND(G
    2.ICICI PRU FOCUSSED BLUECHIP EQUITY(G)
    3.DSP BLACKROCK MICRO CAP FUND-RP(G)
    4.AXIS LONG TERM EQUITY FUND(G)
    5.HDFC BALANCED FUND(G)
    IS IT ENOUGH FOR MY EQUITY PORTFOLIO,??
    PLS SUGGEST PROS AND CONS FOUND ABOVE

  3. Hi Basawaraj,
    Excellent article. I am bit confused about my MF. I need money for baby education after 14 years and retirement after 20+ years. I already have some FD (as debit dund) and have following two sip running
    1) HDFC balanced fund
    2) Franklin smaller companies fund

    Now I want to choose 2 more funds from following
    3) Franklin India Prima Plus/ICICI Pru Discovery Fund/Mirae Asset Emerging Blue/HDFC Mid-Cap Opportunities/Franklin India prima fund

    Can you please help in choosing two funds from following
    Thanks,

      1. Thanks for reply.
        Yes, at the moment I have debit fund around 50% which I will bring down to 30% and stabilize.
        I have 1) HDFC balanced fund
        2) Franklin smaller companies fund

        and I have to choose 2 funds from Franklin India Prima Plus/ICICI Pru Discovery Fund/HDFC Mid-Cap Opportunities/DSP-BR micro cap

        I am 33 years, I need money for baby education after 14 years, baby marriage and retirement after 20+ years.

          1. Thanks for suggestion,
            Then Apart from HDFC balance and Franklin smaller, for choose following
            Large cap- ICICI pru value discivered- I guess its diversified
            Mid cap- HDFC mid cap opportunity
            I am keeping 25% allocation for each fund

            Is these fund good in following proportion or please choose for me?
            Thanks,
            P

              1. Sir,
                there is no mid cap section in that blog list, its either large and mid cap OR mid cap and small cap so I have choose

                For mid cap- HDFC mid cap opportunity
                ICICI pru value discovered is OK or ICICI Pru Focussed blue chip?

                Thanks,

  4. Hello Basvaraj.

    I have two portfolio,one is core and other is Satellite folio.Core folio consist of following funds.

    1)Axis Long term Equity(Rs:1000)
    2)ICICI Focused Bluechip(Rs:2000)
    3)Tata Balanced fund(Rs:1500)

    My holding time will be more than 10years for above fund.
    Below are the Satellite Folio.

    1)Canara Robecco Emerging Equities(1000)
    2)DSP black rock microcap (1000)
    3)UTI MNC(1000)
    4)ICICI Banking&Fin(1000)
    5)Reliance Pharma(500/-)

    My holding time is 3 years for above satellite folio.

    Following are the my query:

    1)Can u please share your comments on my portfolio do u think it required any changes please?

    2)I wanna remove one fund from this especially either from DSP or Canara which one u suggest please?

    Thanks,

    Sajith

    1. Sajith-First let me know the logic of creating the so called CORE and SATELLITE portfolio. It is strange to see that for short term portfolio i.e. Satellite portoflio you selected risky funds and for long term holding or CORE portfolio, you went with moderate view. Your holdings must match your timeframe. But in your case it is totally mismatch.

  5. Sir, I have invested rs 1000 sip in hdfc balanced fund direct (g). I want to invest another rs 1000 sip for 15 year’s. Which are the fund can I consider? I have selected some fund they are ICICI pru focused blue chip fund direct and sbi small and midcap fund. Please suggest?

  6. Hi Sir,
    I am 29 years old ,Wanted to invest 20000 permonth for minimum 10 to 12 years.
    I am new to MF, Have started investing into the follwing funds from last month. Please review and let me know if i need change anything in my protfolio.

    ICICI PRU value discovery,
    Canara robeco emerging equities
    UTI Equity
    Axis Longterm equity
    Tata balanced fund.

    Thanks in advance

      1. Thanks for quick Response. Could you please suggest a good Equity diversified fund which suits for me. intailly i thought ICICI fund was into Equity diversified category and started investing into it.

        I am also planing to take a term insurance for 1 CR. I have selected HDFC & Kotak online term polices. Please suggest me best one out of these.

        Thanks
        Mani Kumar

  7. Sir,

    Want some guidance from you, I just started mutual fund investment by monthly SIP of Rs.1000/- in SBI Blue Chip Fund DIRECT (G) for 20 yrs.. Now I want to invest in some other funds for next 10 to 20 years please guide me about my choice and suggest if any changes required.

    HDFC Balanced Fund Direct (G) : 1000/- per month
    HDFC Top 200 Fund Direct (G) : 1000/- per month
    Tata Balanced Fund Direct (G) : 1500/- per month
    Tata Ethical Fund Direct (G) : 1500/- per month
    SBI Magnum Mid Cap Fund Direct (G) : 1000/- per month
    SBI Magnum Global Fund Direct (G) : 1000/- per month
    ICICI Prudential Value Discovery Fund Direct (G) : 1000/- per month
    SBI Magnum Balanced Fund Direct (G) : 500/- per month

    Waiting for your reply, Thanks

    1. Paresh-Retain SBI fund and along with that add a small and mid cap fund like Franklin India smaller companies fund or HDFC Midcap Opp fund. You can include HDFC Balanced Fund also. These 3 funds are enough.

      1. Sir,

        But for what amount i have to invest in these 3 funds, can i club other funds investment amount and invest in your suggested 3 funds or what? and what about other funds like tata balance, tata ethical, icici value discovery are they not good funds? Please guide

        Thanks

        1. Paresh-I already told my view about funds. Regarding allocation of amount, if you have other debt ivnestment portfolio then invest in all three funds equally. However, if no debt portion then go higher side towards HDFC Balanced.

  8. Sir,
    I’ve started hdfc balanced fund direct plan through hdfc MF branch. Now I want to invest axis long term EF (sip) for tax saving. For direct plan Can I start through online? To start axis mf, is it enough for submission of id proofs(for kyc) for hdfc balanced MF? Otherwise where should I submit kyc? In Karvy, they said that they are not service direct plan. In cams, there is not available axis mf, for hdfc balanced MF direct plan they said that form is not available. Then only I went hdfc MF branch. In hdfc MF branch they did not give offer document. I have received alert via email and mobile. Is it right now? Or should I get od from hdfc MF?
    Thanks for your reply in advance.

    1. Priya-To start with Axis, I suggest you to go to Axis directly. Take the printout of KYC status by visiting CVL KRA. This acknowledgement is enough. No more KYC documentation required (even PAN Card too). There is no separate form for Direct MF investments. Same common application forms can be used for direct as well as regular plans. If no one provide you forms then such forms are easily available on respective mutual fund portals. Hence, you can easily download them.

      1. Sir,
        Thanks for your help. What about offer document? I did not get for hdfc balanced MF. I’ve another question.. If I invest any elss – sip plan for 5yrs after completion of 5yr can I close fund? Or should I close after 8yrs(5+3)? Because last month sip locked for 3yrs?

        1. Priya-Offer document is available online. Why you have to ask them? In ELSS Funds, each month SIP is considered as fresh investment. Hence, each SIP must complete 5 Yrs. Let us say you opted 5 Yrs of SIP, then to withdraw all money the last SIP must also complete 5 Yrs.

  9. Sir,
    By using your article I’m selected 2 funds, 1. Axis long term equity fund (else) – 1000, 2. HDFC Balanced Fund- 1000.. Is it OK?
    I’m 30 yrs, govt employee, 10% tax bracket, having ppf, lic, cps for 125K.. Will Hdfc bal fund benefits be a taxable? How much tax? Please clarify my doubt..
    Thanks for your valuable reply in advance..

    1. Priya-It is OK if you understood that equity is for long term. Better to come out of LIC (If they are endowment type of plans) and buy term insurance. HDFC Balanced fund is an equity fund. So if you invested for more than a year then it is fully tax-free.

      1. Sir,
        Thanks for your reply. I’ve jeevan tarang for 21 yrs sinc 2009, jeevan saral & anand for 20 years since 2012.. Now which is better to close?
        Thanks a lot sir

          1. Thanks for your reply, may I start my mutual funds through cams? Is it intermediator? Then how to start MF without intermediator? For direct plan, is it enough to write direct on mf form during submission in cams?

  10. I’m new to mutual fund.. Your articles is very useful to me and easily understandable.. Keep writing..

  11. Sir,in between DSP Blackrock Microcap Fund-direct-growth and Canara Robeco Emerging Equity-direct-growth which would be best?i am confused to choose one from the above.

      1. Sir,reasons of confusion are –
        1.QUALIFICATION OF FUND MANAGER-if you look biography of fund managers on valueresearch.com it shows that fund manager of Canara Robeco emerging eq. are more qualified and experienced than DSP Blackrock Microcap Fund.

        2.ASSET SIZE-asset size of DSP Blackrock (1819 cr) is greater than those of Canara Robeco (283 cr).as we know large asset size give stability to the fund.

        3.FUND RATINGS- DSP BLACKROCK MI… CANARA ROBECO EMERGING………….

        value research – 4 STAR 5 STAR

        ICRA – 4 STAR 2 STAR

        CRISIL – RANK 2 RANK 1

        FUNDOO – 3 STAR 5 STAR

        I am also giving priority to ratings for choosing funds as above financial research agency follows scientific research methodology for rating funds.

        4.COMPARISION ON FUND PICKER(fundoo.com)-on comparing, data on website suggest that on risk factor both funds are equal to each other.but on other factors such as Performance,Style,Quality,Diversification and Consistency Canara Robeco Emerging Equity fund than DSP Blackrock Microcap Fund.

        5.PORTFOLIO-Canara Robeco allocates 13.1% to largecap,18.1% to midcap and 65.3% to small cap

        DSP Blackrock allocates larger potion 90.3% only to small cap and only 4.2 % to midcap stocks.
        as portfolios of both funds hints that canara robeco emerging eq. fund is more stable and diversify than DSP Blackrock Microcap fund.

        and at last 6.RETURN-On time period of 1 year , 3 year , 5year canara robeco is better performer.and for period of 6 month and 2 year DSP Blackrock is better performer.

        So,looking at all data i got confused please help me to select the best fund in between them

        1. on point 4.comparision on fund picker-i mean that on factors such as performance,style…………… canara robeco emerging equity fund is better than dsp blackrock microcap fund.

  12. I want review about the below equity Tax planning.
    1. Sundaram Long Term Tax Advantage Fund Series I – Direct Plan
    2. SBI Long Term Advantage Fund Series II – Direct Plan –

    Shall I invest in it?

  13. hii i am harish from jaipur and working as a IT Engneer and also agent in bajaj aalianz. i want to invest ELLS from my father side to avail tax benefit and its locking period is 3 years that i know

    I want to know that which fund we choose for ELLS and the amount is 50000 to 60000 thousand one time investment.
    is it good to take 100 % equity portfolio or we have to invest in diversified fund or any else please suggest me
    and i want to invest in direct plan with growth option.

    so plz suggest me and give fund selection advise.

  14. Sir i m student and want to invest in SIP with my pocket money so which fund i should start with i can invest upto 2500-3000 per month so please help me with this.

          1. sir can u please tell me the procedure as i m new to this and as i m not earning i m planning to invest from my pocket money so this will not create any problem in future?

  15. Dear Sir,

    Why all MF’s shows bell curve in there return (i.e. for 6months 35% one Yr 60% and 3 Yrs 23% and 5 Yrs 15%).
    If we invest only for 6 Months to 1 year can we get max returns compaired to 3~5 Yrs

    Best Regards
    Narayan Kalamadi

    1. Narayan-They show how the fund performed in short run. It does not guarantee you that in future you get same results as it depends on market and in short term like 1-3-5 yrs either you may get the return what they quoted or sometime less than savings account 🙂 So enter into equity only if you have time frame of around more than 5-7 years.

      1. Hello Sir,

        Thanks for your input. One person from ICIC Direct .com. told me that invest for 3~6 Months and come out after you get return 35% and above. Since FII will withdraw there investment so the NAV falls after 1 year.
        Still I am not convinced his version of explanation
        Kindly let me know what is your view.

        Best regards
        Narayan

        1. Narayan-Equity for 3-6 months period? I think he is suggesting you for trading but not investing. Don’t heed, if you not understand the basics of trading. Also if he is so confident of getting 35% return then why can’t he quit the job, take loan from banks at 10% interest and invest it? Or let him give in ICICI letter head about the 35% return guarantee along with his managers attestation of the same. Know one knows what will be future neither that ICICI guy nor FIIs. So don’t heed to such tempting investment ideas.

  16. Dear Basu..a very basic question I am having..with the sensex at its peak.is it a good time to jump into Mutual fund via SIP..the period I am looking for the SIP is 3 to 5 years. Or should we wait for swnsex to come down a bit and then start investing in MFs directly or via SIP..pls guide.

    1. Shalil-First thing, if you have time horizon of 3-5 years then don’t enter into equity (irrespective of market condition). Second no one knows including GOD that whether today’s high is actually high or tomorrow’s low. So if you are long term investors then nothing to wait for, investing now will be prudent idea.

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