The attention towards planning for retirement has increased in the past decade. Though Indians are still not properly invested or insured for the future as investment planning remains sporadic and thin, the situation is improving. The generation which has entered the workforce in the last 10 years has shown a greater desire to create wealth systematically with the aim to enjoy a peaceful retirement.
Though in India we are accustomed to using bank and post office deposits as well as small savings schemes of the government for creating a nest egg, financial market products are the ones that really boost a portfolio because of their potential for superlative returns. Mutual funds are an excellent step towards retirement planning.
For a retirement planning strategy revolving around mutual funds to work, it is important to choose the right funds and create a portfolio across the various types of funds. Investments in funds across market caps, investment strategies, and asset allocation is important as they help your overall portfolio in different ways.
Here we provide a list of ten 10 that can help you plan for a peaceful retirement based on classifications of funds which serve a specific purpose.
Large cap mutual funds
These funds form the core of a portfolio. They provide the required steadiness to the portfolio as they invest in companies which have a record of steady growth with some of them paying regular dividends as well. For a typical portfolio, large cap funds may form the largest chunk of invested assets.
SBI Blue Chip Fund
This is a large cap fund with a track record of nearly 13 years. It is managed by Sohini Andani who has been its fund manager since September 2010. The investment strategy revolves around a blend of growth and value style of investing. Its performance is benchmarked to the S&P BSE 100 Index and was managing assets worth Rs 20,610 cr at the end of December 2018. Its expense ratio was 1.94% at the end of December.
Aditya Birla Sun Life Frontline Equity Fund
This large cap fund has been in existence for over 16 years and is therefore a proven performer. It is managed by Mahesh Patil who is the Co-Chief Investment Officer at Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC. The fund’s performance is benchmarked to the Nifty 50 and aims its portfolio to be completely invested in equities and in line with the benchmark. It was managing assets worth Rs 21,175 cr towards the end of 2018. Its expense ratio was 1.97% at the end of December 2018.
ICICI Prudential Bluechip Fund
The fund was earlier known as ICICI Prudential Focused Bluechip Equity Fund and celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2018. It is managed by Anish Tawakley and Rajat Chandak with Priyanka Khandelwal responsible for overseas investments. The fund intends to create wealth by investing predominantly in large cap stocks and its performance is benchmarked to the Nifty 100. It was managing assets worth Rs 20,115 cr at the end of last year. Its expense ratio stood at 2.1% at the end of December 2018.
Multicap mutual funds
Multicap funds invest across the market spectrum, thus providing you with exposure to stocks of all sizes. They have a broader scope than large cap funds and can outperform them if indices are rising across the board.
Kotak Standard Multicap Fund
The fund was earlier known as Kotak Select Focus and will complete 10 years in September 2019. It is managed by Harsha Upadhyaya who has been at its helm since August 2012. Though it spreads its assets across market caps, it focuses on a few sectors which it identifies based on research. It is benchmarked to the Nifty 200 index. It was managing assets worth Rs 21,719 cr at the end of December 2018 and its expense ratio stood at 1.93% then.
Mirae Asset Emerging Bluechip Fund
The fund was launched in July 2010 and is managed by Neelesh Surana (who has been managing the fund since inception) and Ankit Jain. The fund primarily focuses on large and mid-caps, and intends to find those emerging companies which will be the blue chips of tomorrow. Its performance is benchmarked to the Nifty Large Midcap 250 Index. It was managing assets worth Rs 6,340 cr at the end of December 2018 and its expense ratio had stood at 2.26% at the time.
Franklin India Focused Equity Fund
The fund was earlier known as Franklin India High Growth Companies Fund and is managed by Roshi Jain, Anand Radhakrishnan and Srikesh Karunakaran Nair. It is a multi-cap fund and limits its portfolio to a maximum of 30 stocks with a focus on companies whose earnings are growing at a fast pace or have above average potential. Its performance is benchmarked to the Nifty 500 index. It was managing assets worth Rs 7,517 cr and its expense ratio was 2.03% both at the end of December 2018.
Mid and small-cap mutual funds
These funds are used to provide an edge to the portfolio. They do not form its core as they focus on small companies, but their growth potential is higher than blue chips and other large caps.
Reliance Small Cap Fund
The fund is managed by Samir Rachh and Dhrumil Shah who have been managing the fund since January 2017 and February 2018 respectively. It has a track record of over 8 years and focuses on small cap companies which are defined as those below top 250 companies in terms of market cap. It aims to identify good growth businesses with reasonable size, quality management and rational valuation. The fund is benchmarked to the S&P BSE Small Cap index. It was managing assets to the tune of Rs 7,461 cr at the end of December 2018 and its expense ratio was 2.29% at the time.
Franklin India Smaller Companies Fund
The fund recently completed 13 years since launch and is managed by Janakiraman Rengaraju, Hari Shyamsunder and Srikesh Karunakaran Nair. It invests in small cap companies and focuses on identifying high growth companies that are likely to transform into tomorrow’s market leaders. It benchmarks its performance to that of the Nifty Smallcap 250 index. It was managing assets worth Rs 6,983 cr at the end of December with an expense ratio of 2.04%.
Balanced mutual funds
Balanced funds come in handy when markets are undergoing rough weather. These funds have exposure to both stocks and bonds and tend to absorb market declines better than their equity counterparts because of the fixed income component of their portfolio.
ICICI Prudential Equity & Debt Fund
Formerly known as ICICI Prudential Balanced Fund, the fund will complete two decades in existence in November 2019. As its name suggests, it invests in both equity and fixed income asset classes. It is managed by Sankaren Naren and Atul Patel who are responsible for the equity component and Manish Banthia who is responsible for the debt component. Its performance is benchmarked to the CRISIL Hybrid 35+65 Aggressive Index. It was managing assets worth Rs 26,695 cr at the end of December 2018 and had an expense ratio of 1.98%.
HDFC Hybrid Equity Fund
This fund is the result of the merger of HDFC Premier Multi-Cap Fund and HDFC Balanced Fund. It is managed by Chirag Setalvad and Rakesh Vyas. Equities dominate the portfolio of this fund, though it has some exposure to fixed income instruments as well. Its performance is benchmarked to the NIFTY 50 Hybrid Composite Debt 65:35 Index. The fund will complete 19 years since launch later this year. It was managing assets worth Rs 21,902 cr at the end of December 2018 and had an expense ratio of 2.07%.
To conclude, these top 10 mutual funds are can be really helpful for your retirement and will surely give satisfiable returns during that period.
About The Author
Stephanie Braga
Hi, I am Stephanie Braga. A professional blogger and content community manager on this platform. I love to write and post content on different niche. Contact me, if you need any help related to digital marketing or content marketing.
