As India, home to the world’s largest population and a fast-growing economy, finalises the result of its election, its equity markets have been whipsawing.
Indian equities jumped sharply over 3% in one trading session after polls indicated a Modi victory, with investors banking on another term of pro-economic growth policies.
However, they plunged almost 6% the following day after investors were spooked by Modi’s narrower than expected win and the potential policy uncertainty.
Despite recent volatility, India’s stock market has been powering ahead during the past twelve months, outpacing the gains of both the S&P 500 index and the MSCI Emerging Markets index.
This performance comes as Indian equities continue to gain popularity among global investors looking to diversify their emerging market exposures.
Despite fears over rich valuations in the Indian stock market, some fund managers still label it a “stock picker’s paradise”.
Below, FSA has compiled a table of the best performing Indian equity funds over the past twelve months across the Singapore and Hong Kong registered universe, according to data from FE fundinfo*.
| Fund | 1 year return (%) | 3 year return (%) | Fund Benchmark |
| DSP BR India TIGER | 83.54 | 132.03 | S&P BSE 100 |
| JGF-Jupiter India Select | 60.24 | 78.39 | MSCI India |
| IDFC Core Equity | 55.08 | 69.97 | Nifty Large Midcap 250 Total Return Index |
| Sundaram India MidCap | 45.81 | 60.19 | Nifty Midcap 100 Index |
| IDFC Sterling Value | 39.15 | 67.86 | S&P BSE 400 MidSmallCap |
| Allianz India Equity | 38.55 | 46.62 | MSCI India |
| Schroder ISF Indian Equity | 37.89 | 38.42 | MSCI India |
| VanEck India Growth Leaders ETF | 37.83 | 28.15 | MarketGrader India All-Cap Growth Leaders |
| DSP BR Small & Mid Cap | 36.68 | 7.95 | Nifty Midcap 100 Index |
| WisdomTree India Earnings | 36.26 | 32.86 | WisdomTree India Earnings |
| DSP BR Opportunities | 35.96 | 15.63 | Nifty Large Midcap 250 |
| RAMS India Equities Portfolio | 35.95 | 47.83 | MSCI Emerging Markets India Index |
| Manulife India Equity | 35.3 | 32.97 | MSCI India 10/40 |
| IDFC Multi Cap | 34.91 | 39.86 | S&P BSE 500 |
| Nomura India Equity | 34.33 | 39.86 | MSCI India |
| Kotak India Midcap | 34.05 | 41.88 | MSCI India Midcap Index USD |
| Invesco India Equity | 33.71 | 40.8 | MSCI India 10/40 |
| GS India Equity Portfolio | 32.73 | 33.83 | MSCI India IMI |
| Nordea 1 Indian Equity | 32.6 | 28.94 | MSCI India 10/40 |
| IDFC Large Cap | 32.47 | 38.22 | S&P BSE 100 |
The best performing fund of the past twelve months was the DSP BR India Tiger fund, which returned 83.5% over the period. It is up 33.8% year-to-date.
Run by Rohit Singhania Charanjit Singh and Jay Kothari. This DSP Mutual Fund strategy invests in companies that could benefit from India’s ongoing engineering & building revolution, with a focus on infrastructure investments and related economic reforms.
The Jupiter India Select fund was another top performer, which returned 60.2% over the past twelve months. It is up 21.1% year-to-date.
Managed by Avinash Vazirani, this $715m strategy invests in stocks with a ‘Growth at a Reasonable Price’ (GARP) approach. With a 83 positions, it has a fairly concentrated approach where its top-10 account for 40% of the portfolio.
Two IDFC Mutual Fund strategies, IDFC Core Equity and IDFC Sterling Value also feature in the list of top-performers, with a return of 55.1% and 39.2% respectively. The Indian fund house merged with Bandhan Financial Holdings last year.
The Singaporean headquartered Sundaram India Midcap Fund was another top-performer, up 45.8% over the past twelve months.
Run by Anish Mathew out of Singapore, this strategy focuses on small- and mid-cap stocks listed in India with a growth bias.
*The top-performing funds were measured in US dollar terms. The performance is based on data from FE fundinfo ending 3/6/2024. The funds only includes fund vehicles that fall under the Hong Kong SFC Authorised Mutual or Singapore Mutual equity India sectors as classified in the FE fundinfo platform.
