India's best performing mutual funds for March 2022

4 Apr 2022 , 11:11 AM

If the market were in the negative zone in Jan-22 and Feb-22, then the tables changed sharply in the month of Mar-22. For the month of Mar-22, Nifty and Mid-Cap Nifty closed with gains of 3.99% and 4.78% respectively. But the bigger stock-specific gains were visible in the small cap index which rallied by 6.01% in Mar-22.

FPI selling continued relentlessly in Mar-22. After FPIs sold Rs35,592cr in equities in Feb-22, they sold another Rs41,123cr in Mar-22. There were a number of headwinds resulting in aggressive FPI selling. The inflation was going up sharply, input costs were hurting, Fed was getting ultra-hawkish and the geopolitical situation was worsening with Russia and Ukraine officially at war. The sanctions and retaliations by Russia have created a lot of uncertainty.

After the sharp spike in bond yields in Jan-22, February and March were relatively quiet month. It may be recollected that in early Feb-22, the 10-year benchmark bond yields got perilously close to the 7% mark. For Mar-22, yields stayed in the range of 6.80% and 6.90% through the month. However, a lot will predicate on how the RBI eventually reacts to the Fed hawkishness and the first indications will only be out in April monetary policy.

1. Equity Large-Cap Funds

Top performing Regular Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 31st Mar-22):

Name of Fund	1-Year Return	3-Year Return	5-Year Return
Axis Blue-Chip Fund (G)	15.564%	16.785%	16.680%
Canara Robeco Blue-Chip (G)	15.701%	18.343%	15.727%
Mirae Asset Large Cap (G)	18.385%	15.059%	14.414%
Data Source: Morningstar

2. Equity Multi-Cap Funds

Top performing Regular Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 31st Mar-22):

Name of Fund	1-Year Return	3-Year Return	5-Year Return
Quant Active Fund (G)	41.428%	32.949%	24.208%
Sundaram Multi-Cap Fund (G)	31.704%	18.487%	14.950%
Baroda Multi Cap (G)	32.953%	21.294%	14.705%
Data Source: Morningstar

3. Equity Mid-Cap Funds

Top performing Regular Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 31st Mar-22):

Name of Fund	1-Year Return	3-Year Return	5-Year Return
Quant Mid-Cap Fund (G)	48.178%	29.999%	21.642%
Axis Mid Cap Fund (G)	22.440%	22.698%	19.344%
PGIM India Mid-Cap Fund (G)	34.184%	32.257%	18.509%
Data Source: Morningstar

4. Equity Small-Cap Funds

Top performing Regular Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 31st Mar-22):

Name of Fund	1-Year Return	3-Year Return	5-Year Return
Quant Small Cap Fund (G)	58.089%	37.448%	22.437%
Axis Small Cap Fund (G)	39.941%	30.432%	20.807%
SBI Small Cap Fund (G)	28.434%	25.498%	20.464%
Data Source: Morningstar

5. Equity Linked Savings Schemes (Tax Saving)

Top performing Regular Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 31st Mar-22):

Name of Fund	1-Year Return	3-Year Return	5-Year Return
Quant Tax Plan (G)	44.227%	34.872%	24.130%
BOI AXA Tax Advantage (G)	23.844%	25.441%	18.837%
Mirae Asset Tax Saver (G)	20.404%	20.498%	18.128%
Data Source: Morningstar

6. Balanced Funds (Aggressive Allocation)

Top performing Regular Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 31st Mar-22):

Name of Fund	1-Year Return	3-Year Return	5-Year Return
Quant Absolute Fund (G)	35.778%	27.527%	20.427%
BOI AXA Mid and Small (G)	33.698%	21.353%	15.646%
ICICI Pru Equity & Debt (G)	32.543%	19.151%	14.871%
Data Source: Morningstar

7. Balanced Funds (Conservative Allocation)

Top performing Regular Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 31st Mar-22):

Name of Fund	1-Year Return	3-Year Return	5-Year Return
Kotak Debt Hybrid (G)	11.443%	11.655%	8.965%
ICICI Pru Regular (G)	9.396%	9.474%	8.888%
Canara Robeco Hybrid (G)	8.324%	10.277%	8.393%
Data Source: Morningstar

8. Arbitrage Funds (Cash-Futures)

Top performing Regular Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 31st Mar-22):

Name of Fund	1-Year Return	3-Year Return	5-Year Return
Kotak Equity Arbitrage (G)	4.080%	4.634%	5.229%
Nippon India Arbitrage (G)	3.977%	4.579%	5.222%
L&T Arbitrage Fund (G)	3.648%	4.659%	5.192%
Data Source: Morningstar

9. Government Securities Funds (Gilt Funds)

Top performing Regular Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 31st Mar-22):

Name of Fund	1-Year Return	3-Year Return	5-Year Return
Kotak Gilt Fund (G)	4.991%	8.772%	7.942%
Edelweiss G-Sec Fund (G)	4.993%	8.859%	7.742%
IDFC G-Sec Fund (G)	4.831%	9.014%	7.697%
Data Source: Morningstar

10. Corporate Bond Funds

Top performing Regular Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 31st Mar-22):

Name of Fund	1-Year Return	3-Year Return	5-Year Return
ABSL Corporate Bond (G)	4.989%	7.974%	7.689%
L&T Triple Ace Bond (G)	5.042%	8.733%	7.640%
HDFC Corporate Bond (G)	4.835%	7.887%	7.613%
Data Source: Morningstar

11. Credit Risk Funds

Top performing Regular Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 31st Mar-22):

Name of Fund	1-Year Return	3-Year Return	5-Year Return
ICICI Pru Credit Risk Fund (G)	6.713%	8.236%	7.705%
HDFC Credit Risk Fund (G)	6.925%	8.469%	7.505%
Baroda Credit Risk Fund (G)	14.185%	7.547%	7.179%
Data Source: Morningstar

12. Liquid Funds

Top performing Regular Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 31st Mar-22):

Name of Fund	1-Year Return	3-Year Return	5-Year Return
Quant Liquid Plan (G)	3.924%	4.996%	5.799%
IDBI Liquid Fund (G)	3.483%	4.520%	5.557%
Aditya Birla SL Liquid (G)	3.381%	4.417%	5.499%
Data Source: Morningstar

In Mar-22 equity fund returns were positive across large caps, mid-caps and small; especially in terms of shorter period returns. While there was FII selling, regular bouts of short covering and value buying helped equity funds in Mar-22. The positive impact was palpable in the mid-cap and the small-cap funds rather than large cap funds. However, longer term returns were not impacted meaningfully. The good news is that the consistency of the top performers continued, making the rankings a reliable lead indicator of future performance.

Bond funds were largely stable in Mar-22, with the 10-year benchmark bond yields stable in the range of 6.8% and 6.9%. While bond returns were stable in March, factors like a higher borrowing program of Rs14.3 trillion and  chances of RBI following the hawkish path of the US Fed will be material. It would be useful to keep a close watch on the emerging retail inflation data, as that is likely to have a strong bearing on benchmark bond yields, as well as the RBI language in the Apr-22 monetary policy statement.