- After an uneventful start, it began to get noticed in 2006, when Srinivas Rao Ravuri assumed charge. It then turned out to be a category outperformer, barring a disappointing 2009.
- Last year, Ravuri's over-cautious stance made it a third-quartile category underperformer. The suddenness of the recovery caught him off guard. Despite the equity market starting an upward journey in March 2009, the fund did not lower exposure to defensive sectors and held on to cash up to July 2009. Typical to the fund house, he focused on companies that depended on domestic demand, with strong balance sheets.
- He also avoided highly leveraged companies. His play-it-safe attitude backfired in 2009 but the current year's year-to-date (YTD) returns show that he stands vindicated. In his search for good fundamentals, he often bets on sectors against the current tide. In 2006, his peers were neutral towards healthcare, while he increased allocation to it. Similarly, he pruned allocation to financial services, while increasing it to automobiles. In 2007, the fund was more into healthcare and basic engineering, while others chased metals. The pattern followed in 2008. Even some of his stock picks stand out for the lack of popularity when they first made an appearance in the portfolio. Such as C&C Constructions, Solar Industries, Ahmednagar Forgings, KNR Constructions, Emico Elecon (India) and Technocraft Industries India. Recently, he has been trimming exposure to mid-caps and booked profits. On the whole, though it's never had a smooth ride, it's one of the better players in this category.
RELIANCE REGULAR SAVINGS EQUITY
- When Omprakash Kuckian took over the fund in November 2007, its assets under management were only Rs 290 crore. He rapidly changed its complexion and used the flexibility a small fund offers to the hilt. His moves paid off and in the December 2007 quarter, he delivered 54.66 per cent (category average, 25.7 per cent). But that has changed. With a corpus that has crossed Rs 3,000 crore, he still takes strong sector bets but plays it safe with individual stock bets. Nevertheless, he has managed to impress, and in 2009, beat the category average by 20 per cent (102 per cent).
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