India is poised to grow tremendously in the coming quarters and years. All renowned global organizations agree to this fact. There are various sectors and companies that are going to benefit from the same.
And given the recent volatility in the markets, most funds have corrected.
Now is the right time for investors to jump for the sale that is being offered by the markets. Therefore, in this article we will discuss various mutual funds (large caps and hybrid funds) for people with an investment horizon of 3 to 4 years.
Please also note that these investments can be in any form. Meaning it can be through the channel of lump sum investments or following the route of SIP.
Note: We have stuck to large cap names mainly because in an investment horizon of 3 to 4 years small and mid-caps might not have suitable time to provide great returns.
Therefore, large caps will not just stay stable, but also take the utmost benefit of changing circumstances.
Example, HDFC Ltd. might take advantage of the crisis in the Housing Finance space, big private banks can leverage on the same, L&T can be a great buy given the infrastructure push by the company, Maruti Suzuki is also a potential winner in the next few years given the correction it has seen and various policies it has undertaken.
Let’s Begin!
Let us now discuss these funds in detail.
In this article
Best Funds for an Investment Horizon of 3 to 4 years – Details
1.Reliance Large Cap Fund – Direct
This fund was launched in 2013 and since then it has consistently beaten its benchmark. We can easily say that the fund managers are firm believers in India’s growth story.
This is because there is a heavy reliance on sectors such as financials, healthcare, engineering, etc. Some great companies in its portfolio are SBI, L&T, Axis Bank Ltd., ICICI Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., ITC, Bajaj Finance, etc.
Big banks are poised to take advantage of the recent market volatility as was discussed. An example can be SBI, which recently bought good loans from various NBFCs at a discount thereby improving its asset quality.
Key Information
| Launch Date | 01 – Jan – 2013 |
| NAV (25-Jan-2019) | 34.4 |
| Plan Type | Direct |
| Ratings by Groww | 5 Star |
| AUM (Fund Size) | 11,740 crores |
| Riskometer | Moderately High |
| Minimum SIP | 100 |
| Performance wr.t. its Benchmark | Consistently beaten its benchmark NIFTY 100 TRI |
| Age of the Fund | 6 years |
| Expense Ratio | 1.20% |
| Exit Load | Exit load is 1% if redeemed between 0 to 12 months, else 0% |
| Type | Equity – Large Cap |
| Fund Manager | Ashwani Kumar, Sailesh Raj Bhan |
Investment Objective
There is a two-fold investment objective for the fund as follows:-
- To generate long term capital appreciation by investing in equity and equity-related instruments of companies, the market capitalization of which is within the range of highest and lowest market caps of BSE 200 Index.
- The secondary objective of the fund is to invest in debt and money market securities and seek consistent returns
Also Read: SBI Bluechip vs Reliance Large Cap – which is the better fund?
Holding Analysis
2.ICICI Prudential Bluechip Equity Fund – Direct – Growth
This scheme launched in 2013 and has beaten its benchmark NIFTY 100 TRI since inception.
With major focus on key sectors and big names such as ICICI Bank, HDFC Ltd. HDFC Bank Ltd., ITC Ltd., Infosys, Motherson Sumi Systems Ltd. etc, this fund will provide enough potential to capture growth in sectors which are poised to grow (financials, auto, IT, consumer goods).
It is also led by Mr. S Naren who is one of the most experienced fund managers in India.
Key Information
| Launch Date | 01 – Jan – 2013 |
| NAV (25-Jan-2019) | 41.8 |
| Plan Type | Direct |
| Ratings by Groww | 5 Star |
| AUM (Fund Size) | 20,115 crores |
| Riskometer | Moderately High |
| Minimum SIP | 100 |
| Performance wr.t. its Benchmark | Consistently beaten its benchmark NIFTY 100 TRI |
| Age of the Fund | 6 years |
| Expense Ratio | 1.21% |
| Exit Load | Exit load is 1% if redeemed between 0 to 12 months, else 0% |
| Type | Equity – Large Cap |
| Fund Manager | S Naren, Rajat Chandak |
Investment Objective
The investment objective here is two-fold as well:
- The fund managers seek to generate long term capital appreciation and income distribution through investment in Top 200 stocks (equity and equity related instruments) in terms of market capitalization on the National Stock Exchange (NSE);
- The fund manager also puts part of the money in debt securities and money market instruments
Holding Analysis
3.ICICI Prudential Equity & Debt Fund – Direct-Growth
Launched in 2013, this fund has the following features which make it ideal for investment for a period of 3 to 4 years because the fund has corrected recently after the market crash.
It is also led by Mr. S. Naren, who is considered one of the stalwarts in the fund management industry and the minimum SIP is as low as INR 100, therefore all types of retail investors can invest in the fund;
Though the AUM size is large, the fund has been able to consistently beat its benchmark i.e. VR Balanced TRI
Key Information
| Launch Date | 01 – Jan – 2013 |
| NAV (25-Jan-2019) | 134.1 |
| Plan Type | Direct |
| Ratings by Groww | 5 Star |
| AUM (Fund Size) | 26,695 crores |
| Riskometer | Moderately High |
| Minimum SIP | 100 |
| Performance wr.t. its Benchmark | Consistently beaten its benchmark VR Balanced TRI (Over 3 and 5 years) |
| Age of the Fund | 6 years |
| Expense Ratio | 1.03% |
| Exit Load | Exit load is 1% if redeemed between 0 to 12 months, else 0% |
| Type | Hybrid Aggressive |
| Fund Manager | S Naren, Manish Banthia, Atul Patel |
Investment Objective
The investment objective of the fund is to generate long term capital appreciation by investing in the following:-
- Equity and equity-related instruments;
- Fixed Income Securities
Holding Analysis
4.HDFC Balanced Fund – Direct-Growth
When all other funds in this category have seen only one direction which is southwards, HDFC Balanced Fund – Direct-Growth has been able to generate positive growth.
And that return is around 8.3% positive, which can be considered tremendous under the current market conditions.
The fund lays special emphasis on financial sector whereby the equity sector allocation is roughly 36 percent and debt sector allocation is 49.3 percent.
The financial sector is under a huge change and will be the flavor of the markets in the time to come.
Therefore, this fund should definitely be in our radar and possibly one of the best investments for a horizon of 3 to 4 years.
Key Information:
| Launch Date | 01 – Jan – 2013 |
| NAV (25-Jan-2019) | 154.4 |
| Plan Type | Direct |
| Ratings by Groww | 5 Star |
| AUM (Fund Size) | 22,109 crores |
| Riskometer | Moderately High |
| Minimum SIP | Not Supported |
| Performance wr.t. its Benchmark | Consistently beaten its benchmark VR Balanced TRI (Over 3 and 5 years) |
| Age of the Fund | 6 years |
| Expense Ratio | 0.77% |
| Exit Load | Exit load is 1% if redeemed between 0 to 12 months, else 0% |
| Type | Hybrid – Aggressive |
| Fund Manager | Chirag Setalvad |
Also Read: Why do some investors prefer hybrid funds over equity?
Investment Objective
The scheme invests in both equity and equity-related instruments and also debt and money market instruments. Through this investment, the objective of the fund is to seek long term capital appreciation.
Holding Analysis
5.Reliance Hybrid Bond Fund – Direct-Growth
Now that we have spoken about various aggressive hybrid funds, let us look at a fund which is suitable for investors looking for both regular dividends as well as growth in capital.
Reliance Hybrid Bond Fund – Direct has consistently beaten its benchmark. Also, the fund size is small meaning there is a large potential for growth in the coming years. Therefore, we can look to park our money if the investment objective suits our needs.
Key Information
| Launch Date | 01 – Jan – 2013 |
| NAV (25-Jan-2019) | 45.1 |
| Plan Type | Direct |
| Ratings by Groww | 4 Star |
| AUM (Fund Size) | 2,049 crores |
| Riskometer | Moderately High |
| Minimum SIP | 100 |
| Performance wr.t. its Benchmark | Consistently beaten its benchmark VR MIP TRI (Over all the years) |
| Age of the Fund | 6 years |
| Expense Ratio | 0.93% |
| Exit Load | Exit load is 1% if redeemed between 0 to 12 months, else 0% |
| Type | Hybrid – Conservative |
| Fund Manager | Amit Tripathi, Sanjay Parekh |
Also Read: 5 Best Hybrid Funds to Invest in 2019
Investment Objective
The investment objective of the fund is two-fold:
- The primary objective is to generate regular income in order to make regular dividend payments to the unitholders;
- The secondary objective is to generate growth in capital
Holding Analysis
Conclusion
A lot is going to change in the coming years as India is on a constant growth curve.
These large-cap and hybrid funds are suitable choices to keep one protected as well as take benefits from the correction in the market
It is the right time today to invest in these funds as they have corrected in the recent market havoc. But is always advisable to keep the investment horizon as stated in the article i.e. 3 to 4 years (can be done either through a lump sum or via SIP)
Happy Investing!
Check out the 30 Best Mutual Funds to Invest in 2019: Groww 30
Happy Investing!
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this post are that of the author and not those of Groww
