Insights

FundsIndia Recommends: UTI Mid Cap

February 3, 2015 . Vidya Bala

Investors with a penchant for risk can consider moderate exposure to UTI Mid Cap Fund. Launched in 2004, this mid-cap fund has made its mark more recently, i.e., in the last 5 years. A high-beta portfolio, the ability to quickly spot sector fortunes, as well as pick small-cap stocks ahead of the market has put this fund in the radar since the mid-cap moved up in late 2013.

With a return of 23 per cent annually in the last 5 years, the fund comfortably beat its benchmark’s (CNX Midcap) return of 12.7 per cent annually, and also scored 3 percentage points over the category average in the above period.

The fund and its suitability

UTI Mid Cap currently sports a portfolio of stocks with an average market cap of about Rs 8,200 crore. This average is lower than that of HDFC Mid Cap Opportunities whose market cap is around Rs 10,700 crore. That means UTI Mid Cap invests in more companies with lower market cap as compared to the HDFC fund.

We had recommended HDFC Mid Cap Opportunities last week. That fund is suitable for the mid-cap opportunities. It has a higher standard deviation. That means it can swing quite a bit from its mean returns, making it a bit volatile.

This fund is therefore only suitable for those looking for a high risk-high return proposition. Given the volatile nature of a mid-cap fund in general, investments need to be done in a phased manner, preferably through SIPs. An annual review of the fund performance will also be warranted.

Performance

table1_Feb03

UTI Mid Cap started off well in its year of launch and did well in the following year as well. However, in the bull run of 2006 and 2007, while its returns since inception continued to be higher, its performance against benchmark slackened and the returns in those years lagged the CNX Midcap index. Lower exposure to sectors such as infrastructure and industrial products, and higher exposure to oil and gas, and petro products was one reason for the fund underperforming its benchmark in that period.

table2_Feb03

Of course, the premium valuations commanded by stocks in those sectors may also have dissuaded the fund from taking active exposure to those sectors, unless it had timed its entry much earlier. Its bounce back in 2009 though was done in style, and since then, after a near-neutral performance (compared with the benchmark) in 2010, the fund has consistently stayed ahead of the benchmark.

On a rolling 1-year return over the past 3 years, the fund beat it benchmark 96 per cent of the times, a commendable feat. This performance stands at 90 per cent (still a good one) when rolled daily over 3-year time frames, over the past 5 years.

Portfolio

Needless to say, the fund’s performance did receive a fillip after Anoop Baskar joined UTI Mutual in 2007 and took over the management of this fund, among others. Known for picking stocks early on, Anoop picked winners for this fund too. Eicher Motors, IndusInd Bank and Supreme Industries were some of his top picks in the portfolio, even while market discounted these stocks in the down market of 2011. These multi-baggers (with Eicher being the biggest winner) still form part of the portfolio, although with changes in proportions held.

table3_Feb03

Similarly, the fund also made some deft moves when it came to stock exposure. It took bold calls in as early as December 2013, in sectors such as automobile and industrial manufacturing and benefited from a huge upswing in these spaces.

Currently, automobile is the top holding in its portfolio. Stocks such as Apollo Tyres, Bharat forge, Motherson Sumi Systems, MRF and Bosch are some of the auto component stocks that are present in the AMC’s theme fund – UTI Transportation and Logistics. All of these delivered well for the UTI stable.

Currently, glass manufacturer – La Opala RG, textile company – Indo Count Industries, auto component – Mahindra CIE Automotives are some offbeat picks that not too many fund houses hold.

While these stocks have delivered well over a 1-year period, the sectors they are in, together with the pace of earnings growth in these companies, appear to hold potential for further upside.

*Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully. Past performance is not indicative of future results. To know how to read our weekly fund reviews, please click here.

42 thoughts on “FundsIndia Recommends: UTI Mid Cap

  1. Excellent coverage on portfolio, with top quality comments on stock picking. UTI is almost fully invested, and is managing portfolio/YoY returns well, but fresh investments, even with SIP – not sure, since valuations’ve run up much (eg: Eicher Motors). Also, comparison with HDFC midcap: it is good, but would be simple to put a table.
    As for me, I’ve invested fully in Sundaram select mid-cap 8 years ago and happily watching it grow 🙂

    1. Hello Ashish – for a core portfolio HDFC Mid Cap is more stable UTI Midcap is more for limited exposure for risk takers. Vidya

      1. Dear madam, At present i am having sip in the following funds Axis long term equity direct, uti midcap direct, hdfc midcap opportunities and sbi magnum multicap. Is my portfolio is ok or i have to change

        1. Hello Sir, sorry for the delayed response. for fund reviews please get in touch with your FundsIndia advisor or request for an appointment through your account. We are constrained from doing this on the blog. thanks, Vidya

  2. Hello Vidya Madam,

    How are you ,I am a Muslim and in dire need of Interest-free loan, So could you Plz suggest me the details of any Bank ,Registered Monetary Organisations or any means to acquire Interest-free Loans in Hyderabad(India) ?

    1. Hello Sir, Greetings. India does not have Shariah banking as of now; although shariah investing is there to a small extent through ETFs and MFs. I am afraid I am not aware of other organised channels for such loan requirement. regards, Vidya

        1. Goldman Sachs Shariah BEes (is a NIFty ETF with shariah principles) is the ETF (you need demat account to invest in ETFs). Tata Ethical is a shariah-compliant MF. rgds.

          1. Vidya Mam i need to have a voice chat with you, could you provide me with your skype id or yahoo messager id

          2. Hello Sir, If you are an activated account holder of FundsIndia, you can choose the advisor appointment feature (click help tab) and write your query. There is a separate advisory team; one of them who will contact you by mail or call (as required by you) for any help you may need with investing in MFs. This would be the formal route. thanks, Vidya

  3. iam investing sip in Birla div yied under sip for the past36mnths now icontiue the same or shipt to any other in midcap/diversify /largecap in birlas/l mf

  4. can istop the ongoing sip in Birla div yied and continue in uti midcap plese whether iwill keep the value already invested in Birla div yied

  5. helo I am alrady registerd with u 3 sip is going under yr guidance 1.franklin highgrowth co. 2kotakselectfocus.3relicare mid&smallcap

    1. Hello Sir, Currently I see 2 SIPs in your account. Perhaps the third is under process. I do not see the Birla fund here. Nevertheless, yes, have a stop SIP approach to it. Since you already have a midcap and an aggressive (Franklin High Growth) fund, consider a diversified fund such as Mirae Asset India Opportunities or UTI Opportunities. Consolidate all your investments (outside FundsIndia) in one place, so that when we review your portfolio, we also know your other holdings. If they are not in the FundsIndia platform, we may not be able to take complete view. It also costs you nothing to do it.
      Also, In future, please click the help tab in your account (after you login) and mail your question – our advisors will call back or respond through mail – whichever option you choose. This will also help us keep track of all your queries and respond them quickly. The blog is a mere dicussion forum and not used for recommendation/review of our investors’ portfolios. thanks, Vidya

  6. hello ma’am, I want to know whether it is advisable to invest in UTI mid cap as Anoop Bhaskar has left the amc. You have advised to stay invested in your news section, but what should be approach for fresh investment? I have already invested in hdfc mid cap. Thanks in advance.

    1. Hello Sir, We continue to have it in our list for fresh inevstments as well. Impac of change in fund manager cannot be gauged imemdiately. We will have to wait to see oevr several quarters. As of now, on its own merit, the fund appears good. Vidya

  7. Dear Vidya Bala,
    I am making investments in the following funds with a 10 to 15 years horizon for retirement planning. kindly suggest if I am on right track or suggest changes. Also kindly tell me the % of my investment in each fund. I am 47 years old self employed person.
    1 :Franklin india prima plus
    2 :Tata balanced fund
    3 :Birla sunlife frontline equity fund
    4 :Axis long term equity fund
    5 :Uti mid cap fund
    Thanks
    Sanjeev Gargish

    1. Sanjeev,

      Investor-specific recommendations are not made in the blog as it is a public forum. If you are a FundsIndia investor please write to us using you account and we’ll be have to help you.

      thanks, Vidya

  8. Excellent coverage on portfolio, with top quality comments on stock picking. UTI is almost fully invested, and is managing portfolio/YoY returns well, but fresh investments, even with SIP – not sure, since valuations’ve run up much (eg: Eicher Motors). Also, comparison with HDFC midcap: it is good, but would be simple to put a table.
    As for me, I’ve invested fully in Sundaram select mid-cap 8 years ago and happily watching it grow 🙂

    1. Hello Ashish – for a core portfolio HDFC Mid Cap is more stable UTI Midcap is more for limited exposure for risk takers. Vidya

      1. Dear madam, At present i am having sip in the following funds Axis long term equity direct, uti midcap direct, hdfc midcap opportunities and sbi magnum multicap. Is my portfolio is ok or i have to change

        1. Hello Sir, sorry for the delayed response. for fund reviews please get in touch with your FundsIndia advisor or request for an appointment through your account. We are constrained from doing this on the blog. thanks, Vidya

  9. iam investing sip in Birla div yied under sip for the past36mnths now icontiue the same or shipt to any other in midcap/diversify /largecap in birlas/l mf

  10. can istop the ongoing sip in Birla div yied and continue in uti midcap plese whether iwill keep the value already invested in Birla div yied

  11. Hello Vidya Madam,

    How are you ,I am a Muslim and in dire need of Interest-free loan, So could you Plz suggest me the details of any Bank ,Registered Monetary Organisations or any means to acquire Interest-free Loans in Hyderabad(India) ?

    1. Hello Sir, Greetings. India does not have Shariah banking as of now; although shariah investing is there to a small extent through ETFs and MFs. I am afraid I am not aware of other organised channels for such loan requirement. regards, Vidya

        1. Goldman Sachs Shariah BEes (is a NIFty ETF with shariah principles) is the ETF (you need demat account to invest in ETFs). Tata Ethical is a shariah-compliant MF. rgds.

          1. Vidya Mam i need to have a voice chat with you, could you provide me with your skype id or yahoo messager id

          2. Hello Sir, If you are an activated account holder of FundsIndia, you can choose the advisor appointment feature (click help tab) and write your query. There is a separate advisory team; one of them who will contact you by mail or call (as required by you) for any help you may need with investing in MFs. This would be the formal route. thanks, Vidya

  12. hello ma’am, I want to know whether it is advisable to invest in UTI mid cap as Anoop Bhaskar has left the amc. You have advised to stay invested in your news section, but what should be approach for fresh investment? I have already invested in hdfc mid cap. Thanks in advance.

    1. Hello Sir, We continue to have it in our list for fresh inevstments as well. Impac of change in fund manager cannot be gauged imemdiately. We will have to wait to see oevr several quarters. As of now, on its own merit, the fund appears good. Vidya

  13. Dear Vidya Bala,
    I am making investments in the following funds with a 10 to 15 years horizon for retirement planning. kindly suggest if I am on right track or suggest changes. Also kindly tell me the % of my investment in each fund. I am 47 years old self employed person.
    1 :Franklin india prima plus
    2 :Tata balanced fund
    3 :Birla sunlife frontline equity fund
    4 :Axis long term equity fund
    5 :Uti mid cap fund
    Thanks
    Sanjeev Gargish

    1. Sanjeev,

      Investor-specific recommendations are not made in the blog as it is a public forum. If you are a FundsIndia investor please write to us using you account and we’ll be have to help you.

      thanks, Vidya

  14. helo I am alrady registerd with u 3 sip is going under yr guidance 1.franklin highgrowth co. 2kotakselectfocus.3relicare mid&smallcap

    1. Hello Sir, Currently I see 2 SIPs in your account. Perhaps the third is under process. I do not see the Birla fund here. Nevertheless, yes, have a stop SIP approach to it. Since you already have a midcap and an aggressive (Franklin High Growth) fund, consider a diversified fund such as Mirae Asset India Opportunities or UTI Opportunities. Consolidate all your investments (outside FundsIndia) in one place, so that when we review your portfolio, we also know your other holdings. If they are not in the FundsIndia platform, we may not be able to take complete view. It also costs you nothing to do it.
      Also, In future, please click the help tab in your account (after you login) and mail your question – our advisors will call back or respond through mail – whichever option you choose. This will also help us keep track of all your queries and respond them quickly. The blog is a mere dicussion forum and not used for recommendation/review of our investors’ portfolios. thanks, Vidya

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