April month was a forgettable one for equity markets as the Nifty 50 dipped 0.4 per cent. However, PMS funds outperformed. Out of the 232 funds tracked by PMS Bazaar, close to 200 beat Nifty in April, which is an improvement from March when 107 had outshined the benchmark.

This shows the power of PMS portfolios which have repeatedly shielded investor wealth. Not just that, the best-performing PMS strategies in April 2021 have delivered double-digit returns with sector plays, small-cap, mid-cap and multi-cap funds topping the charts.

Best Performers

While the month of March had seen markets risen by 1 per cent, April saw markets starting the new financial year on a slightly dull note. Nifty 50 was down 0.40 per cent in April. Fears of the impact of the second wave of the pandemic and localised lockdowns have stalled the market march upwards. These facts, however, didn't affect top performers in the multi-billion dollar PMS industry.

At the top was Kotak Pharma with 13.39 per cent, continuing its good run as a sector fund.

At no. 2 slot was Sage One Small & Microcap with 12.72 per cent. In the 3rd spot was a PMS strategy that hasn't come to the attention of the market for a while. Anvil Wealth Management's Long Holding Strategy delivered 12.44 per cent in April.

Another relatively under-the-radar PMS strategy i.e. Master Portfolio Services Vallum India Discovery was in 4th spot with 11.74 per cent gain.

Bonanza Value was 5th with a good 11.56 per cent gain in April. At number six was Upside AI Multicap PMS strategy with 11.50 per cent, one of the few schemes with an artificial intelligence driven approach. Sharing the honours with Upside AI Multicap was Green Portfolio Special PMS strategy which also posted 11.50 per cent return in April.

The rest in top-10 are Care Portfolio Managers Growth Plus Value (up 11.30 per cent), Agreya Concentrated Value Discovery (11.08 per cent) and Basant Maheshwari Equity Fund (up 10.69 per cent).

Category-wise

Large & Midcap: There are 6 funds tracked by PMS Bazaar in this category. The average return in April 2021 was 1.6 per cent, with the best winners being Agreya Diversified Growth Strategy (up 6.55 per cent) and Bonanza Growth (up 2.49 per cent).

Largecap: There are 19 funds in this PMS category. The average return was 0.54 per cent, which is higher than the Nifty 50. The best performers of April 2021 are ICICI Pru Largecap Portfolio up 5.42 per cent, Varanium Large Cap Focused Fund up 3.87 per cent and Wize Market Analytics Capital Mind - Market Fund up 2.93 per cent.

Midcap: There are 27 funds in this category tracked by PMS Bazaar. The April 2021 category average is 2.83 per cent, which beats the 2.12 per cent notched up by Nifty Midcap 100. The best performers among PMS midcap strategies are Master Portfolio Services Vallum India Discovery (up 11.74 per cent), Nafa Asset Managers (formerly Crest) Emerging Bluchip (8.51 per cent).

Multicap: This is the biggest category of PMS funds in the industry. PMS Bazaar tracks the performance of 127 funds. The April 2021 category average was 2.61 per cent, far higher than the BSE 500's 0.4 per cent inch-up this month. As many as 89 PMS multicap strategies beat BSE 500. The best performers are Anvil Wealth Management's Long Holding Strategy (up 12.44 per cent), Bonanza Value (up 11.56 per cent), Upside AI Multicap (up 11.5 per cent) and Green Portfolio Special (up 11.5 per cent).

Sector: There are half a dozen PMS funds in this niche segment. Kotak Pharma was undoubtedly the best across the segment and the industry.

Small & Midcap: With 15 PMS strategies in this pocket, the Small & Midcap PMS category reported over 5 per cent average gain in April 2021. Care Portfolio Managers Growth Plus Value was the best with 11.3 per cent gain, followed by Equirus Securities Long Horizon Fund up 9.42 per cent and Abakkus Emerging Opportunities Fund up 9.10 per cent.

Smallcap: With 15 PMS strategies, this category clocked an average of 6.38 per cent gain April 2021. The category average is higher than BSE Small Cap's 4.94 per cent rise this month. The best performers are Sage One Small & Microcap, AccuraCap Picopower (up 10.64 per cent) and Negen Capital Small Cap Emerging (up 9.04 per cent).

Thematic: This has just 5 PMS funds currently. The two best in April 2021 were Green Portfolio MNC Advantage up 7.01 per cent and Green Portfolio Dividend Yield up 4.05 per cent.