After markets rallied smartly in December, January turned out to be relatively flat for the indices. Inflation’s continued downward trajectory was positive for the markets. However, corporate results for the December quarter were mixed and hence markets were lukewarm.

In January, the average return from the 359 PMS approaches was 3.16%. This was much higher than the 0.02% that the bluechip Nifty 50 index managed during the month, while the broader market BSE 500 TRI delivered 1.92%.
FIIs were net sellers in January to the tune of Rs 35,978 crore. But DIIs continued their supportive role in the markets and they net bought Rs 26,744 crore in the cash market.
However, PMS investment approaches chartered a course of their own. As many as 289 PMS approaches (8 in 10) delivered more than the Nifty TRI in January. When compared with the BSE 500 TRI, just 202 schemes (or nearly 6 in 10) outperformed the index during the month.
The top performers’ list in the month was dominated by multi-cap strategies, with flexi caps being the next-best segment in January.
Top 10 PMS Approaches of January 2024
The following are the top 10 funds from the 359 PMS approaches tracked and analysed by PMS Bazaar.
The top 10 schemes recorded sterling performances in January with all recording double-digit returns. These funds gave 10-15 percentage points more than even the BSE 500 TRI during the month.
Coming first in the list of top performers in the month was Invasset’s Growth Pro Max fund with 17.14% returns. The fund invests in companies with free cash flows, those that can grow with a high return on capital employed, and have moats compared to competitors among a few other factors.
The ACE Midcap fund from Asit C Mehta Investment Intermediates came second with 16.93% returns in January. This strategy invests in growth companies that are available below their intrinsic values.
Coming third was the Growth fund from Molecule Ventures with 16.33% returns during the month. This scheme invests in a blend of secular, medium term and opportunistic themes in the market.
The performance of the top 10 strategies and their comparison with Nifty and BSE 500 for the month are given below.
Category-wise performance of PMS players
During the month, small-caps regained their lustre and were the best performers with the category delivering a healthy 5.01%. Thematic schemes came second with 4.33% returns in January. Small & midcap, large & midcap and multi-caps delivered reasonably well and each of these categories gave more than 3% returns during the month. Midcaps and large caps had a somewhat indifferent month with the categories falling behind others and giving 2.36% and 1.56%, respectively.
Overall, it was a robust month for PMS investment approaches across categories.
The performance of the strategies is depicted below in the chart.
Small caps
January turned out to be a solid month for small-cap strategies and they were the best performers. During the month, the category gave 5.01% on average.
And the PMS funds with small-cap strategies did well, too. Of the 19 small-cap PMS approaches, 15 funds outperformed the BSE 500 TRI and as many as 18 gave higher returns than the Nifty 50 TRI in January.
The Growth fund of Molecule Ventures topped the list of funds in the category with 16.33% returns during the month.
Taking the second spot was the Special Situations Portfolio fund of O3 Securities with 11.07% returns in January. The fund looks to invest in businesses with improving prospects resulting in better operating parameters, but not yet fully reflected in the financial statements of those companies.
The Emerging Opportunities fund from Equitree Capital Advisors took third place with 7.99% returns in the month. This strategy invests in small and microcap stocks with a market capitalization of Rs 200 crore to Rs 5000 crore.
The performance of the category in January with respect to the BSE 500 TRI and Nifty 50 TRI is depicted in the graph below.

Small & Midcaps

Midcap


Large and Midcap

Large-cap


Multi-caps


Thematic

Summary & Outlook
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