PMSes deliver up to 26% in April, but find out how many beat benchmarks

After a terrible market in March, April saw PMSes rise from their ashes like a phoenix. The harder a portfolio was in March, the rebound was stronger. Portfolio managers delivered up to 26.1% return in April 2020. Find out how many beat the benchmark ....

14 May 2020
PMSes deliver up to 26% in April, but find out how many beat benchmarks

PMSes deliver up to 26% in April, but find out how many beat benchmarks

After a terrible market in March, April saw PMSes rise from their ashes like a phoenix. The harder a portfolio was in March, the rebound was stronger. Portfolio managers delivered up to 26.1% return in April 2020. The average 1-month return of multicap PMSes was 11.6%. For largecap PMSes and midcap PMSes, the average gain was about 12%, while for small caps it was higher at 14%. But, active fund management is more about delivering benchmark beating gains. On that yardstick, how do PMSes stand in the short-term, medium-term and long-term? Let us find out.

We at PMSBazaar have data about 147 PMSes upto month of April 2020. All performance mentioned below is as on 30th Apr 2020. Above 1 year return is expressed in CAGR. The 147 PMSes can be divided into 9 groups: LARGE & MIDCAP, LARGE CAP, MID & SMALL CAP, MID CAP, MULTI CAP, SECTOR, SMALL & MIDCAP, SMALL CAP and THEMATIC. We are, for the moment, ignoring groups with just one offering, or ETFs. Let us look at the performance in detail.

LARGE CAP

There are 17 PMS offerings in this group, with some having track record of over 17 years. The 1-month average gain of 17 LARGE CAP PMSes was 12.14%, which is below Nifty's 14.7% uptick. Top performers in April 2020 were led by ICICI PRU LARGECAP PORTFOLIO (18.56%).

Over the 1-year period, the average LARGE CAP PMS fell by 7.48%, a better wealth protector than Nifty's 16.1% decline. In the 1-year period, AMBIT CAPITAL COFFEE CAN (up 10.7%) led the offerings which out-performed the Nifty. 

In the 5-year period ended April 2020, 5 out of 8 PMS LARGE CAP strategies beat Nifty's 3.80% CAGR. The best were led by TATA PMS CONSUMPTION (9.35%).

MID CAP

There are 11 PMS offerings in the MID CAP group, with the oldest one having a 14-year track record.  The 1-month average gain in April from MID CAP PMs offerings are exactly 12%, however lower than the NIFTY MIDCAP 100's 15.4% return. None of the offerings out-performed this benchmark in April 2020. The top performers are led by RIGHT HORIZONS SUPER VALUE (14.07%).

Among the 10 MIDCAP PMS offerings with at least 1-year vintage, 90% beat the NIFTY MIDCAP 100 (down 23.1%) in the 12-month period ended April 2020. The top performers were led by PHILLIP CAPITAL EMERGING INDIA PORTFOLIO which in fact is up 1.9% in the 1-year period. 

In the 5-year phase, five out of the 6 PMS offerings beat the benchmark's 1.20% CAGR. AMBIT CAPITAL GOOD & CLEAN INDIA FUND (8.7% CAGR) led the alpha deliverers in this longer-term period.

MULTI CAP

This is the most popular PMS offering category. The MULTI CAP strategy has 84 products. The average gain notched up by MULTI CAP PMSes is 11.61% in April. That is quite impressive. However, the 11.61% average return is lower than the BSE 500 index's 14.6% return in the same period. Over a dozen offerings beat the BSE 500's return. The out-performers were led by GREEN PORTFOLIO SPECIAL (19.72%).

Out of the 75 Multi Cap offerings with 12 months track record, over 70% beat the BSE 500 thanks to the April 2020 strong show. The index is down 16.8% in 1 year period and the average category return is -11.12%. The best performers are led by MARCELLUS CONSISTENT COMPOUNDERS up 16.60%. 

Over the 5-year period, 60% of the 25 PMs offerings beat BSE 500's paltry 3.5% CAGR. The average MULTI CAP return in 5 years was 4.6% CAGR, 80 basis points higher than the benchmark. Outperformers were led by IIFL MULTICAP PMS up 13.19%.

SMALL CAP

After a rough ride for the better part of 2 years, April 2020 brought some respite to SMALL CAP PMSes. There are 10 offerings in this group. AMBIT CAPITAL EMERGING GIANTS led the group with its 18.8% gain, which is higher than the BSE SMALL CAP index's 15.5%. The 1-month average of this group is 14.12%, the highest among all the categories tracked.

In the 1-year period ended April 2020, 5 of the 9 offerings beat the BSE SMALL CAP index's 24.1% decline. AMBIT CAPITAL EMERGING GIANTS was a stark out-performer with just 0.80% dip. 

Over the 5-year period, there are just 3 offerings. 


SMALL & MID CAP

There are 8 offerings in the SMALL & MID CAP space. The average 1-month gain in April 2020 was 12.37% for the group, with the toppers led by JHP SECURITIES INCREDIBLE INDIA (16.57%), followed closely by MOTILAL OSWAL IOP V2 (16.28%).

In the 1-year period ended April 2020, the average loss was nearly 24%. While TAMOHARA TLES and EDELWEISS FOCUSED SMALL CAP did better than the category.

In the 5-year period, there were just 3 offerings:


SECTOR

There are just 4 offerings in the SECTOR PMS group. KOTAK PHARMA was a trail-blazer in April 2020 with a whopping 26.10% return. That's the best return for any PMS across strategies. 

The April show helped KOTAK PHARMA clock 16.2% positive gain in the 1 year period. 

The SECTOR offerings do not have a 5-year track record.

THEMATIC

Like the SECTOR group, there are just 4 THEMATIC PMS offerings; all launched since March 2018. These offered between 8-14% in April 2020, with GREEN PORTFOLIO DIVIDEND YIELD topping the chart.

In the 1 year period there are just 2 offerings: ANAND RATHI ADVISORS MNC PMS shone bright with 12.30% gain.

The THEMATIC PMS offerings do not have a 5-year track record.

LARGE & MIDCAP

This group has 3 PMS offerings. BONANZA GROWTH (15.22%) led the toppers.  Over the 1-year period ended April 2020, MK Lead PMS (-0.40%) did better than the Nifty's 16.1% decline despite the fact that these strategies had midcap exposure. Over a longer period of 5 years, BONANZA GROWTH's 11.57% again comprehensively beat Nifty 3.8% gain. Do note here that the Nifty is not a strictly large & midcap benchmark.

MID & SMALL CAP

This group has two PMS offerings, and one of them EQUIRUS SECURITIES LONG HORIZON FUND is the 2nd best performer with 24.38% return in April 2020 among the 147 PMSes tracked. The other SILVERARCH MID & SMALL CAP EQUITY generated a good 12.23% return in the same month. 

A bumper April helped EQUIRUS SECURITIES LONG HORIZON FUND narrow down losses to 8.4% in the 1-year period. 

The MID & SMALL CAP PMS offerings do not have a 5-year track record.

To know more about performances and to compare strategies please visit -> https://pmsbazaar.com/Visitor/PMSComparison

By PMSBazaar Research Team

Recent Blogs

Sectors to watch and Sectors to Dodge Alternates Universe Webinar Series

Sectors to watch and Sectors to Dodge – Alternates Universe Webinar Series

PMS Bazaar recently organized a webinar titled “Sectors to watch and Sectors to Dodge” which featured Mr. Darshan Engineer, Fund Manager at Sundaram Alternate Assets and Mr. Sandeep Tulsiyan, also a Fund Manager at Sundaram Alternate Assets, who had a discussion with Mrs. Reshmi Chakraborthy from Sundaram Alternate Assets. This blog covers the important points shared in this insightful webinar.

Mid and Small Caps Driving Indias dollar5 Trillion Pathway

Mid and Small Caps: Driving India’s $5 Trillion Pathway

PMS Bazaar recently organized a webinar titled “Mid and Small Caps: Driving India’s $5 Trillion Pathway,” which featured Mr. Achin Goel, Fund Manager at Bonanza.

Equity PMS strategies shine in May 9 in 10 Beat Nifty 50 TRI as small cap surge lifts all boats

Equity PMS strategies shine in May; 9 in 10 Beat Nifty 50 TRI as small cap surge lifts all boats

Robust sectoral rotation and smart stock selection power one of the strongest alpha months for PMS managers

128 of 133 AIFs posted gains in May 2025 Long only strategies beat long short peers by 400 bps

128 of 133 AIFs posted gains in May 2025; Long-only strategies beat long-short peers by 400 bps

Long-only AIFs averaged 5.69% returns in May 2025 sharply above long-short peers (1.68%) as broader market strength, FII flows, and sector momentum powered alpha generation

Who Will the Race for Alpha Fund Managers vs AI

Who Will the Race for Alpha – Fund Managers vs AI

PMS Bazaar recently organized an exciting webinar titled “Who Will the Race for Alpha – Fund Managers vs AI,” which featured Mr. Sankarsh Chanda, Founder & CEO, Savart.

Trust Tech and Transformation  The Future of Private Banking in India

Trust Tech and Transformation – The Future of Private Banking in India

PMS Bazaar conducted another episode of the Alternates Universe Webinar Series -Season 2- Episode 11 - Trust Tech and Transformation – The Future of Private Banking in India.

Access Innovative Global Themes via Gift City Route

Access Innovative Global Themes via Gift City Route

PMS Bazaar recently organized a webinar titled “Access Innovative Global Themes via Gift City Route,” which featured Mr. Vaibhav Shah, Associate Director – Head- Business Strategy, Products & International Business, Mirae Asset Investment Managers and Mr. Scott Helfstein, Head of Investment Strategy, Global X ETFs.

110 of 123 AIFs Deliver Gains in April  Top Performers Log 5–9percentage Returns

110 of 123 AIFs Deliver Gains in April; Top Performers Log 5–9% Returns

Long-only AIFs (2.19%) outperformed long-short peers (1.28%) with category average alpha of ~90 bps as macro tailwinds and index gains supported broad-based strategy resilience