Equity markets zoomed ahead in November as some of the concerns surrounding the rise in global treasury yields and escalating geopolitical tensions abated. There was broad market participation as the frontline blue chip, as well as mid & small cap indices, rallied.
Category 3 long-only Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) put up a fairly robust show during the month and most managed to get past standard benchmarks on the returns front. But the long-short segment demonstrated a rather indifferent performance during the month.
Long-only strategies invest in Indian firms that are traded in the BSE and NSE. They are given the flexibility to choose any investment strategy and do not have any rigid market cap mandates.
In November, 58 of the 63 (more than 9 in 10) category 3 long-only funds managed to outperform the Nifty 50 TRI, while 40 strategies (more than 6 in 10) delivered better returns than the BSE 500 TRI.
The long-short category’s performance was below par in the month as only 4 of the 24 funds (one in 6) managed to outperform the Nifty 50 TRI, and only 2 delivered higher returns than the BSE 500 TRI.
During the month, the Nifty 50 TRI delivered 5.6%, while the BSE 500 TRI gave 7.06%.
Long-only funds gave 8.03% on average in November. The long-short funds ended the month on a weak note with 2.95% returns on average.
In keeping with earlier months, close-ended funds did better in the long-only segment, even as open-ended strategies dominated the toppers’ chart in the long-short category.
Top 10 long-only performers
Top 5 long-short funds
ITI’s Long Short Equity Fund took
the first position with 7.98% returns during November. The fund is driven
fundamentally and stocks are picked on the long and short sides.
Nuvama Enhanced Dynamic Growth
Equity Fund came second with a 7.17% return in the month. The fund seeks to
cushion downfalls and provide alpha over the long term.
Edelweiss Consumer Trends Fund
took the third spot with 7.03% returns in November.
Whitespace Fund 1- Equity Plus
was fourth in the month and recorded 6.4% returns. The fund aims to capture the
Nifty 50’s returns but with lower volatility by generating alpha in the futures
& options space.
ICICI Prudential Enhanced Dynamic Fund came fifth with 5.22% returns in November.
The performance of long-short funds in November and the comparison with benchmarks are presented below.
Summary
As the clouds of uncertainties on
the global and local macroeconomic front faded away, markets came bouncing back
in November after a volatile October. Inflation is firmly under control both
locally and in most advanced economies, Central banks are increasingly turning
dovish and indicating multiple rate cuts by mid or late 2024. For corporate
India, the earnings season was quite healthy for most segments and the
trajectory continues to be upwards. The GDP growth was well above expectations
in the second quarter of FY24 and metrics such as IIP were also strong in
recent months.
Further, State election outcomes
were quite favourable and lent a picture of political stability. Though
consumption, especially in rural areas, is yet to pick up strongly, other
segments such as manufacturing and agriculture are robust.
There are concerns about a new virus
in China and surging cases of COVID-19 in Singapore and the US, with a spike, witnessed even in India. However, there are no major alarms as yet and the
buoyancy in the market may continue in the immediate future as FIIs also turn
buyers.
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