Motilal Oswal Multicap 35 fund review

 

Fund

Motilal Oswal multicap 35 Fund

Category

Flexi cap

AUM (Rs Cr)

12,000  (As on 31/12/2020)

Fund Manager

Mr Akash Singhania

Benchmark

Nifty 500 TRI

 

 

How is Motilal Oswal multicap 35 fund?

Motilal Oswal multicap 35 fund is a flexi cap fund that can invest in a maximum of 35 stocks.


It needs to be invested 65% into equities and equity related instruments at all times.


It can invest up to 10% of its portfolio into foreign securities.


The fund was previously a multicap fund but since January 2021 has been recategorized to the flexi cap category.


It is the only focused fund presently that invests in more than 30 stocks since most focused funds usually invest in 30 stocks or fewer, as can be seen below:

  1. Axis Focused 25 fund
  2. Principal Focused fund (30 stocks)
  3. SBI Focused Equity (30 stocks)

 


best mutual funds



What is a flexi cap fund?

A flexi cap fund is one which needs to stay invested into equity for a minimum of 65% at all times.


The remaining 35% can be invested in debt, cash, domestic or international equity.


There is no restriction with regards to cap.


A flexi cap mutual fund is the most flexible mutual fund scheme since it does not have too many restrictions.


At the same time the role of a fund manager is of prime importance in a flexi cap fund due to the freedom she gets to run the portfolio.


Any mutual fund scheme that wants to qualify as an equity fund for tax purposes needs to invest a minimum of 65% into equities at all times except for elss mutual funds which needs to invest a minimum of 80% into equities at all times.

 


Additional reading: Click Here to read about Flexi cap funds 



Difference between Focused funds and Flexi cap funds  

Some view focused funds as flexi cap funds whereas others do not.


In reality though, in terms of functioning both types of mutual funds are same except for one key difference.


A focused mutual fund can invest only up to a certain number of stocks unlike a flexi cap mutual fund which has no such restriction.


Some focused funds invest up to 30 stocks, some 25 and some even fewer but they cannot exceed the pre mentioned number of stocks.


There is no restriction with regards to the caps though, the only restriction is with regards to the number of companies a portfolio can hold.


A flexi cap fund can function as a focused fund but a focused fund cannot function like a flexi cap fund.

 

Are you investing in the right mutual funds?



Investment strategy of Motilal Oswal Multicap 35

Since this is a focused fund, the bets are concentrated and so are the risks.


Most focused funds tend to be large cap biased with a growth based investing strategy.


Motilal Oswal multicap 35 fund is more value driven even though it swings between large caps and mid caps frequently.


It has a more momentum driven strategy applied to its portfolio.



Additional reading: Click Here to read about the various types of equity mutual funds 

 

 

Motilal Oswal multicap 35 fund portfolio

The fund is overweight on financials as compared to the category.


Within financials too all its bets are on private companies with no exposure to any PSU bank.


It is underweight on chemicals, energy and healthcare sectors by a big margin.


This should not come as a surprise considering the past investing trends of this fund.

 

best mutual funds















 

 

The fund is more of a value and momentum driven focused fund which is a unique strategy in the focused fund space.


As on 31st December 2020, the top 10 stocks in the fund made up 56% of the total portfolio.


This means more than half of the overall portfolio is invested only in ten stocks.


This makes for concentrated risks.


The fund therefore has a tendency to be extremely volatile with periods of severe underperformance.


This is to be expected since the fund takes concentrated risks and bets even in mid and small cap stocks.


For example as on 31st December 2020, it held 5.9% in Vaibhav Global Limited and 4.8% in AU Small Finance Bank Limited.



Are you investing in the right mutual funds?




Should you invest in Motilal Oswal multicap 35 fund?

Even though the fund has been projected as a Buy Right and Sit Tight fund, in fact so are all the schemes of the fund house but in reality though the fund is more momentum driven.


This can be easily ascertained by its high turnover ratio which is very surprising given its focus on Buy Right and Sit Tight philosophy so to speak.


Its severe underperformance during certain periods makes you question whether the risk associated with such an investing style is worth it.


Even if it does make gains in the future, it still has a lot of ground to catch up to make parity, let alone making a profit.


As an investor you need to ask yourself, when there are other flexi cap/focused funds with a much more simpler and effective approach is Motilal Oswal multicap 35 fund worth the hype?

 



Explaining the recent underperformance in Motilal Oswal Multicap 35

The underperformance of the fund has coincided with the exit of Gautam Sinha Roy as its fund manager in May 2019.


Because of its focused approach along with a higher exposure to the top 10 holdings makes for concentrated risks and bets.


Its top 10 holdings often include even mid and small cap stocks unlike other flexi cap and focused funds.


In the recent past it has often gone wrong with its concentrated bets like Vakrangee and Manpasand Beverages.




best mutual funds








Every mutual fund scheme will have sectors and stocks it has high bets but with a focused fund these bets become more risk prone than rewarding.


This is because a focused fund can invest only in a limited number of stocks and therefore the allocation to these bets is also on the higher side and if things go wrong then the effect of the same is also very difficult to overcome.


As an investor you therefore need to ascertain whether the risk is worth it.


Most investors often tend to invest in a particular fund when its recent performance is on the up and redeem when the performance goes down.


This can be easily inferred by the fall in its AUM in the last quarter of 2020 when the market was at peak but the fund was underperforming and therefore investors shifted to other funds.

 

 



For portfolio enquiriesemail us with your doubts at info@themutualfundguide.com



Disclaimer : While due precaution has been undertaken in the preparation of this article, The Mutual Fund Guide or any of its authors will not be held liable for any investments based on the above article. The above article should not be considered financial advice and has been published only for your perusal. Due credit has been given in case wherever required, in case you feel any part violates any rights then do get in touch with us and we shall get it duly removed.  
Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks. Please read the offer document carefully before investing


Copyright © 2021  The Mutual Fund Guide, All rights reserved 

My Instagram