Reliance Vision Fund Q1 returns at 35%

Mumbai:

The fund, managed by Reliance Capital Asset Management Ltd for Reliance Capital Mutual Fund, has posted absolute returns of 35 per cent for the quarter ended 30 June 2002.  This is the only fund from India to feature among the best-performing equity funds globally.

The fund, which has increased in size by 267 per cent during the last quarter, has also posted astounding gains of 91 per cent for the one-year period. Reliance Capital Ltd is the sponsor of Reliance Capital Mutual Fund.

The details of the analysis, carried out by Lipper Asia Ltd, have been published in the prestigious Wall Street Journal. Lipper is a leading provider of quality fund research and reliable intelligence for nearly 30 years. Methodologies of Lipper, which tracks approximately 80,000 worldwide funds, have become the industry benchmarks for evaluating funds globally.

In a story titled ‘More Investors Begin To Turn Toward Asia,’ WSJ said: "The second best-performing fund globally during the past three months is the India-invested Reliance Vision Fund." The story further said the fund managed by Reliance Asset Management Company posted a 35 per cent gain during the second quarter of 2002 and the fund is also the top performer in India for both the second quarter and the one-year period ended June 2002.

Reliance Capital Asset Management chief investment officer K Rajagopal says: "The fund focuses on spotting companies that offer good value and when value can’t be found, s/he isn’t afraid to sit on cash."

Elaborating on the strategy of Reliance Vision Fund, WSJ further said: "Reliance fund managers are basically bottom-up stock pickers, but value tends to come clustered in certain sectors."

The article added: "Asian equity funds, particularly those that invest in Indonesia, Thailand, India and Japan, dominated the top 10 performing portfolios globally during the second quarter."

Leading the worldwide pack during the second quarter was the Aberdeen Select Indonesia Equity Fund, managed by Aberdeen Asset Management Asia Ltd. The fund posted a 35-per cent gain during the second quarter and an 87-per cent return during the first six months of the year.

Reliance’s funds top performers in India
Two of the Reliance’s funds — Reliance Vision Fund and Reliance Growth Fund — have also emerged as top performers in the domestic mutual fund market for providing high returns.

For the six-month period ending June 2002, Reliance Vision Fund, with returns of 71 per cent, occupies the first position and Reliance Growth Fund, with 55 per cent returns, occupies the second position among domestic mutual funds.

Similarly, for the one-year period, Reliance Vision Fund occupies the first position with returns of 91 per cent. For the same one-year period, Reliance Growth Fund occupied the third position with returns of 61 per cent.