East Green Advisors’ Quant Strategy emerged as the top performer for the month, delivering a return of 8.33%. The multi-cap and flexi-cap portfolio outpaced peers as markets rewarded systematic and factor-driven approaches during a volatile end to the year.
Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company’s Fintech strategy followed with a gain of 5.15%, making it the best-performing sectoral portfolio in December. Aequitas Investment Consultancy’s India Opportunities Product, a small-cap-focused strategy, rose 5.07%, while Pace Financial Investment Adviser’s Tresor Flexi multi-asset portfolio returned 4.87% for the month. Ionic Asset Management’s Ionic Allocate Portfolio – Moderate added 4.80%.
Several diversified equity strategies also posted moderate gains. Merisis Advisors’ Catalyst Series 1 advanced 4.09%, MRG Investment Partners’ Wealth Maximizer gained 3.27%, and Ayan Analytics’ PriceBridge Honeycomb rose 3.22%. Wallfort PMS and Advisory Services’ Avenue Fund returned 3.17%, while ITUS Capital Advisors’ Fundamental Value Fund and Shriram Asset Management’s LEAPS each gained 3.11%.
Multi-asset and flexi-cap portfolios featured prominently among mid-tier gainers. ithought Financial’s SPHERE added 3.10%, Shriram AMC’s Future GEMS rose 3.09%, and MRG’s Wealth Enhancer and Wealth Protector portfolios gained 2.88% and 2.84%, respectively. Alchemy Capital’s long-running High Growth strategy ended December up 2.47%.
The concentration of gains among quant-driven, fintech-linked and diversified strategies contrasted sharply with the month’s steep drawdowns across several small-cap and thematic portfolios.
Bottom performers: small-cap portfolios slide
On the downside, Qode Advisors’ Future Horizon portfolio was the weakest performer in December, plunging 10.65%. Money Grow Asset’s Small Midcap strategy fell 9.49%, while InCred Asset Management’s Focused Healthcare Portfolio declined 7.47%.
Small-cap and SME-oriented strategies were particularly hard hit. Hem Securities’ India Rising SME Stars dropped 7.29%, and Wallfort PMS’s Diversified Fund slid 5.82%. Kotak Mahindra AMC’s Pharma and Healthcare strategy lost 5.66% during the month.
Several multi-cap portfolios also posted notable declines. Narnolia Financial Services’ Fusion Opportunity fell 5.56%, InCred’s Small and Midcap portfolio dropped 5.25%, and Samvitti Capital’s Active Alpha Multicap slid 5.00%. NAFA Asset Managers’ Clean Tech Portfolio declined 5.20%, while PGIM India’s Equity Portfolio ended December down 4.98%.
Other laggards included Fident Asset Management’s India Builder Equity portfolio, which slipped 4.97%, DRChoksey FinServ’s Alpha Invest, down 4.88%, and Samvitti Capital’s PMS Aggressive Growth, which fell 4.72%. InCred’s Multicap Portfolio declined 4.46%, and Nuvama Asset Management’s Equities eXpansion Target closed the month 4.43% lower.
Also read: Value buys? Worst-performing India market pushes 25 Nifty stocks below 5-year PE
December’s performance highlighted the uneven nature of returns within India’s PMS universe, with selective quantitative and sector-focused strategies finding traction, while small-cap and thematic portfolios bore the brunt of selling pressure as investors turned cautious toward year-end.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)