Best performing mutual funds in January 2023

Best performing mutual funds in January 2023

January 2023 was again a month of negative returns on the key indices. The Nifty was down -2.45% in January 2023, Mid Cap index down -2.64% and the Small Cap index was down -2.36%. The fall in the markets was an outcome of too much hawkishness by the central banks as well as persistent selling by the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). In January 2023 alone, FPIs sold equities worth $3.52 billion, adding to the pressure on the stock markets.

While equity funds saw tapering of short term performance, the debt funds also came under pressure. Amidst the vagaries in interest rate signals, the bond yields were locked in a slightly higher range of 7.3% to 7.4%. This again impacted short term returns on the bond funds. The pressure on bond yields came from hawkish tone of the Fed and the RBI. Here is how mutual funds across 12 key categories performed in January 2023.

Equity Large-Cap Funds

Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 31st Jan-23):

Equity Multi-Cap Funds

Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 31st Jan-23):

Equity Mid-Cap Funds

Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 31st Jan-23):

Equity Small-Cap Funds

Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 31st Jan-23):

Equity Linked Savings Schemes (Tax Saving)

Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 31st Jan-23):

Balanced Funds (Aggressive Allocation)

Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 31st Jan-23):

Balanced Funds (Conservative Allocation)

Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 31st Jan-23):

Arbitrage Funds (Cash-Futures)

Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 31st Jan-23):

Government Securities Funds (Gilt Funds)

Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 31st Jan-23):

Corporate Bond Funds

Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 31st Jan-23):

Credit Risk Funds

Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 31st Jan-23):

Liquid Funds

Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 31st Jan-23):

What are the broad inferences that follow from the above analysis of 12 categories of mutual funds in India for January 2023? Here are some key takeaways.

1. Equity funds have seen diminution of returns in January 2023 due to higher volatility and a sharp sell-off by the foreign investors. That is very apparent in the 1-year returns, although the impact is much lower in 3-year returns and 5-year returns.
   
    
2. In the case of debt funds, the impact has been largely neutral since the hawkishness in the central bank policy has been largely factored into bond yields. With benchmark bond yields in the range of 7.3% to 7.4% through the month, returns were in a range. 
   
    
3. In most of the categories, top performers have outshone the benchmark indices by a margin across longer time frames. It has been volatile in the short term. Most category leaders have done substantially better than the median returns of the category.
   
    
4. The biggest takeaway from the above rankings is the consistency of leadership. For instance, more than 90% of the top rankers across the various fund categories have been common through the last 3 months of rolling five year returns.
   
    
5. That broadly indicates consistency in performance by the top performers and makes them a lot more predictable from an investment perspective. The rankings are a solid basis for financial advisors and investors to use past returns to extrapolate the future.