DSP-Merrill Lynch ranks second (next only to Alliance) among all Foreign private. mutual fund families with respect to average annualized returns on its schemes.  A review of the performance of each scheme since its inception till 14^th February 2000.

DSP-ML Bond Fund  – Growth Plan

This scheme, started on 29^th April 1997,   has shown a very steady upward growth since then to the last date considered for this evaluation i.e. 14^th February 2000. The initial NAV per Unit at 10 has grown over the period to 14.29 as on 14^th February 2000. This is a very steady growth over a period of 2 years and 9 months with no perceivable downward trends. The scheme has performed to its objectives and has met the investors need in the area of low risk – steady growth investments. This scheme would be a good investment avenue to the risk-averse investor who is seeking a secure growth.

DSP-ML Bond Fund  – Dividend  Plan

This scheme, started on 29^th April 1997,   has also shown the very steady growth that is expected of Fixed Income Investments. The NAV over the period of 2 years and 9 months has increased from 10 to 11.14. Increase might appear minimal but one has to bear in mind that the scheme has declared dividends thrice to meet its objectives of steady income to the investors. The three major falls in NAV during the time period considered for the present evaluation correspond to the dividend declarations. The scheme has a good track record and has peaked around an NAV of 11.58. This scheme is a good avenue for investors seeking a steady income Vs low risk.

DSP-ML Equity Fund

This scheme also started on 29^th April 1997. The trend of its NAV change since inception makes an interesting study. The increase in NAV from 29^th April ’97 to January ’99 has not been very large, with the increase being just about Rs.2.1. However the increase in NAV since this period to the end date for consideration has shown a tremendous increase of about Rs.22, In a period of just over one year. This goes to reflect the stock market boom that one has witnessed over the past one year. Most of the scheme’s portfolio has been weighted in favor of IT sector stocks, which have been largely responsible for the kind of growth in NAV that one can perceive. Overall, the performance of the Equity scheme has been excellent. It is a good opportunity for investors who are willing to take the kind of risk that it takes to benefit from high returns.

A similar trend can be seen in the Equity Fund MOP, with the end NAV a shade above that of the Equity scheme at 35.39.

DSP-ML Liquidity Fund

The Liquidity Scheme has by far shown the steadiest growth as reflected in the almost straight line of its NAV growth. The scheme started on 11^th March 1998 has increase in its NAV from Rs.10 to 11.73 as on 14^th February 2000. The objective of the fund is to cater to the liquidity requirements of the investor and at the same time provide a steady growth of his investment. The fund in its performance seems to have catered to this objective ideally.

DSP-ML Balanced Fund

The object of this fund is to have a balanced portfolio of Equity and Fixed Income Instruments to reduce the risk to holdings and at the same time provide good capital appreciation. The fund has started on 31^st May 1999 and has done well to achieve an increase in NAV of about 4.69 in a period of about 8 months. There have been no major swings in the NAV and overall the scheme has shown a fairly steady performance. This scheme is a good ivestment opportunity for those who want to benefit from the high returns that Equity Instruments offer and at the same time manage their risk by incorporating Fixed Income Instruments into their portfolio.

DSP-ML G-Sec Schemes

DSP-ML has launched four G-Sec schemes, Plan A and B with each of them having a MRP option. All the four schemes have been launched on 1^st October 2000. As is expected of any investment in the Fixed Income Securities arena, the performance of the fund has been steady. However, one can see that around 11^th February 2000 the NAV of the PLAN A fell by a large value in a short time. This is the market reaction to cutting of interest rates on PPF. Not withstanding this one off fluctuation the overall growth for all the four G-Sec schemes have been steady.

 The Fund family as such has been performing very well. The performance reflects good investment decisions on the part of the investment manager as well as ideal weightage to the constituent stocks of the portfolio, a factor that has seen it placed as one of the Top AMC’s in today’s market in terms of performance.

Chandrasekhar G