As the New Year takes hold, a big question on the minds of investors is to find the best funds to invest in via the Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) route. SIPs have gained a lot of prominence in the past decade or so because of the flexibility, convenience, and potential for superior returns that they provide. You can invest as low as Rs 500 a month, have the flexibility to change the amount, and gain the benefit of rupee cost averaging and power of compounding just by starting an SIP. Persistence is key as these small amounts tend to snowball into a large corpus only over a long period of time.
In order to ease that decision, we provide a list of the top 5 funds to invest in 2019 via the SIP route. All of the following plans are direct and the option is growth:
Axis Bluechip Fund – Direct Plan (G)
Axis Bluechip Fund was formerly known as Axis Equity Fund. The Direct Plan was launched in January 2013 and has just completed 6 years in existence. Since launch, the plan has returned 15.2%. The minimum lumpsum investment in the fund is Rs 5,000 while the minimum SIP amount is Rs 1,000. Its performance is benchmarked to the Nifty 50 Total Return Index and was managing assets worth Rs 3,737 cr at the end of December 2018. Its expense ratio is 0.90%.
The fund is managed by Shreyash Devalkar who has been managing the fund since November 2016. He also manages Axis Midcap Fund and Axis Multicap Fund, among others, for the fund house.
The fund invests in large-cap stocks which form over 80% of its portfolio. It aims to outperform the benchmark with risk lower than the benchmark and is aimed at long-term wealth creation.
Invesco India Growth Opportunities Fund – Direct Plan (G)
The fund has been in existence since August 2007 but the Direct Plan was launched in January 2013. Since launch, the plan has returned 16.9%. The minimum lumpsum investment in the fund is Rs 5,000 while the minimum SIP amount is Rs 500. Its performance is benchmarked to the S&P BSE 250 Large MidCap 65:35 Total Return Index and was managing assets worth Rs 1,017 cr at the end of December 2018. Its expense ratio is 1.09%.
The fund is managed by Taher Badshah and Amit Ganatra who have been managing the fund since January 2017 and June 2014 respectively. Other funds managed by them include Invesco India Dynamic Equity Fund and Invesco India Multicap Fund (both Taher) and Invesco India Largecap Fund and Invesco India Tax Plan (both Amit), among others. They also manage Invesco India Contra Fund together.
The fund invests in mid and large-cap stocks with a bias towards the latter and invests in both value and growth stocks. It intends to remain fully invested and usually carried a portfolio of 30-45 stocks.
L&T Midcap Fund – Direct Plan (G)
The fund has existed since August 2004 while the Direct Plan has been in existence since January 2013 and has returned 21.5% since launch. The minimum lumpsum investment in the fund is Rs 5,000 while the minimum SIP amount is Rs 500. Its performance is benchmarked to the Nifty Midcap 100 Total Return Index and was managing assets worth Rs 3,685 cr at the end of December 2018. Its expense ratio is 1.02%.
The fund is managed by S.N. Lahiri and Vihang Naik who have been managing the fund since June 2013 and June 2016 respectively.
The fund invests in mid-cap stocks and carries the highest risk among those featured in this list. It can be used as a portfolio diversifier.
HDFC Mid-Cap Opportunities Fund – Direct Plan (G)
The fund has existed since June 2007 while the Direct Plan has been in existence since January 2013 and has returned 19.8% since launch. The minimum lumpsum investment in the fund is Rs 5,000 while the minimum SIP amount is Rs 500. Its performance is benchmarked to the Nifty Midcap 100 Total Return Index and was managing assets worth Rs 21,085 cr at the end of December 2018. Its expense ratio is 1.13%.
The fund is managed by Chirag Setalvad and Rakesh Vyas who have been managing the fund since June 2007 and May 2012 respectively. Other funds managed together by them include HDFC Multi-Asset Fund and HDFC Hybrid Equity Fund, among others.
The fund invests at least 65% of the portfolio in mid-cap stocks and the fund house suggests an investment period of 3 years and above for the offering.
HDFC Small Cap Fund – Direct Plan (G)
The fund has existed since April 2008 while the Direct Plan has been in existence since January 2013 and has returned 18.9% since launch. The minimum lumpsum investment in the fund is Rs 5,000 while the minimum SIP amount is Rs 500. Its performance is benchmarked to the Nifty Smallcap 100 Total Return Index and was managing assets worth Rs 6,013 cr at the end of December 2018. Its expense ratio is 0.71%.
The fund is managed by Chirag Setalvad and Rakesh Vyas who have been managing the fund since June 2014.
The fund invests at least 65% of the portfolio in small-cap stocks and the fund house suggests an investment period of 3 years and above for the offering. To get better idea about SIP plans, you can refer to the given link https://www.orowealth.com/insights/blog/best-sip-plans-to-invest-in-2018/.
