Quant Mutual Fund's Schemes Fall The Most As Broader Markets Lose Rs 5 Lakh Crore

Small-cap and mid-cap schemes by Quant Mutual Fund fell the most among their category as broader markets crashed on Wednesday, losing over Rs 5 lakh crore in cumulative market cap.

Quant Small Cap Fund fell the most by 5.8% among small-cap schemes, while Quant Mid Cap Fund showed the biggest NAV decline by 4.9% among mid-cap schemes, according to the NAV values reported by mutual fund houses to the Association of Mutual Funds in India.

This compares to an average decline of 3.98% across 24 small-cap schemes and 3.51% fall across 29 mid-cap schemes.

PGIM India Small Cap Fund and UTI Small Cap Fund showed the least decline from the correction in markets amid small-cap schemes, while Motilal Oswal Midcap Fund and PGIM India Midcap Opportunities Fund fell the least amid mid-cap funds.

The Nifty Smallcap 250 fell by over 5% on Wednesday, recording a wipe-out of Rs 2 lakh crore in investor wealth, while the Nifty Midcap 150 fell by over 4%, erasing Rs 3 lakh crore in its constituents' cumulative market capitalisation.

A mutual fund scheme's performance should not be judged based on a single day. Indeed, advisors look at performance over three-to-five-year periods, both in terms of compounded annual growth and rolling returns.

However, the relative performance of a scheme on a day of heavy selling does yield some insights. Foremost among them, the ability of a fund manager to protect against erosion of capital. In other words, if a fund manager's portfolio falls less than the benchmark, it can be said to have protected capital.