International equity funds for India have seen an appreciation of almost 74 per cent in the total value of their assets between March 9 and now, according to data collected from Bloomberg.
The total assets of these funds increased from $15.86 billion on March 9 to $27.52 billion on May 21 -- a rise of 74 per cent. In comparison, the benchmark BSE Sensitive Index posted a return of 68.33 per cent during the same period.
Out of 150 India funds, the 89 which have outperformed the benchmark indices show an average return of 81.55 per cent. The remaining 61 funds, who underperformed the market, gained 56.28 per cent during the same period, on an average. These funds are based in Luxembourg, Mauritius, South Korea, Japan, Britain and the USA.
As per Bloomberg, the net asset values of all funds have appreciated over 30 per cent during the period. As many as 17 funds posted impressive returns of more than 90 per cent, 108 funds between 50-90 per cent and the remaining 25 funds between 30-50 per cent.
One of the oldest India funds, JPMorgan Indian Investment Trust, which is listed in the UK, showed a return of 60 per cent, while the NAVs of Jupiter, Neptune and New India Investment trust funds increased by around 50 per cent in the period.
They are mobilising resources from overseas investors to invest in equity markets of major countries.
The Indian-stock Exchange-Traded Funds enjoyed more gains as NYSE-listed funds joined in the buying spree during the recent market rally. PowerShares India Portfolio, Barclays iPath ETN and WisdomTree Investments Inc which track a broad gauge of stocks listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange have posted a return of more than 85 per cent.
Top holdings of these funds were Reliance Industries, Infosys Technologies, ICICI Bank, Housing Development Finance Corp and HDFC Bank.
Investing in India presents vast opportunities for global equity investors, especially when contrarian outlooks reveal beaten-down value funds. The funds' objective is long-term capital appreciation.
They invest in large-cap Indian equity securities and A-plus rated instruments, giving 100 per cent exposure to the MSCI India Index. The funds also look at market timing to take advantage of the high volatility in the Indian markets and invest in companies whose activities are closely related to the economic development of India.
The India funds, which operate from the US, top the value-appreciation chart, with an average return of 93.86 per cent. The total assets of these funds increased from $973 million on March 9 to $1.89 billion. They were followed by Mauritius (79.57 per cent), Luxembourg (78.50 per cent), France (76.25 per cent), Singapore (70.72 per cent), Finland (68.90 per cent), UK (56.47 per cent) and South Korea (52.78 per cent).
The NAV of Luxembourg-listed HSBC GIF India equity fund has almost doubled between March 9 and May 21. The world's largest single holding of Indian equities outside the nation, this fund's total assets stood at $2.78 billion as on May 21.
