India PMS funds show 24% June return gap on oil-driven rally
Indian portfolio managers recorded a more than 24 percentage-point spread between the best and worst performers in June, underscoring the high active risk in a market boosted by falling crude oil prices.
Indian portfolio management services (PMS) delivered sharply divergent returns in June, with top strategies gaining more than 14% while the weakest lost nearly 10%. The extreme performance gap highlights the high degree of active risk managers assumed during a month when underlying market conditions shifted rapidly.
The broader equity market provided a constructive backdrop. The Nifty advanced 2% and the Sensex gained 1.5%, supported by a sharp drop in crude oil prices following an interim peace agreement between the US and Iran. However, the rally was highly uneven beneath the surface. The Nifty Smallcap 100 surged more than 4%, while the Nifty Midcap index lagged significantly with a modest 0.5% gain.
Strategies with a small- and mid-cap orientation naturally dominated the top of the leaderboard, mirroring the benchmark divergence. Money Grow Asset’s Small Midcap strategy led the pack with a 14.54% return, followed closely by Equirus Wealth’s Long Horizon Fund at 14.49%. Amaltas Asset Management generated an 11.92% return, while White Whale Partners, Clockvine Capital Advisors, and East Green Advisors posted gains between 11.35% and 11.86%. Multi-cap and flexi-cap mandates from Equitree Capital Advisors and Accel Asset Management also secured top spots with returns of 10.76% and 10.97%, respectively.
Conversely, the bottom of the performance distribution was marked by steep losses. Dezerv Investments’ Strategic Holdings in Natural Elements strategy suffered the steepest decline at 9.69%. Alchemy Capital Management recorded notable losses across two distinct funds, with its High Growth strategy dropping 7.81% and its Smart Alpha 250 strategy slipping 4.07%. Capital 8 LLP, Moat Financial Services, and Aequitas Investment Consultancy also posted declines exceeding 6%.
The more than 24-percentage-point chasm between the best and worst performers carries a clear signal for market professionals. While multi-cap and flexi-cap strategies featured prominently among the top performers, these same broad mandates also dominated the list of underperformers. This crossover indicates that June’s market weakness was not confined to a single segment, but rather spread across investment styles.
For investors allocating capital to Indian active managers, the disparity underscores the critical importance of manager due diligence. When a single month can separate top-tier returns from deep losses purely based on stock and sector selection, headline benchmark indices mask the true operational risks and rewards within the PMS industry.
