ICICI Prudential Balanced Fund

 ICICI Prudential Balanced Fund scheme seeks to generate long-term capital appreciation and current income by investing in a portfolio that is investing in equities and related securities as well as fixed income and money market securities. The approximate allocation to equity would be in the range of 60-80 per cent with a minimum of 51 per cent, and the approximate debt allocation is 40-49 per cent, with a minimum of 20 per cent.

An impressive show in the last couple of years has propelled this fund from a three-star to a four-star rating. The fund has traditionally featured a high equity allocation, hovering at well over 70 per cent, which is higher than the allocations of the peers. But in the last one year, the allocation has been moderated from 78-79 per cent levels to 66-67 per cent of the portfolio.

ICICI Prudential Balanced Fund appears to practise some degree of tactical allocation based on market valuations. Within equities, well over two-thirds of the allocation is parked in large-cap stocks, which is higher than the peers' allocations. In terms of style, the fund follows a blend of growth and value styles. For the debt portion, the fund relies more on duration than credit calls to improve returns.

On a three-year and five-year basis, the fund has out performed its benchmark by 7 percentage points and the category by 2-3 percentage points. A longer history suggests that after a bad patch in 2007 and 2008, 2009 proved to be a turning point for this fund. The latest portfolio suggests a valuation-conscious approach, with a good mix of cyclical and growth plays.

On the debt portion, the fund does take aggressive duration calls. Throughout 2015-16, for instance, the average maturity was higher than 10 years. This has been toned down lately as interest rates have headed lower. While the fund seeks to add to returns based on rate calls, it is very conservative on taking on credit risks. Sovereign and money-market securities dominate its portfolio.

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