Nischal Maheshwari, chief investment officer at Apple AMC, manages Platinum Share besides Apple Goldshare, the two growth funds from Apple Mutual Fund since October 1996. Maheshwari previously was the managing three funds: Big Value, Growth Plus II and Fortune '94 at GIC Mutual Fund.

Apple Platinum follows an aggressive growth strategy. Initially, the fund followed the stated strategy of an aggressive participation in IPOs and sell-on-listing.

But by the time Platinum hit the road, the IPO game was over. Saddled with a portfolio of junk small cap stocks, the NAV of the fund crashed by 30 per cent within a year of launch.

The non-performance resulted in a run on the fund. In the last quarter of 1996, the fund underwent a total revamp, with rapid-fire moves of the new fund manager.

The fund'sIPO positions were dumped while aggressive positions were taken in information technology, FMCG and Pharmaceutical stocks. By April, 1998 these sectors accounted for 52 per cent of equities.

Riding on the boom in these sectors, the fund appreciated by 87 per cent between December, 1996 - April 1998. The fund has been among the top five open-end in the past four quarters. Today, the fund manager is looking at two wheelers, sugar and power equipment to sustain the performance.

Though the portfolio outlook has improved subsequent to the revamp, the ravaged fund is today too small to achieve proper diversification making the fund volatile - amply demonstrated by the recent events when the NAV fell by 25.5 per cent between April-June. While this was in line with the market averages, it was sharper than most larger equity funds. Though evidence suggest that the fund manager knows what he is doing, a major uptrend in performance is unlikely with out a fresh capital inflow. Investors should delay newcommitments.