An analysis of 25 open-ended growth schemes done by `The Financial Express' shows that 13 schemes have given positive returns and have comfortably beaten the Sensex during the year under review. The Birla Advantage Fund has outperformed the Sensex by a phenomenal 69 per cent, the Centurian open-end fund has outperformed the Sensex by 54.5 per cent, the Sun F&C Value Fund has outperformed by 51.37 per cent, Apple Goldshare by 48.3 per cent and the list goes on.

Notable among the funds who have given a return higher than 20 per cent during the period are DSP Merrill Lynch and the ITC Top-200 Fund. In the universe of theopen-ended growth schemes some select funds are left out which are grossly underperforming.

Remarkably, the funds who have maintained a net asset value (NAV) higher than Rs 11 are Birla Advantage Fund at Rs 16.82, Sun F&C Value Fund at Rs 12.88, Kothari Pioneer Bluechip at Rs 18.51, DSP-ML Equity Fund at Rs 13.33, ITC Top-200 at Rs 13.55, Master Growth at Rs 14.05 among other funds. In a year that witnessed major upheavals and uncertainties the funds who have managed to a give a positive return to the investors have done a commendable job. The markets had to make do with nuclear tests, sanctions, downgrading of India's sovereign rating, erosion of investor confidence due to the revelation by UTI that the reserves of its biggest fund, US-64, had turned negative and volatile interest rates among other problems.