At present, DSP Merrill Lynch Mutual Fund manages three schemes -- DSP ML Equity Fund, DSP ML Bond Fund and DSP ML Liquidity Fund.

Till March 31, 1999, the asset under management had crossed the Rs 500-crore mark, up from Rs 240.7 crore in the corresponding period last year.

DSP Merrill Lynch Bond Fund, the flagship scheme of the mutual fund, had net assets under management of Rs 460 crore till March 31, 1999, up from Rs 212 crore in the corresponding period last year. Around 89.61 per cent of the portfolio is in AAA rated paper, 5.12 per cent in AA+, 1.77 per cent in A+, 1.74 per cent in A- , among other investments, as on February 26, 1999.

DSP ML Equity Fund has posted a high return of around100 per cent since its inception with the fund closing the year at an NAV of Rs 19.93. The scheme has also seen good inflows, with the net assets under management rising by 77 per cent to Rs 46 crore as on March 31, 1999, compared with Rs 26 crore in the corresponding period last year.

The top ten holdings of this fund as on February 26 include BFL Software, Dr Reddy's Lab, Godfrey Philips, HCL Infosystems, Infosys, NIIT, Ranbaxy, Tata Infotech, Voltas and Wyeth Lederle. The sectoral composition of the fund is as follows - 37 per cent in software, 23 per cent in pharma, 10 per cent in cash, 4 per cent in consumer durables, 5 per cent in cement and 6 per cent in chemicals. The DSP Liquidity Fund, launched in March 1998 for short-term cash surplus, has also seen its assets rise to Rs 10 crore compared with Rs 2.7 crore last year.

The fund manager's commentary for the liquidity fund reads, ``RBI announced a series of rate cuts on March 1. The reduction in interest rates had an immediate positive impact onthe yields and prices of government securities.

The rate cuts signals the resolve of RBI and the government to lower rates commensurate with with the declining trend in inflation, to try to spark an economic recovery.''