The fund till date has distributed five dividends aggregating 85 per cent. The original investors also got 1:4 rights at par in February, 1994, as the fund offered rights warrant entitling investment at par. Investors can enter and exit the fund at a price linked to the daily NAV. The fund carries no entry load but charges an exit load of 2 per cent.

The fund launch was followed by the 1992 boom, in which the NAV appreciated by over 150 per cent and was a rage of the market. In the market euphoria, Magnum Multiplier Scheme turned out to be the fund to trade at highest premium to NAV at Rs 250 against its NAV of Rs 25. The growth continued albeit at a slower pace till the peak of September, 1994 after which therewas a precipitous fall. The liberal dividend payout in a falling market also took its toll on the portfolio quality. Besides, the fund was passively managed in the market's downturn, and as a result, a part of the portfolio turned illiquid.

The fund's portfolio was restructured in 1998 leading to consolidation of stocks which has enhanced the fund's performance. After the restructuring, the fund is consistently outperforming its benchmark, the BSE Sensex. The fund is up 38.27 per cent over the past one year, ending March 31, 1999. During the first quarter of 1999 itself, the fund has gained 44.78 per cent.

The top 25 equity holdings as on March 1, 1999 constitute 86.04 of the total equity. The investments as on the same date show a marked shift towards the high growth sectors like information technology (32.21 per cent), FMCG (25.72 per cent), pharmaceuticals (14.56 per cent) and agro-chemicals (6.11 per cent). The fund continues with some of its old bets in the engineering sector with Ingersoll Rand,Cummins and Revathi C.P. However, unlike the earlier days, the top 25 holdings have no PSU stocks.

With a portfolio of bluechip companies and a corpus of Rs 100 crore, the fund has enough room for maneuverability. MMS 90 being an open-end equity fund, future dividends from the fund will be tax-free for the next 3 years.

And with the NAV at healthy levels, the fund should give a healthy dividend. Besides, the fund is relatively well diversified than the more aggressive funds concentrated heavily in FMCG, pharma and infotech stocks. Investors seeking steady growth should choose this fund, as the fund is likely to steadily enhance its performance.

-- Value Research