NEW DELHI, November 17: The 403-point meltdown in the Sensex during the last fortnight has led to a slump in the net asset values of a majority of open-end growth and balanced funds. With values of equities falling across-the-board, the fall in NAV was expected. But the quantum of the fall varies from fund to fund, depending on the portfolio and the fund manager's strategy.

In spite of a more than 10 per cent fall in the Sensex, Prima from Kothari Pioneer has managed to appreciate by two per cent. The fund's NAV has risen from Rs 8.36 to Rs 8.53 as on November 14. Currently, a restructuring exercise in on at Prima, with the fund throwing out IPOs and small-cap stocks.

Led by Templeton India Growth Fund (IGF), the fall in NAV ranges from 11 per cent to less than one per cent. Templeton's NAV has declined by a whopping 11.1 per cent from Rs 10.9 on October 24 to Rs 9.69 on November 14. In fact, for the first time since launch in August last year, the NAV of IGF has fallen below the pyschological barrier of Rs 10.

The fund's top holding is MTNL. Other top holdings like Nalco and Telco are also witnessing a drop in their market prices. Fortunately for the fund, none of the information technology scrips figure in its portfolio, since these scrips have lost substantial ground during the past one month.

Other funds which have lost more than seven per cent of their net asset value are Apple Platinum, Prima Plus, Birla Advantage, Sun F&C, ITC Top 200 and Bluechip. Interestingly, barring Sun F&C, these funds have a substantial exposure to IT scrips. Take for example, Apple Platinum, the open-end fund from Apple Asset Management Company. The fund's investments in IT stocks is approximately 27 per cent of its net assets. While it has a 10 per cent exposure to Satyam Computers, 8.85 per cent and 8.07 per cent of net assets are invested in Infosys and Aptech, respectively. Sun F&C is another fund among the top five, whose NAV has fallen by 8.51 per cent to drop below Rs 10. As on November 13, the NAV of the fund stands at Rs 9.24 against Rs 10.10 on October 24.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.