FII investmentdrives Stock Market

Mumbai, April 6 (UNI) As the benchmark indices scaled up to an all-time high on the stock-exchanges, the mutual funds industry in India contributed 41 per cent investment out of Rs. 11,015-crore in the net market investment while the Foreign Institutional Investors' (FII's) contribution is 59 per cent in March 2006.

One of the major highlights of the month was Reliance mutual fund mopping up Rs 5,700-crore amidst tightening money market with call money rates hitting just below seven per cent.

In its monthly bulletin on mutual funds, Crisil said that Sundaram Select Mid-Cap Growth Scheme continued to top the category of Crisil equity funds benchmark followed by DSP Merrill Lynch Tiger Scheme.

In the Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS) category, HDFC Long Term Advantage Fund-Growth moved up a notch to Crisil RRR 1 while SBI Magnum Tax Gain Scheme, 1993, was at Crisil RRR 2. The Principal Tax Saving Fund moved up two notches to Crisil RRR 3.

The income funds benchmark generated returns of 3.71 per cent for the year-ended March 2006.

LICMF Bond Fund-Growth and UTI Bond Fund-Growth continued to top the category at Crisil RRR 1 and Crisil RRR 2. Kotak Bond Regular- Growth moved up by a notch to bag the Crisil RRR 3 position.

In the Debt-Short term category, Reliance Short Term Fund-Growth, Kotak Bond Short Term Plan-Growth and HSBC Income Fund-Short Term Plan-Growth continued to top the charts at Crisil RRR 1, Crisil RRR 2 and Crisil RRR 3 respectively.

The Crisil STBEX, the benchmark for short-term income funds, generated returns of 3.84 per cent for the year-ended March 2006.

The balanced fund category benchmark, the Crisil Fund bX, generated returns of 52.86 per cent for the year-ended March 2006.

HDFC Prudence Fund-Growth continued to occupy the first place at Crisil RRR 1 while Sundaram Balanced Fund-Growth moved up four notches to Crisil RRR 2.

Birla Sun Life 95 Fund-Growth moved up by a notch to the third position at Crisil RRR 3.

The liquid fund category benchmark, the Crisil LX, generated returns of 5.33 per cent for the year-ended March 2006.

UTI Liquid Cash Plan-Growth and Reliance Liquid Fund-Treasury Plan-Growth continued to occupy the first and second positions at Crisil RRR 1 and Crisil RRR 2 respectively. JM High Liquidity Fund- Growth moved up by six notches to be at Crisil RRR 3.

In the Floating Rate fund category, HDFC Floating Rate Income Fund-Short Term Plan-Growth continued at the top spot at Crisil RRR 1 while Tata Floating Rate Fund-Short Term-Growth moved up by one notch to Crisil RRR 2. JM Floater Fund-Short Term Plan-Growth was ranked third at Crisil RRR 3.

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