Franklin India Prima (earlier with Pioneer ITI) and HDFC Equity (earlier Zurich India Equity Fund) are schemes with a long and impressive track record. Among equity diversified funds, they would figure in any selection. (A few others like Franklin Blue Chip and HDFC Tax Saver have a comparable record). This time we take a close look at the two schemes.

HDFC Equity has stuck to a small number of stocks. Franklin Prima has a mid-cap focus. In fact, both have a sizeable mid cap holding.

What about annual returns generated by these funds from 1 January 1995? HDFC Equity has returned 19.93% and Franklin Prima 15.4%. The present boom has boosted the returns, but nine years is long enough for judging performance. Note that taking up the systematic investment option (SIP) has also yielded good results. SIP plan takes away the difficult decision of timing the market and for a long-term investor is a good strategy. Now, with the markets fairly warmed up, a systematic withdrawal plan might be an option. Under this you invest a lumpsum now and start withdrawing a part of it every month. This way, if you feel that the markets will rise for the next half, you can put in the money now and withdraw it within the next six-months.

Since November 2002, Franklin Prima's corpus has grown from Rs 87.5 crore and HDFC Equity's from Rs123 crore to their present levels. In Franklin Prima, Raymond and Gujarat Gas figured in its Top 10 holding last year also. The new additions have been Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation, Denso India and Mahavir Spinning. In HDFC Equity, the recent new addition include shares of Uniphose Enterprises, Lupin Labs and D-Link (India).