EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Investment instruments in India started with the post office bonds, fixed deposit, KVP
(Kissan Vikas Patra), National Savings certificate, Employee Provident Fund etc. With the
establishment of the SENSEX (BSE) in the 1980 with a bench mark of hundred came the
equity rush in India. With lots of ups and downs the SENSEX (BSE) has grown in a very
aggressive manner. During the last 3 years, the BSE SENSEX has gained 6000 points and
NSE S&P CNX NIFTY has gained over 2000 points. The environment for investment in
equities has been favoring the investors as the market in on a secular bull run and the market
is projected/expected to grow in the years to come(as per BRIC report). With the falling
interest rates and the boom in the equity markets due to increase in FII inflows and the
overall growth of the Indian economy on the other, the investor gets an opportunity to get
good returns by investing in equities. The motive of the people who invest in equity is to
increase the value of their investment in the form of appreciation of share price. However,
most of the people have an aversion to the equity market because of the risk involved.
The Mutual Fund Industry has come a long way since the days of the UTI. The numbers of
mutual funds has also increased over the years. Mutual funds are seen as an avenue for the
retail investors to enter the stock market and bonds. They provide the professional
competence to the retail investor. In India the retail investor is increasingly seeing mutual
fund as an alternative investment avenue to the low-yielding bank deposits
This study is conducted to know the performance and evaluate the diversified equity funds
under study namely, Birla sun life equity fund ,Reliance Growth Fund ,SBI Magnum Equity
fund,HDFC Equity fund and ICICI Prudential Growth plan for Mahindra & Mahindra
Financial Services Ltd, Indias famous financial advisory service providers .This study will
help advisors to guide their investors according to their investment objectives to maximize
the return with growth and capital gain with minimum risk.
.
Statistical tools like standard deviation, beta, alpha etc are used to analyze the funds .The
study reached the finishing line by suggesting reliance growth, SBI magnum fund and Birla
sun life for investors preferring long term capital appreciation with regular returns.