Of Indian Mutual Funds....

Eight domestic equity mutual fund schemes, including SBI Magnum Contra, HDFC Equity and Reliance Growth, are among the 25 best performing open-ended equity funds in the world of the last decade, according to investment research firm Morningstar. These funds benefited from the 10-fold growth in total value of India’s stock markets, led by a robust performance of one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The eight funds returned 31% to 38% on a compounded basis in the past decade. The Sensex returned 17.8% on a compounded basis during the 10 years. Russia’s RTS fetched 28.6% and Indonesia’s JSX Composite gave 24.4% returns during the period. Twelve equity mutual fund schemes from India figure among the 25 best-performing open-ended equity funds in the world over 15 years, Morningstar said in a note. India’s total stock market capitalisation grew to over $1.6 trillion in December 2010 from $148 billion early last decade. But no Indian fund made it to the list of best performing funds in the last five years or in 2010. China-focussed funds swamped the list for the top-25 performers during the last five years. The Sensex fetched 16.9% returns in the five years to December 2010 and 17.4% in 2010. China’s Shanghai composite rose 19.3% in the five years ending December 2010; in 2010 it had fallen 14.3% . The worst performing market in 2010 within Asia was China, whose benchmark Shanghai Composite index closed in the red, falling by more than 14% after registering an 80% gain in 2009, the Morningstar note said.