Groww Mutual Fund's NFO of Groww Nifty India Railways PSU Index Fund and ETF, benchmarked against Nifty India Railways PSU Index, opens for subscription until January 30. Experts advise caution due to recent sectoral valuation increases and suggest waiting for evaluations to cool down.

Pharma and healthcare sector mutual funds have been the standout performers, delivering a positive return of around 1.34% in the last month due to favorable Q3 earnings outlook, government PLI incentives, and domestic demand growth. Experts advise diversified equity investments to mitigate concentration risks.

Sensex down: Experts recommend staggered investments in equities via SIP/STP considering market volatility, incorporating hybrid, consumption, and banking funds for balanced risk-reward. They suggest a 7-10 year horizon with flexicap, index, and international funds, while dynamic bond, gilt, and multi-asset funds may gain focus.

HDFC Balanced Advantage Fund, India's largest mutual fund by assets, added Union Bank of India and Vishal Mega Mart to its holdings in December. It sold all shares of Oracle Financial Services Software. The fund increased stakes in eight companies, including Kotak Mahindra Bank and Tata Steel, while reducing stakes in 17 stocks, including Cipla and Wipro.

Out of 659 equity mutual funds available, six are down more than 20% from their 52-week high NAVs, with Quant PSU Fund, HSBC Brazil Fund, and HDFC Defence Fund leading the decline. The misconception around lower NAVs offering higher returns is debunked by investment experts.

Mutual fund cash reserves increased by Rs 6,937 crore, from Rs 1.80 lakh crore in November to Rs 1.87 lakh crore in December, raising cash allocation from 4.98% to 5.17%. SBI Mutual Fund, with the largest cash allocation of Rs 31,767 crore (4.61% of AUM), was among five fund houses holding over Rs 10,000 crore in cash.

In volatile markets, investors often consider shifting entirely to cash, fixed deposits, or other safe instruments. However, Radhika Gupta recommends avoiding such a binary approach, especially for long-term investments. A more balanced strategy would be to take the middle path by maintaining a diversified portfolio with a mix of equity and debt.