PMS Tracker: HEM Securities’ SME stars, others rally up to 7.5% in September despite Nifty’s 6% crash

Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex endured a sharp sell-off in September, falling more than 6% each as escalating tensions in the Middle East, soaring oil prices and bond yields hitting multi-decade highs rattled investor sentiment. The market weakness also spilt over into portfolio management services (PMS), with some strategies declining by nearly 11% and some rising over 7%.

Before this week, the Nifty had fallen for eight consecutive weeks for the first time in 25 years, a streak last recorded in 2001. The pressure on equities was reflected in PMS performance, where the gap between the best and worst performers widened sharply, highlighting how portfolio positioning and stock selection shaped returns during a turbulent month.

Data from PMS Bazaar showed that while several portfolios struggled to contain losses, small-cap and SME-focused strategies stood out on the other side of the performance table, delivering some of September's strongest returns.

Hem Securities Ltd's India Rising SME Stars scheme emerged as the month's top performer, gaining 7.23% against its BSE 500 TRI benchmark. Other small-cap and micro-cap-oriented strategies also featured prominently among the leaders. Centrum PMS's Micro returned 4.31%, Wallfort Fund Management LLP's Ameya Fund (Small & Mid Cap) gained 3.92%, Qode Advisors LLP's Qode Growth Fund rose 3.90%, and Fort Capital Investment Advisory Pvt Ltd's Value Fund advanced 3.65%.

Quantitative, momentum-driven and other dynamically managed strategies also delivered positive returns, with several flexi-cap and multi-cap mandates making it to the top of the leaderboard. Amaltas Asset Management LLP's Keystone Fund gained 5.67%, while East Green Advisors LLP's Quant Strategy returned 5.32%.

Atlas Integrated Finance Limited's Momentum 20 PMS Fund and Bonanza Portfolio Limited's Aegis posted gains of 5.25% and 5.14%, respectively. Bharat Bhushan Equity Traders Limited's BB Money Plant and Accelt Asset Management LLP's Long Term Equity Fund rounded out the better performers, returning 4.20% and 3.73%, respectively.

On the other hand, thematic strategies, mid-cap-heavy portfolios and even some large-cap-oriented mandates featured prominently among September's worst performers. IME Portfolio Managers LLP's IME Digital Disruption recorded the steepest decline, falling 10.16%.

Ladderup Wealth Management Pvt Ltd's Proud PMS followed with a loss of 9.28%. Mid-cap and mid-to-large-cap strategies also came under significant pressure. Abans Investment Managers' Smart Beta Portfolio declined 8.97%, Dynamic Equities Pvt Ltd's Midcap Mavens fell 8.80%, QED Capital Advisors LLP's Core-Equity dropped 7.85%, and SageOne Investment Managers LLP's Large and Midcap Portfolio shed 7.80%.

The weakness was not limited to mid-cap exposures. Core large-cap and diversified multi-cap strategies also suffered sizeable losses. ASK Investment Managers Ltd's ASK Core Portfolio slipped 8.73%, while Atlas Integrated Finance Limited's Multicap PMS Fund declined 8.19%. Geojit Financial Services Ltd's Dakshin Portfolio fell 7.74%, and NJ Asset Management Pvt Ltd's Bluechip lost 7.73%, placing both among the month's laggards.

The primary takeaway from September’s figures is a market sharply bifurcated by category selection and execution style rather than broad-based momentum. Targeted small-cap and SME approaches consistently generated positive alpha, whereas broad mid-cap and benchmark-heavy large-cap exposures witnessed a decline.

Disclaimer: This article has been written by Veer Sharma, who is not a SEBI-registered Research Analyst or an Investment Adviser. Veer Sharma and his/her ‘relative(s)’ (as defined under Section 2(77) of the Companies Act, 2013) do not hold any financial interest in the companies mentioned in this article as of the date of publication. The views/recommendations mentioned in this article, wherever applicable, are those of the respective SEBI-registered Research Analyst/brokerage and have been reproduced/reported with due attribution. They should not be construed as the views or recommendations of The Economic Times Digital or the journalist. Readers are advised to consider the original research report and make their investment decisions based on their own assessment. Brokerage disclaimers here.
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