The fund seeks to generate long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in companies with high growth opportunities in the middle and small capitalisation segment, defined as 'Future Leaders. The fund will emphasise on companies that appear to offer opportunities for long-term growth and will be inclined towards companies that are driven by dynamic style of management and entrepreneurial flair

It has emerged as a five-star fund in the past 12 months, a significant rise from its average rating of 2.38. In fact, the fund's fortunes changed in 2010 when it outperformed its peers as well as its benchmark. It continued its outperformance since then and beat the benchmark by more than 9 per cent in the last four years. The fund also demonstrated its superior resilience during the market meltdown in 2011, when it contained its fall much better than its peers and the benchmark.

The fund continued to outpace the benchmark returns by 15 per cent in the next three years. It managed to stay ahead of its benchmark last year but trailed its peers mainly because of higher allocation to mid-cap stocks than its peers. The fund's portfolio is inclined towards mid-cap stocks, with over 50 per cent investment in them. The funds which have bet big on small-cap stocks performed better last year.

The fund employs BMV (business, management, valuations) framework for stock selection. Growth at reasonable price (GARP) is another philosophy it follows while assessing valuations. Its focus on identifying companies with superior businesses and strong moats, long-term growth drivers, reasonable valuations and strong management seems to have be paying off, as was evident during the last market downturn.

Finally, its performance in the last four years clearly speaks for itself. If you are looking for a mid-cap scheme with great resilience during market downturns, you should pick this one.