BNP Paribas Long Term Equity Fund

The fund has emerged as a good performer in the tax-saving category in the last five years. This is evident from its steady climb on the ratings chart from a humble one star in Mar 2011 to five stars in 2015. The improvement in the fund's returns has coincided with a change of the fund manager, with Shreyas Devalker managing the fund since 2011.

The fund uses a growth-at-a reasonable-price philosophy. The fund house uses a business-management-valuation framework to filter stocks for the portfolio. Secular growth, a unique business model and good management are given a priority in stock selection.

With a five-year return of 19 per cent, the fund has widened its outperformance relative to peers in the last one year. This is notable because the fund has outpaced the category without unduly high mid- or small-cap stock allocations. In 2015, its large-cap weight has steadily climbed from 65 to 70 per cent, which should have helped the fund in the recent corrective phase. The fund's mid-cap allocations have been cut substantially from 30 per cent of the portfolio to less than half this level in a year.

The fund is well suited to the conservative investors. It isn't an outsized performer in bull markets, but quite good at containing downside during bear phases.