Amid sharp volatility in key Indian benchmark indices, investors are increasingly looking for balanced mutual fund schemes to get some risk cover. Balanced funds, which typically invest ~35% of assets in debt and the rest in equities, are considered ideal for those seeking this risk cover during heightened volatility. The category invests in equities when valuations are reasonable and books profits when the markets are rising, limiting risk and aiming to provide good returns. This strategy has resulted in the fund delivering 5.48% compared to -3.25% by Nifty 50 over the past 1 year.

Since Inception, BSL Balanced '95 Fund has declared 28 dividends amounting to Rs 108.93 as dividend payouts. The fund is declaring its first quarterly dividend of 2016-17, an amount of Rs. 2.46/unit (approx. dividend yield of 1.78%), record date being 30 June 2016. Following are the fund features:

·   Currently with an AUM of Rs 2,889 crores (as of 24 June'16), BSL Balanced '95 Fund is one of the oldest in the balanced fund category, with one of the best track records of performance in this category.

·  The fund has outperformed 3 benchmark indices, CRISIL Balanced Fund index (65:35 Equity:Debt) Nifty 50 and S&P BSE Sensex (100% equity) across time periods, which clearly indicates its superior asset class re-balancing and superior portfolio selection ability in each of the asset classes by the fund managers (Mr. Mahesh Patil & Mr. Pranay Sinha).

·   A SIP of Rs 10,000 every month in BSL Balanced '95 Fund, since inception i.e. for the past 21 years would have yielded Rs 3.64 Crores at a 21.01% (XIRR) compared to Rs 85 Lakhs by CRISIL Balanced Fund Index (SIP period – 28 Feb'95 to 31 May'16)