A climber in this space, this fund recorded a middling show until 2010 only to manage a steady improvement in its performance from 2011. From a one-star rating in 2011-12, the fund has climbed to four stars in 2015. The fund isn't defined as a small-cap fund by mandate and seeks to invest 65 to 90 per cent of its portfolio in stocks that figure between the 100th and 400th stock by market cap. The fund is quite true to label, with large-cap allocations rarely crossing the 10 per cent mark. The fund hunts for structural growth stocks, emerging companies in any sector which are growing faster than the peers and companies where there is a turnaround in business fundamentals. A growth-style fund, it also filters for capital-light business models, high scalability, strong management and history of consistent tax payouts. Stocks where promoter holdings are minuscule (at 10-15 per cent or less) are usually avoided.

The good show over three years, with the fund outpacing the category by 7 percentage points, has lifted long term returns as well. The ten-year returns of 15 per cent from this fund, don't build in a very good compensation for taking on the risks of mid- and small-cap stocks. But the returns are nevertheless ahead of the benchmark and the category.

Overall, it's a promising small/mid-cap fund. But monitor it for sustained good ratings.