A conservatively managed fund in a category where risk-taking is quite prevalent, the UTI Dynamic Bond Fund has managed to outperform its category and benchmark over both three- and five-year periods since inception, though one-year returns are below both. The scheme seeks to generate returns through active management of the portfolio. An entrant to the category in 2010, this fund has nevertheless proved to be a good performer, earning a four-star rating. The fund has managed this while making no compromises on credit quality and without going overboard on duration.

The track record of this fund shows that it has been quite risk-averse in adding lower-rated bonds to its portfolio, sticking mainly with G-secs and AAA or A1+ corporate exposures through the last couple of years. These three categories of debt made up over 92 per cent of the assets in March 2016. It has also retained fairly defensive positions on portfolio maturity, even as other funds were betting on falling rates between 2013 and end 2014. It was only from June 2015, that portfolio maturity has crept up on expectation of falling rates. While the caution has helped the fund outpace the category over three and five years, the higher-duration call seems to have worked against it in the last one year.

This fund has again been quite good at managing risk-reward, with minimum one-year returns at 3.4 and the best show at 16.4 per cent.