Tata India Tax Savings Fund suffered a bad patch from 2008 to 2010 but got its act together in the last six years, it has climbed to a four-star rating lately. The fund's mid-cap allocations, its focus on growth-style investing and penchant for buying quality stocks, which have been huge gainers in this rally, have all lifted performance. The fund's strategy relies on buying businesses which have compounding characteristics, strong growth potential and high capital efficiency. A part of the portfolio is allocated to stocks in special situations arising out of the market, industry or company developments. This 'value' characteristic is likely to have helped the fund's returns in the last one year, when cyclicals have bounced back and purely quality-focused funds have suffered a setback in returns.

Tata India Tax Savings Fund performance relative to the category and the benchmark was somewhat patchy until 2009 but has seen improvement in the last five years. Historically, this fund has been good at containing losses during bear phases such as 2001, 2008 and 2011. It barely beat its benchmark during bull phases like 2006 and 2009. But it has aced this particular bull phase from 2014. The fund maintains a 45-60 per cent allocation to large-cap stocks and 25-35 per cent to mid caps. In the last few months, large caps have made up about 45-50 per cent of the assets.

Tata India Tax Savings Fund is for investors with some risk appetite and who seek a multi-cap approach to tax-planning.