HDFC Balanced Advantage Fund Vs ICICI Prudential Equity and Debt Fund

HDFC Balanced Advantage Fund and ICICI Prudential Equity and Debt Fund both belong to the Balanced Fund category of Mutual Funds. These schemes invest a considerable stake of their fund money in equity and equity-related instruments while the remaining amount in fixed income instruments. These schemes are suitable for individuals seeking for capital appreciation in long-term along with regular flow of income. Equity-oriented debt funds invest more than 65% of their pooled money in equity instruments. Balanced funds in many situations have given more returns as compared to other schemes. Though both HDFC Balanced Advantage Fund and ICICI Prudential Equity and Debt Fund belong to the same category they differ on various parameters such as NAV, performance, Fincash Ratings, and so on. So, let us have an in-depth understanding about the differences between HDFC Balanced Advantage Fund and ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund.

HDFC Balanced Advantage Fund (Erstwhile HDFC Growth Fund)

HDFC Balanced Advantage Fund (earlier known as HDFC Balanced Fund) is a part of HDFC Mutual Fund. It is an open-ended Mutual Fund scheme that was launched in September 2000. The objective of the scheme is to attain growth of capital along with regular income from a Portfolio that contains equity, equity-related, debt, and money market instruments. The scheme invests around 65-72% of its corpus in equity-related instruments. It uses CRISIL Balanced Fund Index as its primary benchmark and Nifty 50 as an additional benchmark to construct its portfolio. As on March 31, 2018, some of the top constituents that form part of HDFC Balanced Advantage Fund’s portfolio included HDFC Bank Limited, ITC Limited, Larsen & Toubro Limited, ICICI Bank Limited, and Voltas Limited. HDFC Balanced Advantage Fund is jointly managed by Mr. Chirag Setalvad and Mr. Rakesh Vyas.

ICICI Prudential Equity and Debt Fund (Erstwhile ICICI Prudential Balanced Fund)

ICICI Prudential Equity and Debt Fund is managed and offered by ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund. The inception date of the scheme is November 03, 1999 and is an open-ended scheme. ICICI Prudential Equity and Debt Fund is jointly managed by Mr. Sankaran Naren, Mr. Atul Patel, and Mr. Manish Banthia. Here, Mr. Manish Banthia looks after the debt investment while the others manage equity investments. The scheme uses CRISIL Hybrid 35+65- Aggressive Index as its benchmark to construct its portfolio. It also uses Nifty 50 Index and 1 Year T Bill as an additional benchmark. The key benefits of this scheme include:

• It provides dual benefits of regular income and capital growth
• Through diversification, the scheme tries to reduce the fluctuation in risks and lower the risks involved.

HDFC Balanced Advantage Fund Vs ICICI Prudential Equity and Debt Fund

Though both HDFC Balanced Advantage Fund and ICICI Prudential Equity and Debt Fund belong to the same category of balanced fund equity category, yet there are differences between them in terms of NAV, AUM, portfolio composition, and others. So, let us compare and understand the differences between the schemes that are divided into four sections, namely, basics section, performance section, yearly performance section, and other details section.

Basics Section

Basics section is the first section that includes parameters like Fincash Ratings, Scheme Category, and Current NAV. The comparison of Current NAV of both the schemes reveals that HDFC Balanced Advantage Fund leads the race. As on April 11, 2018, the NAV of HDFC Balanced Advantage Fund was approximately INR 149 while NAV of ICICI Prudential Equity and Debt Fund was approximately INR 127. With respect to scheme category, it can be said that both the scheme belong to the same category, which is, Hybrid Balanced – Equity. Moving on to Fincash Ratings, it can be said that ICICI Prudential Equity and Debt Fund is a 5-Star rated scheme while ICICI Prudential Equity and Debt Fund is a 4-Star rated scheme. The summary of basics section is tabulated as follows.

Performance Section

Performance section compares the Compounded Annual Growth Rate or CAGR returns of both the schemes at different time intervals. These time intervals include 1 Month Return, 6 Month Return, 3 Year Return, 5 Year Return, and Return Since Inception. Comparison of the performance section reveals that there is no significant difference between both the schemes though, in many instances, HDFC Balanced Advantage Fund leads the race. The comparison summary of performance section is given the table below.

Yearly Performance Section

It is the third section in the comparison of both the schemes. The yearly performance section compares the absolute returns between both the schemes for a particular year. The assessment of yearly performance section shows at for certain years, HDFC Balanced Advantage Fund leads the race while for other, ICICI Prudential Equity and Debt Fund leads the race. The table given below shows the summary comparison of yearly performance section.

Other Details Section

It is the last section in comparison of both the schemes. This section includes parameters such as AUM, Minimum SIP investment, Minimum Lumpsum investment, and others. To begin with the AUM, it can be said that ICICI Prudential Equity and Debt Fund leads the race. As on February 28, 2018, the AUM of ICICI Prudential Equity and Debt Fund was approximately INR 27,801 crores. On the other hand, the AUM of HDFC Balanced Advantage Fund was approximately INR 20,191 crores. The Minimum SIP investment is different for both the schemes. For HDFC Balanced Advantage Fund it is INR 500 while for ICICI Prudential Equity and Debt Fund it is INR 1,000. Nevertheless, the Minimum lumpsum amount for both the schemes is same, that is INR 5,000. The table given below summarizes the comparison of other details section.

Growth of 10k Investments over the years