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Fund Pick: UTI Software Fund

Background
UTI Software Fund, launched in June 1999, invests in information technology sector with at least 80 per cent investments in software stocks. The fund has dividend and growth options. The fund has declared a maiden 20 per cent dividend payable to all investors as on February 18, 2000. The fund has from November 29, 1999 onwards adopted forward pricing NAV method for the sales and repurchases. The fund is available without any entry load but carries a 2 per cent exit load.

Performance
With the rise and rise of software stocks the fund has made rapid gains and is up 52 per cent in the past three months ranking seventh among its likes for the period ending December 30, 1999. The fund is up 123.7 per cent as against a 32 per cent gain in the Sensex, since its launch in June 1999. The fund has a concentrated portfolio with the top 11 holdings representing 75.4 per cent of the net assets. The fund has pared its stake in Infosys from 21.63 per cent as on September 30, 1999 to 18.87 per cent as on December end and that of NIIT from 22.12% to 10.45% of the portfolio. Outside the fraternity of the particular sector, the fund has 8.69 per cent stake in Zee Telefilms. The fund is actively managed.

Outlook
With the 20 per cent dividend announcement payable to all investors of the fund as on February 18, 2000 the fund presents a short-term opportunity to earn tax-free dividend. However, the dividend entails a cost - 2 per cent exit load besides assuming market risk for a brief period of stay in the fund. The fund can also be an attractive medium-term investment for a 10-20 per cent allocation of your total portfolio, given the bright outlook of information technology sector. However, the fund is not suited for investors seeking steady returns.

FUND BASICS
Objective	Size	NAV:24/1/2000	Exit Price	Entry Price	Total Returns
Sector	44.74 Cr	22.76	22.31	22.76	128% pa
BENCHMARK COMPARISONS (%)					30/12/99
	1M	3M	6M	1Yr	3Yr
Fund	43.9	51.8	NA	NA	NA
Sensex	8.3	5.1	NA	NA	NA
Natex	16.5	18.6	NA	NA	NA
Obj. Avg.	23.5	37.8	NA	NA	NA
TOP HOLDINGS (31/12/99)			Mkt. Value (Cr)		Net Assets %
Infosys			8.44		18.87
NIIT			4.68		10.45
Zee Telefilm			3.89		8.69
Mastek			3.49		7.79
Digital Equipment			2.90		6.49
Satyam Computers			2.38		5.31
Polaris Software			1.95		4.35
Software Solutions			1.75		3.92
Sonata Software			1.49		3.32
PSI Data Systems			1.40		3.13
Silverline Inds.			1.38		3.08

Mutual Funds

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