A Comparative Analysis of the Recent Performance of HDFC Mutual Fund and ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund

Abstract

This study provides a thorough comparative study of the financial performance of the two leading asset management firms in India, namely HDFC Mutual Fund and ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, as per the Assets Under Management (AUM) of the two companies. The study is conducted on the flagship large cap equity schemes of HDFC Top 100 Fund and ICICI Prudential Bluechip Fund for a 6 year period from 2017 to 2022. The main research question is: Is there a statistically significant difference between the two fund houses in terms of risk adjusted returns? The empirical basis is secondary data obtained from AMFI, NSE and individual fund factsheet. The annual return data is used in a sample of six fiscal years. The Sharpe ratio, Jensen's alpha, Treynor ratio, beta and standard deviation are used to measure performance. Inferential statistical tools such as independent-sample t-test, one-way ANOVA and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis are used. The study highlights that there is a lack of comparative study of these two fund houses from a longitudinal perspective on the Indian equity market after the COVID era. The results show that the raw returns (15.12% vs. 14.33% mean annual return) of ICICI Prudential and HDFC are not statistically different (t = −1.243, p = 0.237). Both funds have a beta close to one, meaning that they track the market well. The study suggests to the investors the selection of funds according to their risk appetite and investment period.