For investors seeking both income generation from their investments along capital appreciation, the hybrid funds are the best. While the equity portion helps in generating the wealth over time, the debt portion, cash, and cash equivalents will help in creating regular income. 

This article will be around DSP Equity Savings Fund – Direct Plan-Growth, which is one such hybrid fund. We will talk about the performance, risks, objectives, and a lot of other aspects of this fund which as an investor you should know before investing in it. 

Excited about investing in the DSP Equity Savings Fund? Open a free Demat account today!

DSP Equity Savings Fund Direct-Growth Fund Management and Objectives

DSP Equity Savings Fund Direct-Growth invests in fixed income securities for income generation, along with arbitrage and other strategies involving derivatives. On the other hand, it helps in wealth accumulation over time with equity and equity-related investments.  

As this is an equity-savings fund, it usually invests around one-third of the asset under management (AUM) in each of the asset classes; however, it is at the discretion of the fund manager how he sees the market performing. 

DSP Equity Savings Fund Direct Plan-Growth is managed by – 

• Kaivalya Nadkarni: She has been managing this fund since October 2024. She has been associated with ICICI Prudential MF, G.M. Kapadia & Co., and RSN & Company before joining DSP Mutual Fund. She holds a CA, CS, and a CFA as well as a Bachelor’s in Commerce.
• Shantanu Godambe: He has been associated with the fund since August 2024, and before joining DSP Mutual Fund, he was working with Yes Bank, ICAP India Private Ltd., and Prebon Yamane. He is a Bachelor’s in Commerce, and a postgraduate with Finance, and holds the prestigious CFA charter as well. 
• Abhishek Singh: He has been managing this fund since 2021, and he has one of the highest experiences in the market. He was associated with EdelCap Securities Ltd., Kotak Securities, where he was in the Proprietary Trading and Structured Products Division earlier. He holds a Bachelor’s in Technology, a postgraduate degree from IIT, and an IIM as well. 

How Does the DSP Equity Savings Fund Work?

DSP Equity Savings Fund works on the nature of the asset classes. So, equity is more volatile, offers higher returns, while debt instruments offer stable returns, which help in income generation, while equities help in long-term capital appreciation. So, when you put these together, they can help in diversification of the portfolio and help in risk mitigation, and that is how this fund works. Here, they also apply derivative strategies and arbitrage strategies to earn more income. 

While the equity portion of the fund helps in generating higher returns for capital accumulation, the debt instruments try to offer an income source and more stability to the fund.  

The fund manager decides how much allocation will be in which asset class, depending on the market scenario.  

Performance and Returns (As of 9 May 2025) 

DSP Equity Savings Fund Direct-Growth has been offering a consistent return over time, especially in the medium term. Here is a snapshot of the returns and comparison with its peers. 

Time Frame	DSP Equity Savings Fund Direct-Growth (%)	Category Average
6 Month	2.71	1.81
3 Month	2.39	1.50
1 Month	1.71	2.32
1 Day	-0.31	-0.27
YTD	2.81	1.04
1 Year	12.32	9.12
3 Year	11.58	11.05
5 Year	14.33	12.94
7 Year	9.51	9.11

So, from the above table it can be understood that the fund has been offering not only consistent returns over time however it is also offering returns way higher than the category average especially between one year to three years timeline. 

Investment Allocation (As of 31 March 2025)

The DSP Equity Savings Fund Growth has 31.19% equity and equity related instruments, while 26.53% is debt instruments, and 39.45% is cash and cash equivalents and a small portion of real estate, around 2.83%. 

Market cap-wise asset allocation 

• Giant Cap – 66.33%
• Large Cap – 21.14%
• Mid-cap – 10.24%
• Small-cap – 2.29%

Debt Instruments 

• Cash Equivalent – 39.45%
• AAA Rating – 10.94%
• Sovereign Bonds – 14.56%
• AA Bonds – 1.03%

As of 31 March 2025, the fund had an average market cap of ₹258835 crore, and it spans across 98 stocks and 23 bonds. The top 10 holdings make up 31.15% of its assets. 

Sectoral Allocation 

The fund invests across sectors, offering a well-diversified portfolio. Here are the top five sectors as of 31 March 2025 – 

Sectors	Allocation (%)
Financial Services	14.97
Energy & Utilities	4.18
Consumer Discretionary	4.13
Healthcare	2.93
Technology	2.07

Stock-wise Allocation 

The top five stocks of the DSP Equity Savings Fund include – 

Stocks	Assets (%)
HDFC Bank	6.91
Reliance Industries	3.59
ICICI Bank	3.20
Adani Enterprise	3.08
Axis Bank	2.86

The top five debt holdings of the DSP Equity Savings Fund include – 

Stocks	Assets (%)
GOI Sec 7.38 20/06/2027	2.69
Maharashtra State SDL 7.11 08/01/2038	2.45
Power Finance Corporation Ltd. SR 248B Bonds 7.45	2
HDFC Bank Ltd. 10/10/2025	1.91
Brookfield REIT	1.47

Key Metrics 

As of 31 March 2025, the fund had an expense ratio of 0.41%, which is quite lower than the category average of 0.77%.

Fund Details	Information
AUM (Assets Under Management)	₹2517 Crore as of 31 March 2025
Category	Hybrid Fund, open-ended
Fund Manager	Kaivalya Nadkarni, Shantanu Godambe, Abhishek Singh
Exit Load	Nil
Entry Load	Nil
Minimum Investment	₹100 (Lump sum)₹100 (SIP)
Benchmark	Nifty Equity Savings TRI

The DSP Equity Savings Fund NAV as of 9 May 2025 stood at ₹24.0620.  

Risk and Performance of the DSP Equity Savings Fund 

This fund is classified as a ‘Moderately High Risk’ fund. It usually offers a higher return than debt funds, but also holds a risk quotient like equity funds.

1. Standard Deviation (Std Dev% %): It shows how much the returns vary from the average returns generated by the funds themselves. The higher this number, the more it fluctuates.

The Standard deviation for the fund is 4.16%, while that of the category is a little higher at 4.86%, making the fund’s returns less fluctuating.

2. Beta: This ratio indicates the volatility of the fund’s performance, compared to similar funds in the market. The lower the Beta, the more predictable the returns are, and vice versa. It helps in comparing funds. 

The fund has 0.49% as beta, while that of the category is 0.55%, again depicting lower volatility for the fund compared to the peers. 

3. Sharpe Ratio: This ratio indicates the return you get for the risk you’re taking. A higher number means better risk-adjusted returns.

The fund has 1.11% while the category average is 0.82%.

4. Sortino Ratio: It is similar to Sharpe but only looks at downside risk (the risk of losing money).

The fund has 2.53% while the category average is 1.33%.  

5. Alpha: It measures the extra return the fund gives above the market’s average return.

The fund has 2.58%, and the category average is 1.64%. 

Taxation for DSP Equity Savings Fund 

If you’re investing in the DSP Equity Savings Fund, here’s how your returns will be taxed:

1. Short-Term Gains – If you sell the fund units within 1 year of the date of investment, a 20% tax will be levied on the entire return generated during the period. 
2. Long-Term Gains – If you sell the fund units after one year, any profit generated over and above ₹1.25 lakh will be taxable at a 12.5% rate. The same rate will be applicable for any investment tenure above 1 year. 

So, the longer you hold your investments, the better returns you can expect and the less the effect of taxes!

3. Taxes on Dividends – Dividends earned, if any, will be taxable in the hands of investors as per their tax slabs. If the dividend income surpasses ₹10000 in a financial year, then the fund house will deduct 10% TDS before disbursing the dividend into the account of the investor. 

Minimum Investment and Lock-in Period

The minimum investment amount in the DSP Equity Savings Fund is ₹100 for lump sum and SIP, which is ₹100. There is no lock-in period for the DSP Equity Savings Fund Direct-Growth.

How to Invest in DSP Equity Savings Fund Direct?

You can invest in the DSP Equity Savings Fund – Direct Growth plan with Shoonya. 

Shoonya offers a free Demat account,  Zero brokerage trading, advanced trading tools, 100+ technical indicators, and much more!

Investing in Lump Sum Mutual Funds through the Shoonya Web Platform

Here’s a quick guide on how to invest in lump sum mutual funds through the Shoonya web platform:

1. First, you must log in to your Shoonya account at https://trade.shoonya.com/. From the “Orders” section, click on “MF order.”
2. Search for the fund you wish to invest in; in this case, the DSP Equity Savings Fund – Direct Growth plan.
3. Choose “Fresh” for a new investment and enter the amount you want to invest.
4. You can complete your purchase by clicking the “Purchase” button.
5. You will receive a payment link on your registered email. Use the link to make the payment.

After payment, your mutual fund units will be allotted to your Demat account within T+2 days.

Note: You can only make the payment using the bank account registered with your Demat account.

Setting Up an SIP for Mutual Funds

If you prefer a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) for DSP Equity Savings Fund Direct Plan-Growth plan, you must follow these steps:

1. First, you need to log in to your Shoonya account at https://trade.shoonya.com/. Go to “Orders” and click on “XSIP.”
2. Find the mutual fund for which you want to set up an SIP. In this case, the DSP Equity Savings Fund – Direct Growth plan.
3. If this is your first SIP with Shoonya, you need to create a Mandate ID. 

For that, you must enter the mandate amount and the validity date (until you want to keep your SIP active).

4. You must submit the details, and you’ll receive a Mandate authentication link via email. Approval generally takes 24 hours.

Once your Mandate is approved, you can follow these steps to set up your SIP:

1. Go to “XSIP,” enter the SIP amount, and select “Fresh” as the transaction type.
2. Choose the date when the SIP will be debited directly from your registered bank.
3. The approved Mandate ID will auto-reflect.
4. Choose “Monthly” for monthly debits and specify the number of installments (e.g., 24 installments for a 2-year SIP).

If you do not want to forget your SIPs and invest systematically, the SIP method can be most suitable for you. 

Why Invest in the DSP Equity Savings Fund?

The reasons for investing in the DSP Equity Savings Fund Direct-Growth can be the fund’s – 

• Long-term capital accumulation – wealth building
• Income generation 
• Stability in returns 
• Well-diversified portfolio helps mitigate risks

Suitability of this Fund| Who Should Invest?

The DSP Equity Savings Fund Direct is suitable for investors who:

• Are conservative investors 
• Looking for long-term capital appreciation along with regular income
• Can stay invested for at least three years 

Conclusion

So, DSP Equity Savings Fund can offer income as well as wealth accumulation as well. So, anyone who is bit conservative when it comes to investments, but wanting to earn higher returns compared to debt funds, this fund can be a good choice. Given the performance of the fund, in the hybrid segment, this fund is offering one of the highest returns too weight less risk quotient. 

DSP Equity Savings Fund Direct-Growth Plan | FAQs

Source: ValueResearch

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Disclaimer: Investments in the securities market are subject to market risks; read all the related documents carefully before investing.