Equity market is volatile evidently, with ups and downs every day and every minute. However, that is what make it worthy of so much attention. However, when you want to fetch long term gains, and accumulate capital, you need to find ways that can help you navigate these ups and downs of the market. One such ways is to invest in a flexicap fund, which this UTI Focused Fund Direct – Growth offers to its investors. 

This article will be around UTI Focused Fund – Direct Plan-Growth, will cover the performance, risks, objectives, and a lot of other aspects of this fund, which as an investor, you should know before investing in it. 

UTI Focused Fund Direct-Growth Fund Management and Objectives

UTI Focused Fund Direct-Growth invests in the equity and equity-related instruments across market capitalization as per market conditions. This fund has a cap on the number of stocks it invests in, and that is 30. Thus, the aim is to pick solid 30 stocks for building a solid portfolio. The objective of this fund is to accumulate wealth over the long term. It also aims to offer inflation-beating returns, which are also higher than the returns of fixed income instruments. 

UTI Focused Fund Direct Plan-Growth is managed by – 

• Vishal Chopda: He has been managing the fund since May 2022. Before joining YTI AMC in 2011, he used to work as a research analyst for seven years at Care Ratings. He is a Bachelors in Engineering, PGDM, and also a CFA. 

Excited about investing in the UTI Focused Fund? Open a free Demat account today!

How Does the UTI Focused Fund Work?

UTI Focused Fund works on a simple idea. The fund manager allocates the fund according to the market scenario or economic conditions. Since this is a flexicap fund, the funds can be allocated across market cap without any limit, just they need to be allocated within the equity asset class.

Now, suppose the market is in a bull phase, when all the prices are going up, then usually the small-cap and mid-cap stocks perform well and offer higher returns. So, the fund manager allocated more assets under management (AUM) to these market capitalization segments, and reduced the load from large-cap and when the market becomes bearish, or highly volatile, small and mid-cap become way too risky, while large-cap remains stable compared to them. Then the fund manager allocates more to the large-cap segment. This way, the risks are lowered while the returns are optimized. 

Performance and Returns (As of 2 May 2025) 

UTI Focused Fund Direct-Growth has been a new fund, so data up to three years is only available. Here is a snapshot of the same – 

Time Frame	UTI Focused Fund Direct-Growth (%)	Category Average
6 Month	-2.78	-4.28
3 Month	0.98	1.21
1 Month	2.95	3.06
1 Day	-0.53	-0.10
YTD	0.15	-3.93
1 Year	6.13	6.19
3 Years	17.40	16.61

As you can see in the medium term, that is 3 years, the fund has offered category average beating return; however, in the short term, it has offered close to category average, and during a volatile market, its return slipped below its peers’ average. 

Investment Allocation (As of 31 March 2025)

The UTI Focused Fund Direct- Growth has 97.7% of its assets invested in equity and equity-related instruments, 2.29% in cash and cash equivalents, and a negligible 0.01% in debt instruments.

Market cap-wise asset allocation 

• Giant Cap – 56.96%
• Large Cap – 21.97%
• Mid-cap – 21.07%
• Small-cap —

As of 31 March 2025, the fund had an average market cap of ₹243088 crore, and it spans

across 29 stocks, where the top 10 stocks make up 53.68% 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	31.59
Consumer Discretionary	17.35
Technology	14.71
Consumer Staples	7.97
Energy & Utilities	7.33

Stock-wise Allocation 

The top five stocks of the UTI Focused Fund include – 

Stocks	Assets (%)
HDFC Bank	9.99
ICICI Bank	9.83
Infosys	6.07
Bharti Airtel	5.29
Godrej Consumers	4.32

Key Metrics 

As of 31 March 2025, the fund had an expense ratio of 0.69%, which is quite higher than the category average of 0.85%.

Fund Details	Information
AUM (Assets Under Management)	₹2497 Crore as of 31 March 2025
Category	Equity Fund, open-ended
Fund Manager	Vishal Chopda
Exit Load	1% for Redemption within 365 days
Entry Load	Nil
Minimum Investment	₹5000 (Lump sum)₹500 (SIP)
Benchmark	Nifty 500 TRI

The UTI Focused Fund NAV as of 2 May 2025 stood at ₹15.6635. 

Risk and Performance of the UTI Focused Fund 

This fund is classified as a ‘Very High Risk’ fund, which indicates that the fund has the potential for higher returns, but there will be high volatility as well. 

Here is the risk analysis of the fund – 

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 14.37% while that of the category is 14.34%. This indicates the fund is almost as volatile as its peers. 

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 category average is 0.92, and the fund’s beta is also 0.92, indicating similar volatility again. 

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 a 0.76% Sharpe ratio, while that of the category is 0.71, making the fund a little better than its peers. 

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

The category average is 1.15% while that of the fund is 1.24% again making the fund a bit better.  

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

The category average is 1.75% while that of the fund is 2.67%, indicating the fund has higher possibilities of better returns. 

 Taxation for UTI Focused Fund 

If you’re investing in the UTI Focused 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 Rs. 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 UTI Focused Fund is ₹5000 for lump sum and SIP, which is ₹500. There is no lock-in period for the UTI Focused Fund Direct-Growth.

How to Invest in UTI Focused Fund Direct?

You can invest in the UTI Focused 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 UTI Focused 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 UTI Focused 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 UTI Focused 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 UTI Focused Fund?

The reasons for investing in the UTI Focused Fund Direct-Growth can be the fund’s – 

• Accumulating wealth over the long term
• Well-diversified portfolio helps mitigate risks by spreading assets across market capitalization
• Higher risk-adjusted returns

Suitability of this Fund| Who Should Invest?

The UTI Focused Fund Direct is suitable for investors who:

• Are willing to take risks for higher returns
• Looking for long-term capital appreciation 
• Can stay invested for at least five years 

Conclusion

UTI Focused Fund, though new in the segment of flexicap fund, has already made a mark with its category average beating returns. In the midterm, it is offering better returns than its peers, with a risk profile in sync with the category average. However, time will help you understand how it performs in the long run, so invest wisely if you are considering this fund. 

UTI Focused Fund Direct Plan-Growth|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.