Despite Nifty and Sensex tumbling over 6% in September, small-cap and SME-focused portfolio management services (PMS) strategies delivered robust positive returns. According to The Economic Times, benchmark indices faced sharp sell-offs due to escalating Middle East tensions, soaring oil prices, and bond yields hitting multi-decade highs. The market weakness extended to PMS, with some strategies declining by nearly 11% while others rose over 7% during the turbulent month.
Hem Securities' India Rising SME Stars scheme emerged as the month's top performer, gaining 7.23% against its BSE 500 TRI benchmark, as reported by PMS Bazaar data. Other small-cap and micro-cap-oriented strategies also featured prominently among leaders, with Centrum PMS's Micro returning 4.31%, Wallfort Fund Management LLP's Ameya Fund (Small & Mid Cap) gaining 3.92%, and Qode Advisors LLP's Qode Growth Fund rising 3.90%. Quantitative strategies also delivered positive returns, with Amaltas Asset Management LLP's Keystone Fund gaining 5.67% and East Green Advisors LLP's Quant Strategy returning 5.32%. Additional strong performers included Fort Capital Investment Advisory Pvt Ltd's Value Fund advancing 3.65%, Atlas Integrated Finance Limited's Momentum 20 PMS Fund posting gains of 5.25%, and Bonanza Portfolio Limited's Aegis returning 5.14%.
Thematic strategies and mid-cap portfolios suffered the steepest declines during September. According to PMS Bazaar data, IME Portfolio Managers LLP's IME Digital Disruption recorded the steepest decline at 10.16%, while Ladderup Wealth Management Pvt Ltd's Proud PMS followed with a loss of 9.28%. Mid-cap and mid-to-large-cap strategies also came under significant pressure, with Abans Investment Managers' Smart Beta Portfolio declining 8.97%, Dynamic Equities Pvt Ltd's Midcap Mavens falling 8.80%, and ASK Investment Managers Ltd's ASK Core Portfolio slipping 8.73%. The weakness was not limited to mid-cap exposures, as core large-cap and diversified multi-cap strategies also suffered sizeable losses, with QED Capital Advisors LLP's Core-Equity dropping 7.85%, SageOne Investment Managers LLP's Large and Midcap Portfolio shedding 7.80%, Geojit Financial Services Ltd's Dakshin Portfolio falling 7.74%, and NJ Asset Management Pvt Ltd's Bluechip losing 7.73%.
Before this week, the Nifty had fallen for eight consecutive weeks for the first time in 25 years, a streak last recorded in 2001, as reported by The Economic Times. The pressure on equities was reflected in PMS performance, where the gap between the best and worst performers widened sharply, highlighting how portfolio positioning and stock selection shaped returns during the turbulent month. The primary takeaway from September's figures shows a market sharply bifurcated by category selection and execution style rather than broad-based momentum, with targeted small-cap and SME approaches consistently generating positive alpha while broad mid-cap and benchmark-heavy large-cap exposures witnessed declines.
