Bourse pressure: A man walks past the Hanoi Stock Exchange. The substantial drop in the VN-Index places the Vietnamese stock market among the 10 worst-performing markets globally over the past week. — Reuters
HANOI: As the market benchmark VN-Index approaches a crucial recovery phase, showing a noticeable rebound, the performance of active funds still trails behind.
The discrepancy in portfolios and strategies has widened the gap between leading funds and the rest, despite the overall index improving after previous corrections.
Closing November at 1,691 points, the VN-Index, which represents the Hochiminh Stock Exchange, recorded a 3.1% increase compared with October and marked a cumulative rise of 33.5% over the past 11 months.
After two months of consecutive declines, the market positive momentum returned, largely driven by a resurgence in key stocks.
Vingroup (VIC) led the ascent among large-cap stocks, doubling its share price within three months, along with notable recoveries in VietJet Aviation (VJC), Vinamilk (VNM) and Vincom Retail (VRE) as well as select technology and retail stocks.
However, the broader market remained under correction pressure; many stocks saw declines and mid-cap and small-cap stocks faced selling pressure.
In this context, the performance of many active funds has not kept pace with the VN-Index.
While the index’s growth is attributed to a group of stocks, many funds are heavily invested in sectors that are still undergoing corrections.
This divergence has created substantial performance gaps between the funds and the benchmark index.
Data compiled by Fmarket showed that only the BaoViet Equity Dynamic Open-Ended Fund outperformed the VN-Index, achieving a return of 33.6% as of Dec 2, maintaining its leading position.
This fund is notable for its stable performance over the past two months, primarily due to significant holdings in stocks like Hoa Phat Group, Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB) and VPBank, which have not undergone steep corrections.
Instead, it holds smaller stakes in high-performing stocks such as VIC, VJC, VNM, VRE and FPT Corp (FPT).
Trailing closely behind is Dragon Capital’s DC Dynamic Securities Fund (DCDS) with a return of 27.5%, largely thanks to its investment in VIC.
The stock’s recent surge in price has allowed DCDS to maintain its strong position, even amid declines in key sectors.
Mirae Asset Vietnam Growth Equity Fund from Mirae Asset and two funds under MB Capital, Bordier-MB Flagship Growth Fund) and MB Capital Value Fund, also closely follow the leaders with returns of 26.37%, 24.3% and 21.3%, respectively, as of Dec 2.
Conversely, diverging performance is emerging rapidly, with the Pyn Elite Fund experiencing a decline for three consecutive months, according to data published on its official website.
Stocks with high exposure to the financial sector, such as Sacombank, MBBank, VIX Securities, Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank and Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank, faced steep corrections following previous gains.
Additionally, stocks in the aviation sector like Vietnam Airlines and Airports Corp of Vietnam, have dragged down the overall performance.
The Vesaf fund recorded a profit of only 6.83% as of Dec 2. Its focus on mid-cap and small-cap stocks has significantly affected its performance during a market that favours large-cap stocks like VIC.
Recent reports indicate increased selling pressure in both bank and non-bank sectors, further impacting the fund.
Vmeep from VinaCapital, once among the top-performing open-ended funds in 2024, now stands at 7.19% as of Dec 2.
A wide range of stocks, including MBB, Vietcombank, Vietinbank, ACB, FPT, Gemadept and Baoviet Holdings, have seen considerable corrections during this challenging market phase.
The NTPPF fund from NTPAM has shown modest growth of 3.16%, heavily weighted in favour of banking and financial services, which suffered when the financial sector faced profit-taking. The performance gap between active funds and the VN-Index has widened, with some funds achieving returns of only a fraction of the index’s growth. — Viet Nam News/ANN
