Aditya Birla Sun Life Pharma and Healthcare Fund
Direct · GrowthAI Summary
Aditya Birla Sun Life Pharma and Healthcare Fund has delivered strong SIP returns of 18.99% (1Y), 20.5% (3Y), 20.22% (5Y), and 19.28% (7Y), consistently outpacing the category average SIP XIRR of 10.56%, 16.17%, 17.43%, and 16.6% respectively. Against the NIFTY 50, the fund shows substantial alpha across all periods, including 16.23% over 1Y and 14.63% over 3Y, despite a NIFTY decline of -10.92% in the 1Y window. Calendar year returns have been uneven, however, with losses of -11.09% in 2022 and -3.5% in 2025 offset by standout years like 2020 (56.34%) and 2023 (39.81%).
The fund's low Beta of roughly 0.50 across all periods and downside capture of 33-47% indicate it falls far less than the broad market, with the 1Y period capturing only 33.69% of benchmark downside. Calmar ratios between 0.96 and 1.12 over 3Y to 7Y periods reflect reasonable risk-adjusted returns relative to peak losses. That said, the fund has experienced 4 drawdown events exceeding 10%, with a maximum drawdown recovery taking 398 days, which underscores the cyclical volatility inherent to sectoral funds.
The portfolio is heavily concentrated in Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology at 73.1% of NAV, plus Healthcare Services at 20.9%, leaving virtually no exposure to other sectors. Sun Pharmaceutical is the largest holding at 12.09%, followed by Apollo Hospitals at 7.3% and J.B. Chemicals at 4.71%, with the top 10 holdings accounting for roughly 52% of the 36-stock portfolio. This concentrated stock count of 36 with a strong pharma tilt is typical of a thematic fund but offers little diversification beyond the healthcare space.
The fund beats its Sectoral/Thematic category peers meaningfully on SIP XIRR at every horizon, with a 5Y gap of roughly 2.8 percentage points (20.22% vs 17.43%) and a 1Y gap of over 8 percentage points (18.99% vs 10.56%). Its consistency is evident in long-run lump-sum CAGRs as well, with the 15Y Fund CAGR of 9.46% versus the NIFTY 50's 4.71%. Within the sectoral universe, this fund ranks among the better performers, though the high dispersion typical of thematic funds means past outperformance is not guaranteed to persist.
This fund is suitable for investors with high risk tolerance who understand the concentrated, cyclical nature of sectoral investing and want tactical exposure to healthcare. A time horizon of at least 5-7 years is advisable, given the drawdown history that includes four events deeper than 10% and recoveries approaching 400 days. Investors should cap allocation to a small satellite portion of the portfolio, as returns can swing sharply year to year, as seen in the -11.09% in 2022 versus +39.81% in 2023.
- SIP XIRR beats the category average at every horizon, including 20.5% over 3Y versus the category's 16.17%
- Consistently high alpha versus NIFTY 50 across all measured periods, with 5Y alpha of 8.72% and 7Y alpha of 12.42%
- Low Beta (around 0.50) and modest downside capture (33.69% over 1Y) provide strong cushioning during market declines
- Extreme sector concentration with 94% of NAV in pharma and healthcare, leaving the fund vulnerable to sector-specific downturns
- History of 4 drawdown events exceeding 10% with a long 274-day drawdown period and a 398-day recovery, typical of thematic fund volatility
Generated on 01-11-2026, 3:01 AM. Verify before investing.
Gives more importance to longer time periods (10Y, 20Y) than shorter ones (1Y, 3Y). This balances out recent outperformance and gives a more realistic picture of what long-term returns might look like.
The largest peak-to-trough decline in the fund's NAV. Shows the worst-case loss an investor would have experienced at any point in the fund's history.
If you invested ₹1,00,000 every month via SIP, here's how this fund has historically performed across different time horizons.
| Duration | Invested | Median Value | XIRR | Min XIRR | Max XIRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Year | ₹12.00 L | ₹13.19 L | 24.0% | -27.8% | 86.2% |
| 3 Years | ₹36.00 L | ₹46.03 L | 18.3% | -0.2% | 38.4% |
| 5 Years | ₹60.00 L | ₹95.64 L | 20.3% | 13.8% | 28.9% |
| 7 Years | ₹84.00 L | ₹1.67 Cr | 19.2% | 16.6% | 20.4% |
SIP returns vs benchmark & category
Annualised SIP return (XIRR) over each rolling horizon — like-for-like, not lump-sum.
| Duration | Fund SIP XIRR | NIFTY 50 | Category avg | Fund edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Year | 24.0% | 14.3% | 10.5% | +9.7% |
| 3 Years | 18.3% | 11.0% | 16.2% | +7.3% |
| 5 Years | 20.3% | 10.4% | 17.4% | +9.9% |
| 7 Years | 19.2% | 10.6% | 16.6% | +8.7% |
| Duration | Mean | Median | Min | Max | Sharpe | Sortino | % Positive | Cat. Mean | Cat. Median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Year | 23.0% | 18.0% | -15.6% | 72.9% | 0.73 | 2.60 | 80% | — | — |
| 3 Years | 19.6% | 19.9% | 12.1% | 27.8% | 3.56 | — | 100% | — | — |
| 5 Years | 19.6% | 18.1% | 12.9% | 29.3% | 2.67 | — | 100% | — | — |
Calmar Ratio by Duration
Compared against NIFTY 50
| Duration | Alpha | Beta | Upside Capture | Downside Capture | Fund CAGR | Bench CAGR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Year | +16.23 | 0.49 | 57.1% | 33.7% | 14.2% | -10.9% |
| 3 Years | +14.63 | 0.53 | 65.8% | 44.1% | 21.1% | 6.4% |
| 5 Years | +8.72 | 0.54 | 61.2% | 46.9% | 14.5% | 5.2% |
| 7 Years | +12.42 | 0.50 | 58.1% | 42.2% | 20.7% | 10.0% |
| 10 Years | +7.69 | 0.50 | 58.0% | 42.1% | 14.5% | 7.2% |
| 12 Years | +5.76 | 0.50 | 58.0% | 42.1% | 12.0% | 5.9% |
| 15 Years | +3.86 | 0.50 | 58.0% | 42.1% | 9.5% | 4.7% |
| # | Stock | % of NAV |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd. | 9.28% |
| 2 | Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. | 8.61% |
| 3 | Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd. | 6.44% |
| 4 | Cipla Ltd. | 6.38% |
| 5 | Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. | 4.52% |
| 6 | Sai Life Sciences Ltd. | 4.49% |
| 7 | Ajanta Pharma Ltd. | 4.35% |
| 8 | Mankind Pharma Ltd. | 3.62% |
| 9 | Dr. Lal Path labs Ltd. | 3.51% |
| 10 | Abbott India Ltd. | 3.26% |