I am 30 years old. I want to start investing Rs 10,000 per month in mutual funds via SIP. To start with, my time horizon is 3 years. I have chosen the following for an SIP of Rs 2,000 each: HDFC Equity, Sundaram Capex, SBI Magnum Contra, Reliance Equity and BSL Top 100.

- Rohan

From your suggested list, we would go with HDFC Equity and Magnum Contra. The objective of Magnum Contra is to primarily invest in undervalued scrips which could be out of favour at the time of investing but are likely to show attractive growth over the long term. Please look at the answer given to Amit Mehra in this section, concerning this very fund.

Instead of BSL Top 100, a better option would be DSPBR Top 100 Equity.

Instead of Reliance Equity, consider Canara Robeco Equity Diversified or Quantum Long Term Equity. Sundaram Capex is a thematic fund. We suggest you avoid it.

We have assumed that you have debt investments elsewhere and you are seeking advice solely on your equity portfolio. If not, do have some exposure to debt. In that case, drop a fund from the 'Large & Mid-Cap' category and pick a debt fund (Canara Robeco Income).

Schemes    Mkt Cap Category    Star Rating    SIP Amt (Rs) HDFC Equity   Multi   * * * * *   2,000 Magnum Contra   Multi   * * * *   2,000 DSPBR Top 100 Equity   Large   * * * *   2,000 Canara Robeco Equity Diversified   Large & Mid   * * * *   2,000 Quantum Long Term Equity   Large & Mid   * * * * *   2,000 Rating as on June 30, 2010