The smallcase business has grown consistently quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) and key metrics grew by 40-50 percent year-on-year (YoY), said Vasanth Kamath- Founder and CEO at Smallcase. Overall, there are 150+ SEBI registered individuals and entities creating and managing smallcases currently, and who form part of 300+ strong business partners in the smallcase ecosystem.
Of this, 17 leading brokerages allow users to invest in smallcases, including the top 10 brokers by active clients, Kamath told CNBCTV18.com.
Smallcases are baskets of stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and real estate investment trusts (REITs) based on a theme, idea, or strategy.
"Based on a user’s
investment goals, risk appetite, preferred strategy or theme, s/he can choose from a catalogue of 500+ smallcases and use existing trading and demat accounts with any of the 17 brokers that have partnered with Smallcase to login and place an order to buy the whole portfolio in a single click. The investor can then track the smallcase as a single unit," Kamath said.
The best-performing smallcases
As per May 2023 data, the top 10 best-performing smallcases (since their inception three years ago) were primarily factor-based, thematic, and sectoral smallcases. The following table outlines the top smallcases across categories:
| | CAGR (%) | |
| Smallcase | Manager | 1yr | 2yr | 3yr | Volatility |
| Factor based |
| Mid and Small Cap Focused Portfolio | Niveshaay | 37.3 | 40.65 | 65.82 | High |
| Listed Venture Capital | Lotusdew Wealth | 22.3 | 26.92 | 64.44 | High |
| Value & Momentum | Windmill Capital | 26.44 | 18.46 | 53.59 | High |
| Gulaq Gear 6 | Estee | 45.3 | 18.46 | 53.17 | High |
| Mi_MT_Allcap | Weekend Investing | -1.83 | 10 | 49.79 | Medium |
| ETF Asset Allocation |
| Balanced Multi-Factor | Wright Research | 12.63 | 14.01 | 32.31 | Medium |
| Top 100 Stocks | Windmill Capital | 11.6 | 8.91 | 23.79 | Medium |
| Equity & Gold | Windmill Capital | 14.51 | 10.41 | 20.71 | Low |
| The Wisdom ETF Portfolio | Solomon Investments | 12.36 | 8.98 | 20.42 | Low |
| Sustainable Compounders | Compound Everyday Capital | 7.34 | 4.33 | 19.58 | Low |
| Thematic |
| Transporting India | Windmill Capital | 10.62 | 16.86 | 48.72 | High |
| Bringing the Bling | Windmill Capital | 32.22 | 27.17 | 44.98 | High |
| Electric Mobility | Windmill Capital | 18.96 | 24.25 | 44.49 | HIgh |
| Digital Inclusion | Windmill Capital | 1.76 | 12.47 | 31.35 | High |
| CANSLIM-esque | Windmill Capital | 11.12 | 15.42 | 31.19 | Medium |
| Sectoral |
| Realty Tracker | Windmill Capital | 10.29 | 25.42 | 45.08 | High |
| IT Tracker | Windmill Capital | 11.33 | 12.38 | 42.31 | High |
| Auto Tracker | Windmill Capital | 24.68 | 14.25 | 34.64 | High |
| Infra Tracker | Windmill Capital | 27.26 | 14.93 | 34.47 | Medium |
| Metal Tracker | Windmill Capital | 11.04 | 4.06 | 33.67 | High |
Other popular smallcases include:
Asset allocation-based smallcases like All Weather Investing, Equity and Gold, Equity and Debt, Horizon, Top 100 Stocks, Top 250 Stocks
Sectoral smallcases like FMCG tracker, Banking tracker
Thematic smallcases like Rising Rural Demand, Electric MobilityWho should invest in smallcases and when?
Retail investors who want to invest in curated baskets of stocks, ETFs, and REITs that are based on a theme, strategy, or goals can explore smallcases.
"This will help investors build cost-effective, long-term, and diversified portfolios easily. Those who have started out with mutual funds and want to diversify their portfolio further with direct equity can explore smallcases for niche themes, focused strategies, greater control & transparency in their portfolios. The smallcase format helps with diversification over single stocks and a wide range of strategies and objectives from multiple research and advisory firms and smallcase managers," Kamath told CNBCTV18.com.
"New-to-market investors who are starting their equity journey with a demat account can consider smallcases for relatable ideas to help them take a simple and healthy approach towards equity investing. Typically, asset allocation-based portfolios, large-cap strategies based on dividends, or overall market exposure are popular choices for these investors," he said.
