Momentum Investing: How PMS strategies outshine passive index funds
Momentum investing is an approach that focuses on capitalising on stocks or sectors experiencing strong upward trends. While passive index funds and portfolio management services (PMS) both employ momentum strategies, the latter offers unique advantages due to its flexibility and adaptability.
Arihant Bardia, Chief Investment Officer and Partner at Valtrust, shares insights into how active momentum strategies stand out.
Active vs passive momentum strategies
Passive momentum index funds track predefined indices composed of high-momentum stocks.
However, these indices often operate within a restricted universe of the top 150-500 stocks by market capitalisation.
In contrast, active momentum PMS offerings cast a wider net.
“We analyse the top 750 stocks, filtering for liquidity and corporate governance before ranking them by momentum,” explains Bardia.
This broader scope enables PMS strategies to capture opportunities beyond the reach of passive funds.
Rebalancing frequency is another key differentiator.
Passive funds typically rebalance semi-annually, which may lag behind rapid market shifts. Bardia highlights the agility of PMS offerings: “We follow monthly rebalancing, and in exceptional cases, mid-month rebalancing. This ensures we respond quickly to changing momentum trends.”
Navigating market cycles
Momentum strategies often outperform during bullish phases but tend to align with broader indices in flat or bearish markets.
Bardia emphasises the importance of capturing gains during upswings: “Our upside capture is way higher than the downside capture.”
Recent trends have shown strong momentum in sectors like capital goods and financial services. However, Bardia points out that his approach remains stock-specific: “We adopt a bottom-up approach, focusing purely on price momentum in individual stocks, rather than making sectoral bets.”
Mitigating risks in momentum investing
Volume sensitivity and market impact are significant concerns for momentum strategies, particularly in passive funds with large asset sizes.
“Momentum is a niche market strategy. Large fund sizes can distort trends by creating volume pressure, especially in smaller or less liquid stocks,” Bardia notes.
Front-running is another issue faced by index funds, where predictable portfolio changes allow some investors to act ahead of the fund.
Bardia explains, “Index funds are susceptible to front-running due to predictable changes. This is not applicable to our PMS, where portfolio movements are less predictable.”
Returns reflect strategy agility
The performance of momentum strategies often mirrors their adaptability to market conditions.
Since its inception in January 2023, Valtrust Momentum PMS has delivered robust returns — 59.1% in 2023 and 42.3% year-to-date in 2024, outperforming the S&P BSE 500 TRI in the same period.
Bardia attributes this to disciplined rebalancing and the ability to remain concentrated on approximately 30 high-momentum stocks.
What should investors look for?
When evaluating momentum strategies, investors should consider the following:
- Investment universe: Does the strategy explore a broad range of stocks?
- Rebalancing frequency: Is the portfolio agile enough to respond to market shifts?
- Concentration: Is the portfolio balanced between focus and diversification?
- Risk management: How does the strategy handle volume impacts and mitigate risks like front-running?
Conclusion
Momentum investing offers a powerful way to capitalise on market upswings, but the choice between active PMS and passive index funds depends on an investor’s goals.
Bardia sums it up: “There is always momentum in some sector or stocks. The key is having a strategy and tools to identify and act on it effectively.”
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