Mahindra Manulife Investment Management Pvt Ltd · Arbitrage

Mahindra Manulife Arbitrage Fund

Hybrid Scheme - Arbitrage Fund Direct plan, growth benchmark: Nifty 50 Arbitrage TRI launched 12 Aug 2020 open-ended

At a glance

the fund as it stands today, from public disclosures

NAV, 21 Sep 2026

₹13.81

−0.14% since 18 Sep 2026, the previous NAV

1 year

6.3%

return

3 years

6.5%

a year

5 years

5.8%

a year

Since launch

5.5%

a year, over 6.1 years

Assets (AUM)

₹134 Cr

Aug 2026 factsheet

Expense ratio, Direct / Regular

0.32% / 0.97%

a year, as of Aug 2026

Holdings

top ten are 132% of the fund · Aug 2026

Disclosed history

4.8 yrs

Sep 2020 – Aug 2026 · 5 of 11 checks could run

Fund managers

Rahul Pal · since Aug 2020 · debt portionNavin Matta · since Oct 2024 · equity portionMitul Doshi · since May 2025 · equity portion

All managers →

What only Anveshan can tell you

measured from the disclosures, not quoted from a brochure — each links to how it was done

P5Cost, measured

Regular plan costs 0.85% a year more than Direct

₹13,196 on ₹1 lakh over ten years. Same portfolio, two prices — the difference is what the Regular plan's distribution costs you, read from the two NAVs.

See how it is measured →

P7Whose record

Run by Rahul Pal for 6.1 yrs

with Navin Matta££, Mitul Doshi. A return earned before they arrived is the house's record, not theirs — the tenure table shows the fund against its category over exactly their months.

Rahul Pal's other funds →

NAVTracking gap

Not replicated: the portfolio cannot be priced line by line in this build.

Each day, the NAV the fund published against the NAV its last disclosed portfolio would have produced at that day's prices. A gap that opens and stays is a change the fund has made and not disclosed yet.

See the daily gap →

P4Consistency

Beat its category in 0% of three-year stretches, and averaged −0.9 points a year across all of them

38 rolling windows since 2020 · behind by 0.9 when it lost points a year — and never won one. A single five-year figure depends on the day you look; the share of stretches won does not — and the average margin says whether winning often was worth anything.

See every window →

headline and record disagree One check found the headline number and the underlying record pointing different ways — marked on the cards below.

NAV and drawdown

Direct plan, growth class · as of 21 Sep 2026

Month-end NAV, indexed to 100 at Aug 2020

74 month-ends · ₹10.01 → ₹13.81, 1.4× since Aug 2020

Deepest fall (max drawdown)

−0.5%

3 Aug 2026 → 6 Aug 2026

Worst month

0.1%

May 2026

Days to recover

from the deepest trough back to the old high

Drawdown is measured on the last year of daily NAV; trailing returns are CAGR of the direct growth class. A single end date decides them — the consistency card (P4) below is the record that does not, and it reports both how often the fund beat its category and by how much, because the first without the second can point the wrong way.

Holdings

Aug 2026 disclosure · 69 lines · when each was first held and the change over the last three disclosures

#	Holding	Sector	Weight	First held	Held for	3-mo change
1	TREPS / cash equivalents Net Receivables / (Payables) · cash equivalent	—	70.70%	Sep 2020	6.0 yrs	-3.66%
2	Mahindra Manulife Low Duration Fund - Direct Plan -Growth mutual fund unit	—	12.85%	Jun 2025	1.3 yrs	-1.08%
3	Mahindra Manulife Liquid Fund -Direct Plan -Growth mutual fund unit	—	10.71%	Sep 2020	6.0 yrs	+3.14%
4	ICICI Bank Limited equity	Banks	6.76%	Dec 2025	9 mo	+0.30%
5	Triparty Repo money market	—	6.01%	Feb 2026	7 mo	+1.36%
6	HDFC Bank Limited equity	Banks	5.67%	Oct 2025	11 mo	-1.26%
7	Bajaj Finance Ltd equity	Finance	5.44%	Jun 2026	3 mo	+5.44%
8	Axis Bank Limited equity	Banks	5.09%	Oct 2023	2.9 yrs	+0.84%
9	Hindalco Industries Limited equity	Non - Ferrous Metals	4.67%	Feb 2026	7 mo	-1.06%
10	Tata Power Company Limited equity	Power	4.05%	Sep 2020	6.0 yrs	-1.39%
11	Indus Towers Limited equity	Telecom - Services	3.99%	Jul 2024	2.2 yrs	-0.98%
12	Bharti Airtel Limited equity	Telecom - Services	3.47%	Jan 2024	2.7 yrs	+1.39%
13	Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd equity	Banks	3.32%	Jan 2026	8 mo	+1.04%
14	Canara Bank equity	Banks	2.94%	May 2026	4 mo	+0.46%
15	Tata Steel Limited equity	Ferrous Metals	2.87%	Jul 2022	4.2 yrs	-0.72%
16	IDFC First Bank Limited equity	Banks	2.80%	Mar 2026	6 mo	+2.31%
17	Reliance Industries Limited equity	Petroleum Products	2.62%	Oct 2023	2.9 yrs	-0.38%
18	Larsen & Toubro Limited equity	Construction	2.22%	Aug 2026	1 mo	+1.22%
19	Maruti Suzuki India Limited equity	Automobiles	1.97%	Jan 2026	8 mo	-1.66%
20	Jio Financial Services Limited equity	Finance	1.82%	Nov 2025	10 mo	-0.17%
21	APL Apollo Tubes Limited equity	Industrial Products	1.45%	Aug 2026	1 mo	+1.45%
22	UltraTech Cement Limited equity	Cement & Cement Products	1.07%	Jun 2026	3 mo	+1.07%
23	ITC Limited equity	Diversified FMCG	1.02%	Nov 2025	10 mo	-0.23%
24	Asian Paints Limited equity	Consumer Durables	0.89%	Jun 2026	3 mo	+0.89%
25	State Bank of India equity	Banks	0.89%	Aug 2026	1 mo	+0.89%
26	Bajaj Finserv Limited equity	Finance	0.86%	Mar 2026	6 mo	-1.17%
27	Bharat Electronics Limited equity	Aerospace & Defense	0.84%	Mar 2026	6 mo	-0.08%
28	Hindustan Aeronautics Limited equity	Aerospace & Defense	0.81%	Mar 2026	6 mo	+0.01%
29	NTPC Limited equity	Power	0.73%	Jun 2026	3 mo	+0.73%
30	Ambuja Cements Limited equity	Cement & Cement Products	0.57%	Jun 2026	3 mo	+0.57%
31	Lupin Limited equity	Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology	0.49%	Aug 2026	1 mo	+0.49%
32	Titan Company Limited equity	Consumer Durables	0.27%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-3.20%
33	HDFC Life Insurance Company Limited equity	Insurance	0.22%	Jul 2026	2 mo	+0.22%
34	The Indian Hotels Company Limited equity	Leisure Services	0.17%	May 2026	4 mo	+0.01%
35	IndusInd Bank Limited equity	Banks	0.11%	Jun 2026	3 mo	+0.11%
36	JSW Steel Limited equity	Ferrous Metals	0.07%	May 2026	4 mo	0.00%
37	JSW Steel Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-0.07%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-0.07%
38	IndusInd Bank Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-0.10%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-0.10%
39	The Indian Hotels Company Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-0.16%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-0.16%
40	HDFC Life Insurance Company Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-0.22%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-0.22%
41	Titan Company Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-0.27%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-0.27%
42	Lupin Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-0.48%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-0.48%
43	Ambuja Cements Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-0.58%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-0.58%
44	NTPC Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-0.73%	Jul 2026	2 mo	-0.73%
45	Hindustan Aeronautics Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-0.81%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-0.81%
46	Bharat Electronics Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-0.84%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-0.84%
47	Bajaj Finserv Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-0.85%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-0.85%
48	Asian Paints Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-0.87%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-0.87%
49	State Bank of India September 2026 Future derivative	—	-0.88%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-0.88%
50	ITC Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-1.06%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-1.06%
51	UltraTech Cement Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-1.08%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-1.08%
52	APL Apollo Tubes Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-1.46%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-1.46%
53	Jio Financial Services Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-1.80%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-1.80%
54	Maruti Suzuki India Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-1.97%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-1.97%
55	Larsen & Toubro Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-2.22%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-2.22%
56	HDFC Bank Limited October 2026 Future derivative	—	-2.65%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-2.65%
57	Reliance Industries Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-2.67%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-2.67%
58	IDFC First Bank Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-2.76%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-2.76%
59	Tata Steel Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-2.86%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-2.86%
60	Canara Bank September 2026 Future derivative	—	-2.94%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-2.94%
61	HDFC Bank Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-3.09%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-3.09%
62	Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-3.38%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-3.38%
63	Bharti Airtel Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-3.59%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-3.59%
64	Indus Towers Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-3.96%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-3.96%
65	Tata Power Company Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-4.10%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-4.10%
66	Hindalco Industries Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-4.72%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-4.72%
67	Axis Bank Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-4.98%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-4.98%
68	Bajaj Finance Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-5.51%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-5.51%
69	ICICI Bank Limited September 2026 Future derivative	—	-6.77%	Aug 2026	1 mo	-6.77%

Showing 1–69 of 69 rows per page10 25 50all

Largest sectors, Aug 2026 · grey: a year ago

Banks27.6% · 10.7%

Finance8.1% · 2.0%

Telecom - Services7.5% · 5.8%

Power4.8% · 9.3%

Non - Ferrous Metals4.7% · 1.5%

Ferrous Metals2.9% · 2.8%

Petroleum Products2.6% · 10.7%

Construction2.2% · 5.5%

share of the book05%10%15%20%25%30%

By market cap, Aug 2026

Large cap61.3%

Mid cap8.8%

Cash & equivalents76.7%

share of the book025%50%75%100%

Composition by market cap, month by month — what the fund actually held against what its label says

Large cap 61%
Mid cap 9%
Small / micro 0%
Cash & other 77%

The seven checks, in full

each: the plain claim, where it sits in the category, and — folded — how it is measured and the case against. A flag fires only where headline and record disagree.

P4 Consistency, not a single end date

Beat its category in 0% of three-year stretches, and averaged −0.9 points a year across all of them

38 rolling windows since 2020 · behind by 0.9 when it lost points a year — and never won one

What this means. Take every three-year stretch since the fund had a NAV, one starting each month, and ask two things of each: did it beat the typical fund in its category, and by how much. Counting the wins tells you the record does not depend on when you happen to look; averaging the margin tells you whether winning often was worth anything, because four small wins do not pay for one large loss.

How often, and by how much. The count and the average agree. It did not win one of the 38; the average across all of them is −0.9 points. The worst window ended Jul 2025, 1.1 points behind.

lowest in categoryhighest in category

5th percentile · bottom decile of 24 funds · category median 33%

windows measured38windows won0average across every window−0.93 pts a year · median −0.94when behind, by how much−0.93 pts a year over 38 windowsworst window−1.11 pts a year, ended Jul 2025best window−0.74 pts a year, ended Aug 2023non-overlapping windows in that span2 — the rolling count overlaps, this does not

Fund minus category, each rolling three-year window

ahead of categorybehind

Each bar is one window's margin in percentage points a year. The height of the bars, not the count of green ones, is what the average across every window measures.

How it is measured, and the case against

A fund that beats its category in most rolling three-year windows has a record; one that beats it in a few has an end date. How often it won and by how much are different questions, and this card answers both, because a fund can win four windows in five and still be behind across all five.

How often has it beaten its category, across every window?

Why this might matterRolling every three-year window forward month by month gives hundreds of overlapping observations instead of one. A single end date decides a headline five-year figure; the share of windows won cannot be flattered by when you happen to look. The average margin across every window is that share and the payoff multiplied together — win share x average beat plus loss share x average shortfall is exactly the average — so a high share bought with a few ruinous windows cannot hide behind the count.

Why it might notRolling windows overlap heavily, so they are not independent observations and the true sample is far smaller than the count suggests — the card says how many non-overlapping windows the same span holds, and it is usually a handful. A fund that changed manager or mandate carries a record that is only partly its own. The average margin is only as meaningful as the category: where a category is a grab bag (“Other ETFs” holds gold beside equity), a large shortfall says the comparison is wrong, not that the fund is. And none of this forecasts: our own study found the share of windows won does not predict the next three years, and weighting it by payoff gives no reason to think otherwise.

P5 Cost, measured

Regular plan costs 0.85% a year more than Direct

₹13,196 on ₹1 lakh over ten years

What this means. The Regular and Direct plans hold the same portfolio; the Regular one pays a distributor out of your money every day. The gap between the two NAVs is that cost, measured from the NAVs rather than quoted from a document.

0.85 pp a year

costliest in categorycheapest in category

5th percentile · bottom decile of 30 funds · category median 0.71 pp

on ₹1,00,000 over ten years₹13,196Direct vs Regular, annualised5.4% vs 4.6%measured over6.08 years

How it is measured, and the case against

The Direct plan is the same portfolio, priced differently; the divergence of the two NAVs is the cost, measured rather than quoted.

What does the Regular plan actually cost against its Direct twin?

Why this might matterSame manager, same holdings, same day. The gap between the two NAV series is the one number on this page that is knowable today rather than hoped for, and it compounds for as long as the units are held.

Why it might notA Regular plan buys advice. If that advice stops someone selling in a drawdown it can be worth more than the fee — the cost is visible and the behavioural saving is not, which makes this comparison unfair in exactly one direction.

P1 Churn, and what it bought

Turns over 101% of the portfolio a year

−0.00 pts of excess return per unit of turnover

What this means. How much of the portfolio was bought and sold in a year, computed from what the fund disclosed each month. Trading costs something certain; the extra return it is meant to buy is not.

101% a year

costliest in categorycheapest in category

88th percentile · top quartile of 24 funds · category median 142%

excess return per unit of turnover−0.00 pts

How it is measured, and the case against

Turnover measured from consecutive disclosures — Σ|Δweight|/2 — costs something certain; the excess return it is meant to buy is not.

Is the trading paying for itself?

Why this might matterAMCs define their own turnover figure inconsistently. This one is computed from what the fund disclosed month to month, so two funds are comparable on it. Read it beside the excess return per unit of turnover.

Why it might notTurnover computed from month-end snapshots misses everything bought and sold inside a month, and a fund forced to sell by redemptions is charged for churn it did not choose.

P2 Conviction or inertia

Typical top-10 holding kept 10 months

What this means. How long a typical top-10 position has been in the top ten. Long-held positions are a decision; a top ten that changes every quarter is a reaction.

10 months

lowest in categoryhighest in category

29th percentile · below median of 24 funds · category median 16 months

active sharenot yet computable — needs index constituent files

How it is measured, and the case against

The median months a top-10 position has been held separates a portfolio somebody chose from one that drifted.

How long does a top-10 position stay a top-10 position?

Why this might matterConcentration is how a manager expresses conviction, and persistence is how long they keep it. Long-held positions with a rising weight are a decision; a top ten that turns over every quarter is a reaction.

Why it might notPersistence without active share is inertia: a portfolio of 166 names that tracks its category closely has diversified away the reason to pay for it. Active share needs index constituent files, which are not loaded yet.

P3 Hit rate of the top ten

5 of 10 top picks beat their peers over the next 6 months, and averaged 3.4 points ahead of them

520 positions judged, one disclosure at a time · ahead by 16.3 points when it won, behind by 10.7 when it lost

What this means. Take each month's ten largest holdings and check whether each one beat the typical stock its category holds over the next six months, and by how much. A blended return can hide two wins and eight losses; a count of wins can hide one position that lost half its value.

How often, and by how much. The count and the average agree. Ahead by 16.3 points in the 272 positions it won and behind by 10.7 in the 248 it lost, so the average across all 520 is +3.4 points. The worst position was INE002A01018 at the Sep 2020 disclosure, 41.2 points behind.

52%

lowest in categoryhighest in category

77th percentile · top quartile of 23 funds

positions judged520beat the median stock272average across every position+3.44 pts · median +1.29when ahead, by how much+16.26 pts over 272 positionswhen behind, by how much−10.71 pts over 248 positionsworst position−41.18 pts, INE002A01018 at the Sep 2020 disclosurebest position+110.85 pts, INE081A01012 at the Sep 2020 disclosure

How it is measured, and the case against

A manager's largest bets, judged one by one over the following six months, say more than the fund's blended return — and how far each one beat or missed the median stock says more than counting how many did.

Of its top-10 positions, how often did they beat the category-median stock?

Why this might matterA fund can beat its category on two positions and lose on eight; the hit rate shows the pattern the aggregate hides. The average margin then shows what the hit rate hides in turn: six winners worth a point each do not pay for four losers worth ten, and only the margin says which happened.

Why it might notSix months is short, sizing matters more than counting, and a manager who is right on the biggest position and wrong on nine small ones has done their job — the margins here are unweighted, so they answer the counting question better, not the sizing one. Overlapping disclosures judge the same position again each month it is held, so one long-held winner is counted many times. And this is a description of six months already past, not a forecast of the next six.

P6 Size against edge

₹134 Cr, 10th percentile in category; 96% of growth came from inflows

smaller than 90% of the funds in its category (24 funds) · AUM Aug 2023 → Aug 2026 · Regular plan expense ratio 1.93%

What this means. Where the fund sits by size in its category, and how much of its growth was money arriving rather than the portfolio compounding. A very large fund cannot buy what a small one can; size should buy a lower fee in return.

10th percentile by AUM

largestsmallest

90th percentile · top quartile of 24 funds

median holding weight, trendfallingexpense ratio, Regular / Direct1.93% / 1.17% · category median 2.09%AUM, Aug 2023 → Aug 2026₹24 Cr → ₹134 Cr (+79% a year)of that change, from flows rather than returns96% net inflows · NAV +21% over the window

Assets under management, ₹ crore, Sep 2020 – Aug 2026

57 points · months without a factsheet figure use AMFI's quarterly average · Regular-plan expense ratio 1.19% in Aug 2020 → 1.93% in Sep 2026

How it is measured, and the case against

Past a certain size the smaller end of a mandate becomes unreachable, and the fund starts to look like its index; what size should buy in return is a lower expense ratio.

Has the fund outgrown the universe it invests in — and did size buy a lower fee?

Why this might matterSize narrows what the manager can meaningfully hold and should lower what the investor pays. Read the AUM history beside the expense ratio: a fund that has tripled through inflows while its Regular-plan TER sits above the category median has kept the benefit of scale for the house. The flow decomposition says how much of the growth was money arriving rather than the portfolio compounding.

Why it might notScale funds research teams, and plenty of large funds have gone on compounding for decades. Inflows follow performance, so a fund growing fast is usually one that did well; the constraint is real but not automatically binding, and a TER is a ceiling the AMC can cut at any time.

P7 Whose record is this headline and record disagree

Run by Rahul Pal for 6.1 yrs

with Navin Matta££, Mitul Doshi

What this means. How long the people running it now have been running it, read from the monthly factsheets. A five-year record earned under someone else is not evidence about these managers.

6.1 yrs · Rahul Pal

newest teamlongest-serving

75th percentile · above median of 16 funds · category median 2.2 yrs

running it nowRahul Pal (since Aug 2020), Navin Matta££ (since Oct 2024), Mitul Doshi (since May 2025)share of the fund's life under the longest-serving current manager100%changes of hands in the archive5 — last May 2025

Who ran it, month by month · factsheets through Sep 2026

running it nowearlier

Manager	Role	From	To	Fund vs category, those months	3-yr stretches won in tenure
Rahul Pal	debt portion	Aug 2020	now	5.5% vs 6.2% p.a. (−0.77 pp)	0% of 37
Navin Matta	equity portion	Oct 2024*	now	6.3% vs 6.9% p.a. (−0.62 pp)	—
Mitul Doshi	equity portion	May 2025	now	6.1% vs 6.5% p.a. (−0.40 pp)	—
Manish Lodha	equity portion	Dec 2020	Mar 2025	5.4% vs 6.3% p.a. (−0.88 pp)	0% of 16
Abhinav Khandelwal	equity portion	Apr 2022	Sep 2024	6.0% vs 7.0% p.a. (−1.00 pp)	—

* dated by first appearance in the archive we hold, not by a date the factsheet printed. Co-managed months count for every manager named; a factsheet names the manager of record, not who made each call. All managers →

The 5-year figure covers most of the fund's entire life. This scheme is about 6.1 years old and a 5-year return is being displayed for it. That is effectively a since-inception number — it measures the period the fund happened to be launched into, and separates nothing from the manager's contribution.

How it is measured, and the case against

A record earned under different people is not evidence about these ones.

Does the displayed record predate the people running it?

Why this might matterA five-year figure on a fund whose longest-serving manager joined two years ago is the house's record more than the person's. The tenure here comes from what each monthly factsheet named, so a change of hands is dated to the month it was disclosed, and the fund's return against its category can be read over exactly those months.

Why it might notEvery fund is young once, and a short record is not a bad one. This says the number cannot bear the weight usually placed on it, not that the fund is worse than a peer.

Tracking gap

the NAV the fund published, against the NAV its last disclosed portfolio would have produced at each day's prices

No signal. About 30% of this fund is outside listed Indian equity — a foreign or derivative sleeve, or debt — and there are no daily prices to replicate it with. A wrong signal would be worse than none.

Share classes

latest NAV per AMFI code

Plan	Option	NAV	Date
direct Mahindra Manulife Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan -Growth	growth	₹13.81	21 Sep 2026
direct Mahindra Manulife Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - IDCW	idcw	₹13.20	21 Sep 2026
regular Mahindra Manulife Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Growth	growth	₹13.14	21 Sep 2026
regular Mahindra Manulife Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - IDCW	idcw	₹12.53	21 Sep 2026

The Direct / Regular gap, in rupees

Direct growth NAV: ₹13.81
Regular growth NAV: ₹13.14
NAV divergence to date: 5.1% — same portfolio, priced differently
Regular costs more by: 0.85% a year
On ₹1,00,000 over ten years: ₹13,196

A Regular plan buys advice. The fee is visible and the behavioural saving is not; both are shown, neither is netted off.

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