DSP Fund Managers IFSC · IFSCA/Retail/2025-26/002 · NFO Closed: Sep 12, 2025 · Investing Since: Sep 22, 2025
DSP Global Equity Fund has underperformed its MSCI ACWI benchmark significantly since launch (Sep 2025 – Apr 2026). This is real and documented. The reason is structural: DSP deliberately underweights the US (29% vs benchmark ~65%) and holds zero AI hardware stocks (no Nvidia). In this window, US mega-cap and AI semiconductor stocks drove most of global equity returns. Tequity presents this data honestly — investors should evaluate whether they believe in the manager's thesis, not whether the recent numbers look good.
| Fund Manager | DSP Fund Managers IFSC Private Limited (team-managed) |
| IFSCA Reg. No. | IFSC/Retail/2025-26/002 |
| Structure | Open-ended active mutual fund — direct portfolio (not a FoF) |
| Benchmark | MSCI ACWI Index |
| Currency | USD |
| Min. Investment | USD 5,000 (increment USD 500) |
| TER (Direct) | 1.00% p.a. |
| TER (Regular) | 1.75% p.a. |
| Exit Load | 1% if redeemed before 2 years |
| Performance Fee | Nil |
| NFO Close Date | September 12, 2025 |
| NFO Raise | ~USD 2M at NFO; grew to USD 28M by April 2026 |
| Holdings (Apr 2026) | 27 stocks + 27.1% cash |
| China cap | 25–30% maximum; actual 15.6% (Apr 2026) |
| Recommended horizon | 3 to 5 years |
| Contact | operations.ifsc@dspim.com · Dipak Golaniya |
DSP Global Equity is a bottom-up, valuation-conscious active fund. The manager does not track the MSCI ACWI — it constructs a concentrated portfolio of 30–40 global companies that meet a strict set of quality and value criteria. This is the anti-index approach: it will diverge significantly from any benchmark at any given point.
"A stock being down is not the same as a business being mispriced." — DSP investment team. This matters: the fund does not buy on price momentum or because a stock has fallen. It buys only when all four criteria are met.
DSP's investment letters discuss four structural traps — business categories that have historically destroyed capital despite appearing cheap or dominant:
| AI Hardware (Nvidia etc.) | Zero exposure. DSP views AI chip valuations as requiring perfect execution at peak multiples — a fragile combination. |
| Legacy Tech / IBM-type | Companies where core product is declining faster than management admits. Value traps dressed as quality. |
| Commodity FMCG | Low-moat consumer staples with pricing power at risk from private label and channel shift. |
| European Autos / Luxury Auto | Capital-intensive transition to EV at uncertain economics; pricing power eroding as Chinese brands compete. |
The deliberate exclusion of AI hardware (Nvidia in particular) cost DSP significant relative performance in CY2024–25. This is the most significant source of tracking error vs MSCI ACWI in the fund's first 7 months.
The since-inception underperformance (~15–16% gap vs benchmark) reflects 7 months of a very specific market environment: US mega-cap AI/tech dominance. April 2026 shows improvement (+8.8% vs benchmark +12.26%) but still trailing. For perspective, the fund's AUM grew from ~USD 2M at NFO to USD 28M by April 2026 — investors are allocating to the thesis, not the recent numbers.
| # | Company | Country | Weight | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amazon | USA | 7.2% | |
| 2 | Adyen | Netherlands | 5.1% | |
| 3 | TSMC | Taiwan | 4.9% | |
| 4 | Meta Platforms | USA | 4.6% | |
| 5 | Tencent Holdings | China | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Alphabet (Google) | USA | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Nexans | France | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Trip.com Group | China | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Berkshire Hathaway | USA | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Constellation Software | Canada | 2.7% |
Top 10 represent approximately 43.5% of the portfolio. 27 total holdings + 27.1% cash. No Nvidia, no AMD — zero AI hardware by design. Notice the geographic diversity: USA (Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, Berkshire), Netherlands (Adyen), Taiwan (TSMC), China (Tencent, Trip.com), France (Nexans), Canada (Constellation Software).
North America at 29% vs MSCI ACWI's ~65% — this is the largest single active bet DSP makes. Cash at 27.1% is unusually high — this is not market-timing; it reflects the manager not finding enough names at acceptable prices given their criteria. DSP has explicitly stated: "a stock being down is not the same as a business being mispriced." No South Korea exposure is deliberate — DSP passed on the Korean market. No India exposure (outbound fund, invests globally only).
DSP Global Equity is the most intellectually honest product in the GIFT City outbound lineup. They show you exactly what they own, explain exactly why they don't own Nvidia, and acknowledge the underperformance without defensiveness. That intellectual honesty matters when picking an active manager.
Tequity's recommendation: Suitable for HNI/sophisticated investors who (a) are comfortable with active management risk, (b) can hold through 2–3 years of potential underperformance, (c) have a genuine conviction that the US market is over-concentrated and non-US companies offer better risk-adjusted returns, and (d) have a minimum 5-year horizon. For most investors building their first global allocation, the PPFAS S&P 500 FoF is the better starting point.
Tax is handled entirely at the fund level. The fund is structured as an irrevocable determinate trust and discharges all tax as a representative assessee — meaning no tax is withheld from the investor at redemption.
According to DSP's official Taxation FAQ (September 2025), the fund pays tax on equity shares listed on overseas exchanges at the following rates:
These are the highest applicable rates — applied by the fund on behalf of all investors. The Subscription NAV and Redemption NAV published daily already reflect these tax provisions.
Schedule FA: Investors do not need to disclose their fund units under Schedule FA (Foreign Assets) in their ITR, as they hold units of an Indian-domiciled fund. The fund itself files Schedule FA for its foreign stock holdings (confirmed in DSP Taxation FAQ, Q13). Investors should report redemption proceeds as exempt income under "Details of Exempt Income > Others" in their ITR.
Source: DSP Global Equity Fund — Taxation FAQ (September 2025). Consult your CA for personal tax advice.
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