Axis Max Life Diversified Equity Fund II: An Actively Managed Fund for Wealth Creation

Diversifying investments across industries and market caps is often considered as one of the best ways to reduce portfolio volatility and optimise returns across various market cycles. One way investors can easily achieve this is to incorporate an actively managed fund with a diversified portfolio, such as the Axis Max Life Diversified Equity Fund II.

This fund will be offered to existing and new Axis Max Life policyholders through ULIP offerings such as Axis Max Life Online Savings Plan Plus. This equity fund is expected to leverage the expertise of a professional fund manager and team of in-house analysts to provide long-term capital appreciation to investors.

What is the Axis Max Life Diversified Equity Fund II?

Axis Max Life Diversified Equity Fund II is an actively managed equity fund with a minimum 80% portfolio exposure to equities. The remaining 20% of the fund corpus may be flexibly invested in debt instruments such as government securities, corporate bonds, and money market papers. The NSE Nifty 200 will serve as the benchmark for this fund.

Due to its high equity exposure, the fund is expected to witness short-term volatility in performance and carries a risk rating of “High”. Since this is an actively managed fund, the fund manager and team of analysts will engage in active stock picking to outperform the benchmark index over the long term.

As the Axis Max Life Diversified Equity Fund II is a new fund, there is currently no historical returns data for the fund. However, the new fund will follow an investment philosophy similar to that of an existing actively managed fund – the Axis Max Life UL Life Diversified Equity Fund. Moreover, both funds share the same benchmark, the Nifty 200 Index.

So, the historical returns of the UL Life Diversified Equity Fund can serve as a surrogate and provide key insight into the potential long-term returns of the Axis Max Life Diversified Equity Fund II. The chart below compares the returns of the Axis Max Life UL Life Diversified Equity Fund vs the NSE Nifty 200 Index over different time periods, as of 31st March 2026:

As you can see, the Axis Max Life UL Life Diversified Equity Fund has outperformed its benchmark across various market conditions and time periods. This is one of the reasons this fund features a high 4-Star rating from Morningstar. But one must bear in mind that there is no guarantee the same level of outperformance will be maintained in the future.

Even then, policyholders may benefit from the proven expertise of the fund manager to outperform the benchmark when they invest in the new Axis Max Life Diversified Equity Fund II.

How Will the Axis Max Life Diversified Equity Fund II Select Stocks?

The Axis Max Life Diversified Equity Fund II will follow the proven investment philosophy of Axis Max Life Insurance. The experienced fund managers and the team of in-house analysts will focus on identifying businesses with strong fundamentals and reasonable valuations to invest in. These investments will have the potential to deliver high returns over the long term.

The investment process for stock selection in the Axis Max Life Diversified Equity Fund II will include in-depth primary and secondary research. This will include detailed analyses of key information, such as the financial statements, business models, etc., of over 350 listed stocks.

Furthermore, investment opportunities will also be identified using proprietary screening tools, with buy/sell/hold decisions being driven by high-conviction decision-making. Continuous oversight of each stock will also be maintained through independent checks of promoters and the incorporation of the ESG score to ensure long-term sustainability.

Key Investments of the Axis Max Life Diversified Equity Fund II

The Axis Max Life Diversified Equity Fund II is a new actively managed equity fund offered through ULIP offerings of Axis Max Life Insurance. So, investment data of the new fund is currently unavailable. So, the fund is expected to follow a portfolio-building strategy similar to the currently available Axis Max Life UL Life Diversified Equity Fund.

So, the current portfolio of the Axis Max Life UL Life Diversified Equity Fund can serve as a proxy for understanding the sectoral exposure expected for the Axis Max Life Diversified Equity Fund II.

Below is a list of the top sectors that the Axis Max Life UL Life Diversified Equity Fund was invested in and their individual weight as of 31st March, 2026:

The above data indicates that the Axis Max Life UL Life Diversified Equity Fund is well diversified across multiple sectors and industries. As the Axis Max Life Diversified Equity Fund II is expected to follow a similar portfolio construction philosophy, the new fund is also expected to offer a similar degree of portfolio diversification. This can help minimise concentration risk in the fund portfolio and help reduce overall investment risk.

The 5 top equity stocks included in the Axis Max Life UL Life Diversified Equity Fund portfolio, along with their individual weight in the fund portfolio as of 31st March, 2026, look like this:

The table above shows that the Axis Max Life UL Life Diversified Equity Fund has limited portfolio exposure to any specific stock. This limit on exposure to any single stock will help reduce the potential impact of any single stock on the fund’s overall performance. The new Axis Max Life Diversified Equity Fund II is also expected to follow a similar philosophy to deliver the same benefit to policyholders opting for this fund.

Who Should Invest in the Axis Max Life Diversified Equity Fund II?

The Axis Max Life Diversified Equity Fund II feature a minimum 80% equity allocation, so it is prone to short-term volatility and carries a risk rating of “High”. So, the Axis Max Life Diversified Fund II may not be suitable for all types of policyholders.

That said, you should, however, consider investing in this fund if you fulfil one or more of the below mentioned criteria:

You are seeking to create wealth over the long term by staying invested for over 5 years

You have high risk tolerance and can tolerate short-term volatility

You are looking to diversify your existing investments across multiple industries and market capitalisations

You are seeking to add actively managed equity investments to your existing investing portfolio

You are seeking the dual benefit of protection and market-linked investment growth through a single instrument

The criteria mentioned above are illustrative only, not exhaustive. So, there may be other situations where you may benefit from investing in the Axis Max Life Diversified Equity Fund II.

How to Invest in the Axis Max Life Diversified Equity Fund II?

Axis Max Life Diversified Equity Fund II will be available to existing and new policyholders through various ULIP offerings of Axis Max Life Insurance. During the New Fund Offer (NFO) period, this fund is expected to be available through Axis Max Life Online Savings Plan Plus. After completion of the NFO period, the Axis Max Life Diversified Equity Fund II may also be available through additional Axis Max Life ULIP offerings.

Snapshot of the Axis Max Life Diversified Equity Fund II

Other Actively Managed Funds of Axis Max Life Insurance

Apart from the new Axis Max Life Diversified Equity Fund II, ULIP policyholders of Axis Max Life Insurance can also opt for other actively managed funds, such as:

Axis Max Life High Growth Fund II

The Axis Max Life High Growth Fund II is an actively managed equity fund that focuses on making investments in mid-cap stocks that offer high long-term growth potential. This fund needs to mandatorily maintain a minimum 80% equity exposure, and the Nifty Midcap 100 Index serves as its benchmark. The remainder of the fund’s investible assets, accounting for up to 20% of the portfolio, may be invested in government securities, corporate bonds and money market instruments.

Axis Max Life Growth Super Fund II

The Axis Max Life Growth Super Fund II is an actively managed equity fund that is benchmarked against the Nifty 50 Index. This fund maintains a large-cap focus and is required to invest at least 80% of its investible assets in equities. Apart from equities, this fund also retains the flexibility to invest in various money market instruments/cash equivalents, corporate bonds and Government Securities. Such non-equity investments can account for up to 20% of the fund’s portfolio.

Axis Max Life Smart Innovation Fund

The Axis Max Life Smart Innovation Fund is an actively managed equity fund that primarily invests in innovative companies and businesses that benefit from the continuously evolving innovation ecosystem. This fund features a portfolio that is well-diversified across market caps and industries with the Nifty 500 Index serving as its benchmark. While at least 70% equity exposure must be maintained by the fund at all times, the remainder of the fund’s investments may include corporate bonds, money market instruments and Government securities.

Note to the Reader: This article has been produced on behalf of the brand by HT Brand Studio and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Mint.