Performance Analysis of Investment Funds Affiliated with the Defense Sector: A Case Study of Damavand Capital Management

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Economic, Faculty of Management, Supreme National Defense University, Tehran, Iran.

2 M.A., Department of Financial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Science and Culture, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the performance of investment funds affiliated with the defense sector, including two equity funds, "Hefaz-e-Arzesh" (Value Preservation) and "Oj" (Peak), managed by Damavand Capital Management, in comparison with other equity funds in the market, as well as a sectoral fund, "Ofogh-e-Damavand" (Damavand Horizon), in comparison with other sectoral funds. Additionally, the study compares the accuracy of the Value at Risk (VaR) criterion and standard deviation in risk assessment. The research is applied in terms of objective and descriptive-analytical in terms of methodology. Secondary data on returns, costs, and risk indicators of 72 equity funds and 5 sectoral equity funds over the period from October 2022 to September 2025 (Mehr 1401 to Shahrivar 1404) were collected from official reports and reliable financial sources. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and the Weighted Russell Directional Distance Model (WRDDM) were employed for performance evaluation, and various risk scenarios were simulated using both standard deviation and Value at Risk (VaR) criteria.
The results indicate that the "Hefaz-e-Arzesh Damavand" fund, with an average rank of 2.6, and the "Oj Damavand" fund, with an average rank of 12.4, are among the top-performing equity funds in the market. Furthermore, the "Ofogh-e-Damavand" sectoral fund, with an average rank of 1.4, holds a distinguished position among sectoral funds. The application of the Value at Risk (VaR) criterion demonstrated greater discriminatory power in identifying efficient funds compared to standard deviation. The findings also suggest that the use of multi-criteria models such as DEA and WRDDM can enhance the accuracy and transparency of investment fund performance evaluation, providing a scientific basis for investor decision-making and the improvement of fund management strategies.

Keywords

References

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اقتصاد دفاع و توسعه پایدار
Volume 11, Issue 40
July 2026
Pages 61-96

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