Balanced advantage funds vow to time the market. Did they deliver?

The past two years were a test. Broader Indian markets climbed to record highs in late 2024, then shed over 20% through early 2026, before partly recovering. For balanced advantage fund (BAF) investors, none of that was supposed to require a decision. The fund would cut equity when markets got expensive, buy back when they got cheap.BAFs — also called dynamic asset allocation funds (DAAFs) — shift between equity and debt as conditions change, guided by a valuation model. The manager does the timing, so you don’t have to.