When considering the best investment option, investors must take into account various factors, such as investment goal and risk tolerance. However, if returns are a compelling consideration for you, you could consider investing in equity mutual funds.
So, here are the top two performers from among the five popular mutual fund categories – large-caps, mid-caps, small-caps, flexi-cap and multi-cap categories. By examining the returns and fund category characteristics, investors can select the best mutual fund to invest in, in accordance with their specific investment goals.
Large-Cap Funds
Nippon India Large Cap Fund and JM Large Cap Fund are the top performers in the large-cap category with consistently high returns across tenures. With three-year performance of 25.87 per cent, and 10-year performance of 16.78 per cent, Nippon India Large Cap tops this category.
Over the past year though, JM Large Cap Fund gave a whopping 47.09 per cent return, second only to Quant Large Cap Fund’s 47.72 per cent return. As Quant Fund’s large-cap offering was launched in 2022, the former can be considered owing to its impressive performance across tenures.
Mid-Cap Funds
Mid-cap schemes invest in companies ranked 101-250 in terms of market capitalisation. They may have growth potential depending on their valuation, and also pose less risk than small-cap companies.
Motilal Oswal Midcap Fund holds the top position in terms of three-year returns with 40.78 per cent. The fund has consistently made it to the list of top performers across tenures. ITI Mid Cap Fund gave returns of 71.82 per cent in the past year. It delivered a notable 26.63 per cent return in three years.
Small-Cap Funds
Small-cap funds invest in companies that are ranked below 250 in terms of market capitalisation. These are companies that have high growth potential, but come with a high risk.
Bandhan Small Cap Fund gave returns of 72.69 per cent, the highest in its category, and a notable 29.19 per cent return in three years.
However, Nippon India Small Cap Fund is among the best pick. If we take the top-five returns in every tenure from one to 10 years, this fund will have a spot in every list. Its three-year returns at 34.37 per cent and 10-year returns at 25.54 per cent are the highest in the category.
Multi-Cap Funds
A multi-cap fund can invest in stocks across market capitalisation, but maintains at least 25 per cent allocation in large-cap, mid-cap and small-cap categories. Multi-cap funds are relatively new, and the majority of schemes are less than five years old. In terms of one-year performance, over 80 per cent schemes in the category have beaten the benchmark.
Nippon India Multi Cap Fund leads the three-year tenure with an impressive 32.79 per cent return. It also has an impressive 51.57 per cent return in one year. It has the highest assets under management (AUM) compared to its peers (Rs 34,899 crore). HSBC Multi Cap Fund, which was launched in January 2023, has clocked the highest return at 61.69 per cent in this category.
Flexi-Cap Funds
Flexi-cap funds can invest across large-, mid-, and small-cap categories without any cap restrictions. They just have to maintain a minimum of 65 per cent of assets in equity and equity-related instruments.
JM Flexicap Fund has clocked the highest three-year return at 32.74 per cent. With a consistent trajectory, JM Flexicap fund has the best performances to show across tenures. In terms of one-year and five-year performance, it stands at the number two spot with 66.58 per cent and 27.81 per cent returns, respectively. Bank of India Flexi Cap Fund gave the category’s best performance in the one-year tenure with 67.83 per cent return.
