Top Performing Mutual Funds in India: Mutual funds are one of the most important investment instruments particularly in India. This is because a majority of the population doesn’t possess the right investment knowledge to participate directly in the stock market.
This is where mutual funds come in where expert fund managers take care of the pool of investments. But which funds have outdone their peers and are considered the best in India? In this article, we take a look at the top performing mutual funds in India! Keep Reading to Find out!
Table of Contents
Indian Investing Environment in 2021
The two primary indexes, Nifty and Sensex grew at around 25% for the year 2021. Despite the country undergoing the 2nd wave this year was the best year in terms of returns since 2017. The year was seen as a year of recovery from the damages faced during the pandemic of 2020.
For the year 2021, the Small Cap asset class performed the best offering up to 58.96% returns followed by Mid Cap and Large Cap funds which offered 37.02% and 21.26% returns respectively. Other asset classes like corporate bonds, G-secs and T-bill offered 3.66%, 2.48%, and 2.01% respectively. Now let us take a look at how these have been reflected in mutual funds schemes across different asset classes.
Top Large Cap Equity Funds
Large Cap Equity Funds are those that only invest in companies that have a large market capitalisation. These companies are generally giants in their respective industries, have generated significant wealth for investors since inception, and are also known to give out regular dividends.
In comparison to other asset classes like small and Mid cap, the large cap funds are known to carry lower risk while providing steady returns at the same time. These funds are generally suitable to investors who have a low risk appetite and want to generate wealth by investing over the long term.
| Name of the Fund (Direct Plan - Growth) | NAV | AUM | Expenses | 1 yr return | 3 yr return | 5 yr return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Axis Bluechip Fund | 52.72 | 335.2B | 0.47% | 23.8332 | 22.0784 | 22.07575 |
| Canara Robeco Bluechip Equity Fund | 46.94 | 56.9B | 0.36% | 28.0066 | 23.9858 | 20.8980 |
| Mirae Asset Large Cap Fund | 87.80 | 299.6B | 0.53% | 30.6953 | 20.4714 | 19.0417 |
Top Mid Cap Equity Funds
Mid Cap Equity Funds invest in companies with a market capitalisation in between large and small cap. These funds offer their investors more growth potential than large cap stocks and at the same time provide lesser risk than small cap stocks.
| Name of the Fund (Direct Growth) | NAV | AUM | Expenses | 1 yr return | 3 yr return | 5 yr return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PGIM India Midcap Opportunities Fund | 49.55 | 35.8B | 0.32% | 63.7475 | 39.2777 | 25.8590 |
| Axis Midcap Fund | 79.39 | 161.1B | 0.46% | 41.1127 | 27.8943 | 25.2460 |
| Quant Mid Cap Fund | 126.49 | 2.2B | 0.57% | 51.8075 | 30.3001 | 23.2343 |
Top Small Cap Equity Funds in India
Small Cap Equity Funds generally invest in all companies except the top 250 companies in the Indian stock market. These funds invest in stocks that have extremely high potential to generate high returns in comparison to mid and large cap. At the same time, these stocks are also liable to higher market risk in comparison to the other two equity classes.
| Name of the Fund | NAV | AUM | Expenses | 1 yr return | 3 yr return | 5 yr return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SBI Small Cap Fund Direct Plan Growth | 117.99 | 108.8B | 47.6348 | 30.3063 | 25.8635 | |
| Nippon India Small Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Plan | 97.10 | 175.5B | 75.5471 | 32.4517 | 25.6562 | |
| Axis Small Cap Fund Direct Growth | 69.73 | 77B | 59.8212 | 35.1451 | 25.4637 |
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Multi-Cap Equity Funds in India
MultiCap mutual funds invest across stocks in different market capitalization as per the strategy set by the fund manager and this will vary from fund to fund. These funds are suitable for investors who do not want to be restricted by any asset class and are willing to take on risks in exchange for the opportunity to invest in emerging stocks across all asset classes.
| Name of the Fund | NAV | AUM | Expenses | 1 yr return | 3 yr return | 5 yr return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quant Active Fund Growth Option Direct Plan | 439.48 | 14.6B | 57.9929 | 34.5169 | 27.0519 | |
| Sundaram Multi Cap Fund-Direct Plan - Option | 263.78 | 8.6B | 54.9718 | 33.0664 | 26.0693 | |
| Baroda Multi Cap Fund Plan B (Direct) Growth Option | 194.64 | 11.3B | 48.3319 | 22.5950 | 20.0923 |
Top ELSS Funds in India
An Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS) is an open ended equity mutual fund that invests in equity and equity related products. These funds qualify to provide tax deduction under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961. These funds offer deductions up to Rs. 1.5 lakhs every year. It is also important to note that these funds also have a lock-in period of 3 years.
| Name of the Fund | NAV | AUM | Expenses | 1 yr return | 3 yr return | 5 yr return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quant Tax Plan Growth Option Direct Plan | 239.56 | 5.5B | 63.0024 | 37.3797 | 27.4129 | |
| BOI AXA Tax Advantage Fund Direct Plan Growth | 117.31 | 5.2B | 42.3838 | 31.2875 | 24.3786 | |
| Mirae Asset Tax Saver Fund -Direct Plan-Growth | 34.89 | 100.9B | 37.9443 | 26.7313 | 24.2268 |
Top Focused Equity Funds in India
A focussed equity fund is one that invests at least 65% of its total assets in equities and can have a maximum of 30 stocks in its portfolio. These funds invest across different Mcap classes, sectors, and also industries. Generally, mutual funds invest anywhere between 50-100 stocks.
| Name of the Fund | NAV | AUM | Expenses | 1 yr return | 3 yr return | 5 yr return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SBI Focused Equity Fund Direct Plan Growth | 239.56 | 5.5B | 44.6866 | 26.0860 | 22.9081 | |
| BOI AXA Tax Advantage Fund Direct Plan Growth | 117.31 | 5.2B | 42.3838 | 31.2875 | 24.3786 | |
| Mirae Asset Tax Saver Fund -Direct Plan-Growth | 34.89 | 100.9B | 37.9443 | 26.7313 | 24.2268 |
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Top Ultra Short Debt Funds
These are fixed income mutual fund schemes that invest in the debt and money market securities. The duration of these scheme portfolio’s are generally 3-6 months. These funds are suitable for investors looking for short term investments inorder to earn stable income.
| Name of the Fund | NAV | AUM | Expenses | 1 yr return | 3 yr return | 5 yr return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PGIM India Ultra Short Term Fund Direct Plan Growth | 28.36 | 5.7B | 3.7265 | 7.8115 | 7.7135 | |
| ICICI Prudential Ultra Short Term Fund Direct Plan Growth | 23.67 | 121.1B | 4.5566 | 6.8956 | 7.2781 | |
| Aditya Birla Sun Life Savings Fund Discipline Advantage Pln Growth | 251.53 | 165.2B | 2.250% | 3.8226 | 6.6297 | 6.9546 |
Top Short term Debt Funds
Short-term debt funds or Income funds are mutual fund schemes that have a short maturity period usually below 3 years. These funds generally invest in instruments like government paper, corporate paper, and certificates of deposit. These funds are suitable for investors looking for short investments with stable returns.
| Name of the Fund | NAV | AUM | Expenses | 1 yr return | 3 yr return | 5 yr return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICICI Prudential Short Term Fund Direct Plan Growth Option | 50.58 | 211.4B | 4.4685 | 8.7745 | 7.8858 | |
| HDFC Short Term Debt Fund -Direct Plan - Growth Option | 25.97 | 189.6B | 4.2064 | 8.4497 | 7.8012 | |
| Axis Short Term Fund Direct Plan Growth Option | 26.38 | 126.3B | 4.0548 | 8.4411 | 7.7250 |
Top Liquid Funds in India
A Liquid fund invests in debt and money market instruments. Here the maturity of the scheme is 91 days.
| Name of the Fund | NAV | AUM | Expenses | 1 yr return | 3 yr return | 5 yr return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quant Liquid Plan Growth Option Direct Plan | 33.97 | 5.2B | 4.2651 | 5.6530 | 6.2027 | |
| BNP Paribas Liquid Fund Special Unclaimed Dividend 36B Growth Option | 1373.91 | 11.4B | 3.5266 | 4.9009 | 5.8526 | |
| IDBI Liquid Fund Direct Growth | 2271.52 | 8.3B | 3.4335 | 4.8866 | 5.7872 |
In Closing
This list shows the top performing mutual funds in India. But as prospective investors one should not only rely on the top list to select mutual funds. Ignoring factors like personal risk appetite, fees charged by funds, investment goals, etc. could lead to a disaster.
Instead, investors must thoroughly analyze funds and not rely only on past indicators. That’s all for the article “Top Performing Mutual Funds in India”, let us know what you think in the comments below. Happy Investing!
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Aron, Bachelors in Commerce from Mangalore University, entered the world of Equity research to explore his interests in financial markets. Outside of work, you can catch him binging on a show, supporting RCB, and dreaming of visiting Kasol soon. He also believes that eating kid’s ice-cream is the best way to teach them taxes.
