One fund per category, three houses
Aditya Birla Sun Life, UTI and Mirae Asset are three well-known fund houses, and each runs a fund in nearly every mainstream category. That makes a clean test: take the same category, one fund from each house, and see who did better. This post does that for 12 categories, using each house's Direct plan, Growth option fund, from NAVs to 23 October 2026. Where a house runs more than one fund in a category it is left out, so each cell is a single fund.
The tables mark the best of the three in each row in bold. Returns of a year or more are compounded annual rates.
Three-year returns, category by category
| Category | Aditya Birla Sun Life | UTI | Mirae Asset |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large cap | 8.56% | 6.50% | 7.64% |
| Flexi cap | 13.67% | 6.77% | 10.99% |
| Mid cap | 12.30% | 9.85% | 13.13% |
| ELSS | 9.45% | 6.86% | 10.59% |
| Focused | 11.72% | 8.52% | 7.10% |
| Large & mid cap | 9.32% | 13.15% | 10.13% |
| Aggressive hybrid | 8.64% | 9.50% | 10.19% |
| Equity savings | 7.45% | 7.78% | 9.45% |
| Arbitrage | 7.36% | 7.26% | 7.33% |
| Corporate bond | 6.77% | 7.07% | 6.91% |
| Short duration | 7.42% | 7.09% | 7.08% |
| Liquid | 6.96% | 6.92% | 6.89% |
Over three years Aditya Birla Sun Life led in six, UTI led in two and Mirae Asset led in four of the 12 categories. Aditya Birla Sun Life had the most wins, but the margin in each row matters as much as the count.
One-year returns
| Category | Aditya Birla Sun Life | UTI | Mirae Asset |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large cap | −9.23% | −9.71% | −8.51% |
| Flexi cap | 0.02% | −7.78% | −3.54% |
| Mid cap | −1.66% | −3.52% | −1.77% |
| ELSS | −8.12% | −9.28% | −6.64% |
| Focused | −3.31% | −7.55% | −7.30% |
| Large & mid cap | −3.40% | −3.59% | −5.61% |
| Aggressive hybrid | −5.46% | −4.42% | −1.96% |
| Equity savings | 2.75% | 0.72% | 2.23% |
| Arbitrage | 6.66% | 6.51% | 6.70% |
| Corporate bond | 3.03% | 4.02% | 3.78% |
| Short duration | 4.49% | 4.16% | 3.71% |
| Liquid | 6.49% | 6.48% | 6.36% |
Over one year Aditya Birla Sun Life led in seven, UTI led in one and Mirae Asset led in four categories (ties count for the first listed).
Five-year returns
| Category | Aditya Birla Sun Life | UTI | Mirae Asset |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large cap | 7.49% | 5.54% | 6.33% |
| Flexi cap | 10.18% | 3.18% | – |
| Mid cap | 11.54% | 10.21% | 12.87% |
| ELSS | 6.67% | 6.03% | 9.03% |
| Focused | 9.07% | 8.57% | 4.77% |
| Large & mid cap | 5.75% | 12.00% | 8.75% |
| Aggressive hybrid | 6.84% | 9.38% | 8.75% |
| Equity savings | 6.26% | 7.98% | 8.42% |
| Arbitrage | 6.84% | 6.74% | 6.82% |
| Corporate bond | 6.16% | 6.21% | 5.94% |
| Short duration | 6.73% | 6.41% | 6.26% |
| Liquid | 6.45% | 6.42% | 6.40% |
The averages
| Average across the funds above | Aditya Birla Sun Life | UTI | Mirae Asset |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-year return, 6 equity categories | 10.84% | 8.61% | 9.93% |
| 3-year return, all 12 categories | 9.13% | 8.11% | 8.95% |
| 1-year return, 6 equity categories | −4.28% | −6.90% | −5.56% |
An average of categories mixes funds with very different return levels, so it is a rough guide. A house can lead the average on the back of one strong small-cap or mid-cap fund and still trail in the category you care about.
Reading the comparison
- Each cell is one fund. A house with a strong fund in a category is not necessarily strong in the next.
- Three years is a short window, and which house leads changes with the window, as the one-year and five-year tables show.
- Fund houses differ in how many funds they run. The larger the shelf, the more categories in which a house can be both best and worst of the three.
- Returns are historical, from NAVs, and not a forecast. This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any fund.
For the wider picture across every house, see fund houses ranked by their equity funds against category and the fund-house report card on three-year medians.
Source: AMFI NAVs to 23 October 2026, Direct plan Growth option; categories as classified by AMFI.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, Aditya Birla Sun Life, UTI or Mirae Asset mutual fund?
No house is better everywhere. Comparing one Direct Growth fund per category to 23 October 2026, Aditya Birla Sun Life had the best three-year return in 6 of 12 categories, UTI in 2 and Mirae Asset in 4. Over one year the wins were 7, 1, 4 for Aditya Birla Sun Life, UTI, Mirae Asset respectively.
Which of the three has the best average three-year return in equity categories?
Aditya Birla Sun Life averaged 10.84%, UTI 8.61% and Mirae Asset 9.93% across the 6 equity categories where all three run a fund. An average mixes very different categories, so use it only as a rough guide.
Why compare one fund per category?
It holds the category constant. A house's fund is then judged against two rivals with the same mandate, instead of against a mix of unrelated funds.
This is commentary on published data, not investment advice. WealthTicker is not a SEBI-registered adviser or distributor. Figures are WealthTicker’s own calculations from public data — AMFI’s fund NAVs and disclosures, NSE’s index and FII/DII files, and the fund houses’ monthly portfolios (how we calculate). They are as of the dates stated and can be revised by their source.
Keep reading
Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund in 2026: by the numbers
Aditya Birla Sun Life MF managed ₹4,41,787 crore in July–September 2026, 6th of 55, up 3.9% in a year. 102 Direct Growth schemes, ranked on 3-year returns.
Mirae Asset Mutual Fund by the numbers: 98 schemes
Mirae Asset managed ₹2,37,421 crore in July–September 2026, 10th among fund houses. 71 of its 98 schemes are ETFs, index funds or FoFs, with 14% of its money.
UTI Mutual Fund in 2026: by the numbers
UTI MF managed ₹4,02,337 crore in July–September 2026, 7th of 55, up 6.3% in a year. 235 Direct Growth schemes, ranked on 3-year returns.