Multi cap: Axis vs WhiteOak vs HSBC vs LIC MF

Why these four

Twenty-two multi-cap funds have a three-year record. The top four are Axis Multicap at 18.47% a year, WhiteOak Capital Multi Cap at 17.65%, HSBC Multi Cap at 17.34% and LIC MF Multi Cap at 17.11%, against a category median of 13.54%. The top four in large & mid, mid and small caps are 1.8 to 4.7 points apart; here it is 1.36. ₹1 lakh three years ago is about ₹1.66 lakh in the Axis fund today and ₹1.61 lakh in the LIC MF fund, a gap of under ₹6,000.

When returns are this close, the choice turns on other things: how the fund behaved on the way, what it costs, and how it fills the category's rule. A multi-cap fund must hold at least 25% each in large, mid and small caps, which is the difference from a flexi-cap fund, explained here. Figures are for the Direct plan, Growth option, from NAVs to Friday 9 October 2026.

Returns

Three-year figures are compounded annual rates. None of the four has five years; only nine funds in the category do. WhiteOak's fund has barely three.

Over one year Axis is again ahead, eighth of 32 funds. Axis against WhiteOak is the widest one-year gap of the four, 3.28 points, and HSBC against LIC MF the narrowest three-year one, 0.23 points.

Risk

All over three years. The worst fall is the deepest peak-to-trough drop in NAV (max drawdown); down capture compares the fund with the Nifty 500 TRI in the months that index fell.

Here the four split in two. Axis and WhiteOak have the top two Sharpe ratios in the category, the lowest volatility and the smallest falls; WhiteOak fell least, 16.93%. HSBC and LIC MF earned almost as much with more volatility and deeper falls, and LIC MF lost slightly more than the index in its down months. Axis against HSBC shows the difference most clearly: 1.13 points more return for 1.37 points less volatility.

Fees, size and exit load

Expense ratios are AMFI's, dated 8 October 2026.

Fees run the other way from risk: LIC MF and HSBC are the cheapest, Axis the dearest, though the whole spread is 0.15 points, ₹1,500 a year on ₹10 lakh. Axis against LIC MF is also the size extreme, a fund five times the other's assets.

Axis and HSBC both let 10% of an investment out free in the first year and charge 1% on the rest, per their Scheme Summary Documents. WhiteOak's October 2026 summary document states no exit load, while its November 2025 scheme information document stated 1% within one month; LIC MF's terms are not in the filings we hold. Check both before investing.

How they fill the 25-25-25

From each house's monthly disclosure. The cap split is of equity holdings by current market value against AMFI's July 2026 cut-offs, rounded. SEBI's test uses AMFI's six-month averages, so Axis's 24% here is not a breach.

The free 25% goes in different directions. Axis and LIC MF lean to large caps; WhiteOak puts the most into small caps, 35%, while holding 11.9% outside equity in cash, debt and REITs. All four have ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank in their top five, so the large-cap sleeves overlap. The differences sit lower down: LIC MF's largest holding is Garware Hi-Tech Films at 3.91%, and HSBC's is TD Power Systems at 3.01%. WhiteOak against LIC MF is 194 stocks against 63, and HSBC against WhiteOak a stated turnover of 46% against 170%.

Who runs them

• Axis: Shreyash Devalkar since 1 March 2023, Nitin Arora and Hitesh Das since 26 May 2023, at Axis Mutual Fund.
• WhiteOak Capital: Ramesh Mantri, Piyush Baranwal and Trupti Agarwal since launch in September 2023, with Dheeresh Pathak and Ashish Agrawal added since, at WhiteOak Capital.
• HSBC: Venugopal Manghat and Sonal Gupta since 30 January 2023, Mahesh Chhabria since 1 April 2024, at HSBC Mutual Fund.
• LIC MF: Yogesh Patil and Dikshit Mittal, per the November 2025 scheme information document, at LIC Mutual Fund.

What the numbers do not tell you

Three years is the whole life of the youngest fund here and a short record for any of them. A 1.36-point spread in return can reverse in a single year. The three funds with summary documents state the Nifty 500 Multicap 50:25:25 TRI as their benchmark; its valuation page shows where that market stands, and our October review of multi-cap funds covers the whole category.

None of this is a recommendation to buy or sell any fund.