One fund per category
Bandhan, DSP and Franklin Templeton each run a long list of funds. To compare them fairly this post takes only the categories in which all three have exactly one Direct plan, Growth option fund with a three-year record. That gives 19 categories and 57 funds, with NAVs to 3 November 2026. Where a house has two funds in a category it is left out, so no row compares a house's best fund against another's average. The best of the three in each row is in bold. Returns of a year or more are compounded annual rates.
Three-year returns
| Category | Bandhan | DSP | Franklin Templeton |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small cap | 21.72% | 16.05% | 9.59% |
| Mid cap | 17.51% | 13.04% | 13.61% |
| Large & mid cap | 16.94% | 13.40% | 10.78% |
| Focused | 15.53% | 13.30% | 8.12% |
| Aggressive hybrid | 14.94% | 10.57% | 9.49% |
| Large cap | 13.85% | 11.89% | 10.66% |
| Value | 11.17% | 16.23% | 9.18% |
| ELSS | 10.54% | 13.65% | 10.75% |
| Flexi cap | 11.55% | 11.26% | 10.93% |
| Balanced advantage | 9.94% | 10.87% | 9.38% |
| Equity savings | 7.36% | 8.48% | 7.44% |
| Conservative hybrid | 7.26% | 8.41% | 7.72% |
| Gilt | 8.22% | 6.42% | 6.21% |
| Corporate bond | 7.02% | 7.38% | 7.82% |
| Banking and PSU | 7.00% | 6.63% | 7.33% |
| Floating rate | 7.66% | 7.53% | 7.95% |
| Money market | 7.34% | 7.15% | 7.33% |
| Liquid | 6.88% | 6.93% | 6.95% |
| Overnight | 6.02% | 6.01% | 6.01% |
Bandhan led in 10 of the 19, DSP in 5 and Franklin Templeton in 4. The count hides how unequal the rows are. In small cap the winner beat the last place by 12.13 points a year (21.72% against 9.59%); in overnight funds all three were within 0.01 point.
Where the gap is real
Equity is where the three differ. Across the eight pure-equity rows (small, mid, large & mid, focused, large, value, ELSS, flexi) the simple average three-year return was:
| House | Average, 8 equity categories |
|---|---|
| Bandhan | 14.85% |
| DSP | 13.60% |
| Franklin Templeton | 10.45% |
Bandhan's lead comes from the smaller end of the market: its small cap and mid cap funds are the highest in their rows. DSP's strongest rows are value and ELSS, where it led. Franklin Templeton did not lead in any equity row.
A three-year average mixes categories that behave very differently, so use it only as a rough guide. It also leaves out risk. A fund that returned more may also have fallen further on the way; for that, see how to read max drawdown on a fund page.
One-year returns
| Category | Bandhan | DSP | Franklin Templeton |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small cap | 2.02% | 10.51% | -4.43% |
| Mid cap | 4.31% | -2.14% | -6.57% |
| Large & mid cap | -1.80% | -4.75% | -7.51% |
| Focused | -2.09% | -1.62% | -11.45% |
| Aggressive hybrid | 3.65% | -4.26% | -5.19% |
| Large cap | -2.29% | -5.36% | -4.06% |
| Value | -2.86% | 1.82% | -8.16% |
| ELSS | -1.45% | -4.36% | -7.06% |
| Flexi cap | -2.61% | -3.99% | -6.47% |
| Balanced advantage | 2.58% | 2.20% | -2.27% |
| Equity savings | 4.09% | 1.31% | 3.39% |
| Conservative hybrid | 2.41% | 2.52% | 0.83% |
| Gilt | 7.38% | 2.55% | 4.18% |
| Corporate bond | 4.92% | 5.75% | 5.27% |
| Banking and PSU | 5.08% | 3.11% | 5.24% |
| Floating rate | 5.93% | 4.65% | 5.90% |
| Money market | 6.47% | 6.38% | 6.44% |
| Liquid | 6.51% | 6.51% | 6.53% |
| Overnight | 5.26% | 5.27% | 5.32% |
Over one year Bandhan led 11 rows, DSP 5 and Franklin Templeton 3. All eight of Franklin Templeton's pure-equity funds were negative, from -4.06% (large cap) to -11.45% (focused). Bandhan had two equity funds in positive territory (small and mid cap) and DSP two (small cap and value).
Reading this carefully
- One fund is not a house. Each cell is a single scheme with its own manager and history. A house that leads in a row has not necessarily run all its funds well.
- A three-year number covers one stretch of the market. Check how long a fund has existed on its page, and see the three-year drawdown comparison before trusting a high number.
- Past returns do not set the future ones. These are trailing figures, not a forecast.
To compare other houses in the same way, the earlier posts in this series cover SBI, HDFC and ICICI Prudential and Aditya Birla, UTI and Mirae Asset. The AMC pages show any single house in full.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, Bandhan, DSP or Franklin Templeton mutual fund?
None is best everywhere. Comparing one Direct Growth fund per category to 3 November 2026, Bandhan had the highest three-year return in 10 of 19 categories, DSP in 5 and Franklin Templeton in 4. Over one year the split was 11, 5 and 3.
How do the three compare in equity categories?
Across the 8 equity categories where all three run one fund, the average three-year return was 14.85% for Bandhan, 13.60% for DSP and 10.45% for Franklin Templeton. Every Franklin Templeton equity fund in the comparison was negative over one year.
Why do debt categories show such small gaps?
Liquid, overnight and money market funds hold short paper, so their returns differ by a few hundredths of a point. The win counts there say little; the equity rows carry the real spread.
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
Franklin Templeton in 2026: a record ₹1.33 lakh crore, 18th
Franklin Templeton's assets passed their 2019 peak in July–September 2026, yet the house slid from 7th to 18th. Its equity funds mostly rank in the lower half.
Bandhan Mutual Fund by the numbers: 77 schemes
Bandhan managed ₹2,17,749 crore in July–September 2026, 12th among fund houses. Debt holds 40% of its scheme money, and its Small Cap fund alone holds 15%.
DSP Mutual Fund by the numbers: 9th to 11th for ten years
DSP managed ₹2,44,022 crore in July–September 2026, 9th among fund houses. Equity is under half its money and debt a quarter; value and small cap rank best.