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Equity fund scorecard: median returns by category

Mid-cap funds lead on three years at a 15.68% median; large caps trail every period. Median 1, 3, 5 and 10-year returns for 12 categories, to 30 Sep 2026.

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The scorecard

Twelve SEBI equity categories, one median return each for four periods. Every figure is the median fund's return, computed from daily NAVs of the Direct plan, Growth option, to 30 September 2026. The 1-year figure is the change over the year; the rest are compounded annual rates.

Category Funds 1 year 3 years 5 years 10 years
Mid Cap 34 6.26% 15.68% 14.82% 16.04%
Small Cap 36 12.63% 14.88% 15.34% 17.28%
Multi Cap 33 6.41% 13.66% 13.10% 14.46%
Sectoral / Thematic 255 3.21% 13.45% 12.24% 14.67%
Contra 4 −1.74% 13.10% 13.33% 15.41%
Large & Mid Cap 36 2.46% 12.24% 11.69% 14.21%
Value 24 0.22% 11.70% 12.29% 13.46%
Focused 28 1.06% 11.54% 10.97% 13.27%
Flexi Cap 46 1.93% 11.22% 10.11% 13.14%
Dividend Yield 12 −0.63% 10.90% 12.55% 13.78%
ELSS 38 −0.66% 10.30% 10.20% 13.03%
Large Cap 35 −3.42% 9.16% 8.42% 11.71%
All 581 funds 581 2.65% 12.10% 11.62% 13.85%

"Funds" is the number of Direct Growth plans in the category today. Fewer have long records: across all categories, 529 funds have a full one-year record, 404 three years, 311 five years and 218 ten years. A fund only counts in a period it has fully lived through.

Some categories are thin. Contra has three funds with a record, Dividend Yield six over five years, and Multi Cap eight over five years, so their medians can swing on one fund.

Against the indices

For comparison, our estimates of the indices' total returns, built from NSE's daily price and dividend yield:

Index (estimated total return) 1 year 3 years 5 years 10 years
Nifty 50 −6.91% 6.18% 6.49% 11.54%
Nifty 500 −1.82% 9.71% 9.25% 12.88%
Nifty Midcap 150 4.71% 13.92% 15.03% 16.76%
Nifty Smallcap 250 7.36% 14.23% 14.73% 14.78%

What the table shows

Smaller companies won, by a wide margin. Over three years the median mid-cap fund returned 15.68% a year and the median large-cap fund 9.16%, a gap of 6.52 points a year. Over ten years the median small-cap fund returned 17.28% a year against 11.71% for large caps.

Large caps came last in every period. That reflects their index. The Nifty 50 lost an estimated 6.91% over the year with dividends, the worst of the four indices above, and large-cap funds can only stray so far from it.

The last year split the market. Small-cap funds' median was up 12.63% while large caps' was down 3.42%, a 16-point gap in one year. Four categories had a negative median year: Large Cap, Contra, ELSS and Dividend Yield.

Flexi caps sit low on five years. At 10.11% a year, the median flexi-cap fund ranks eleventh of twelve over five years, just above large caps. Unlike multi-cap funds, which must keep at least 25% each in large, mid and small companies, flexi-cap funds are free to hold mostly large ones.

What this does not tell you

A median hides the spread. Within each category, the best and worst funds are often more than 10 points a year apart over three years. The category posts linked below show those spreads.

Category rankings rotate. Large caps trailing for three, five and ten years at once is a statement about this decade, not a rule.

Higher return came with deeper falls. Over three years the median small-cap fund's worst fall was 24.16%, against 16.44% for large caps. Nothing here is advice to buy or sell any fund or category.

Where to go from here

The categories page lists every SEBI category with live numbers, and SEBI fund categories explained covers what each one may hold.

For the detail behind the rows: large-cap funds vs the Nifty 50, mid-cap fund returns, flexi-cap fund returns and which equity funds are down over a year.

For the month's market backdrop, see September 2026 in numbers.

Frequently asked questions

Which equity fund category has the best returns?

It depends on the period. To 30 September 2026, the median small-cap fund led over one year (12.63%), five years (15.34% a year) and ten years (17.28% a year). Mid-cap funds led over three years, at 15.68% a year. Figures are for Direct Growth plans.

What is the median return of large-cap funds?

The median large-cap fund's Direct Growth plan returned −3.42% over one year, 9.16% a year over three years, 8.42% over five and 11.71% over ten, to 30 September 2026. It was the lowest of the 12 equity categories in every one of those periods.

How many equity funds does the scorecard cover?

581 equity funds, each counted once through its Direct plan, Growth option. Of those, 529 have a full one-year record, 404 a three-year, 311 a five-year and 218 a ten-year record. Index funds, ETFs and closed-ended ELSS series are left out.

This is commentary on published data, not investment advice. WealthTicker is not a SEBI-registered adviser or distributor. Figures are as of the dates stated and can be revised by their source.

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