The number
Over the year to 19 October 2026 the best of 33 large-cap funds returned 4.4%. The median of 31 small-cap funds returned 7.9%. The worst small-cap fund, at -4.5%, finished ahead of the median large-cap fund, at -6.7%.
Category and fund both matter, and in this year the category mattered more than the pick, at least at the large-cap end. The table shows the full one-year range in each category.
Ranges by category
Direct plan, Growth option, open-ended funds with at least a year of NAV history; categories with fewer than ten qualifying funds are left out.
| Category | Funds | Worst | Median | Best | Gap, best to worst |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sectoral / Thematic | 232 | -22.1% | -1.2% | 102.3% | 124.4 pts |
| Focused | 28 | -13.4% | -2.1% | 21.4% | 34.8 pts |
| Small Cap | 31 | -4.5% | 7.9% | 25.2% | 29.7 pts |
| Value | 22 | -9.3% | -3.3% | 15.6% | 24.9 pts |
| Multi Cap | 32 | -6.9% | 1.0% | 12.2% | 19.2 pts |
| ELSS | 49 | -11.1% | -3.7% | 5.3% | 16.4 pts |
| Flexi Cap | 42 | -8.6% | -2.7% | 7.5% | 16.1 pts |
| Large & Mid Cap | 33 | -10.4% | -1.9% | 5.6% | 16.0 pts |
| Mid Cap | 31 | -5.2% | 1.1% | 10.8% | 16.0 pts |
| Large Cap | 33 | -11.2% | -6.7% | 4.4% | 15.7 pts |
| Dividend Yield | 10 | -7.9% | -4.2% | 3.4% | 11.3 pts |
What the table shows
Small caps led the diversified categories, and by a wide margin. The median small-cap fund returned 7.9%. Mid caps and multi caps were next, at 1.1% and 1.0%. Every other diversified category had a negative median, from -1.9% for large & mid caps to -6.7% for large caps.
The ranges overlap, but not everywhere. The best fund in each of ELSS (5.3%), Flexi Cap (7.5%), Large & Mid Cap (5.6%) and Large Cap (4.4%) returned less than the median small-cap fund. In other words, a fund-picking edge inside a category in which the typical fund was falling still did not beat the typical fund in a category that was rising. The reverse is narrower: the worst small-cap fund, at -4.5%, was ahead of the median large-cap fund (-6.7%) but behind every other median in the table.
Concentrated categories spread widest. Focused funds, which hold at most 30 stocks, ran from -13.4% to 21.4%, a 34.8-point gap. Value funds, a smaller group with 22 funds, spanned 24.9 points. By contrast the broad large-cap and mid-cap groups, with 31 to 33 funds each, spanned about 16.
Sectoral and thematic is a different sort of list. Its 124.4-point gap is driven by one fund, Nippon India Taiwan Equity Fund, at 102.3%. The group also holds overseas-theme funds and single-sector funds, so it is a mix of different portfolios, not a competition among like funds. Without that fund the best in the group was 28.2%, a range of 50.3 points. See overseas funds in 2026.
Why spreads matter
If every fund in a category returned the median, the category average would describe every investor's experience. In practice the spread sets how much the choice of fund can matter. The gap between the small-cap median (7.9%) and the large-cap median (-6.7%) is 14.6 points, nearly as large as the 15.7-point range from best to worst fund within large caps. Here, choosing the category moved the outcome about as much as choosing the best fund in it.
Two cautions apply. One year is a short window, and it contains a sharp fall and a rebound, so it can favour whichever fund was positioned for it. And returns here are point to point from NAVs: a fund that fell sharply mid-year and recovered looks the same as one that never fell.
How the figures were made
- One-year return is the change in NAV over twelve months to the latest NAV on or before 19 October 2026, from the site's own metrics.
- Funds are Direct plan, Growth option, with ETFs, segregated portfolios, bonus plans and IDCW plans excluded.
- The screener can filter and sort by one-year return within any category.
For the three-year and five-year picture by category, see ten-year returns by equity category and where the shelter was in 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How big is the gap between the best and worst fund in a category?
In one-year returns to 19 October 2026 it ran from 15.7 percentage points among 33 large-cap funds to 34.8 among 28 focused funds. Sectoral and thematic funds, which include overseas-theme funds, spanned 124.4 points.
Did the best large-cap fund beat the average small-cap fund?
No. The best of 33 large-cap funds returned 4.4% over one year. The median of 31 small-cap funds returned 7.9%, and the worst small-cap fund, at -4.5%, was above the median large-cap fund at -6.7%.
Why do 12-month returns differ so much between funds in one category?
Portfolios differ in stock selection, the share held in mid and small caps, and cash. In Focused and Value funds, which hold fewer stocks, the one-year range was 34.8 and 24.9 points.
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
Best versus worst fund in a category, each year 2021–25
In 2021 small-cap funds ranged from 34.9% to 91.7%, a 56.8-point gap. In 2025 large-cap funds ranged only 6.7 points. The gap in nine categories, five years.
Best minus worst: the one-year gap inside each category
In the year to 9 October 2026 focused funds had a 37-point gap between best and worst, small caps 32 and large caps 15.6. Fund choice mattered most in these.
Small-cap funds' worst 3-year fall: 24%, large caps 16%
Median worst peak-to-trough fall over three years, by equity fund category to 19 October 2026: small caps 24.1%, large caps 16.4%, thematic funds up to 41.9%.