The number
Over the three years to 30 September 2026, the median flexi-cap fund returned 11.22% a year. The best returned 18.38% and the worst 6.06%.
That is a gap of more than 12 percentage points a year between two funds that sit in the same SEBI category and may buy the same shares.
All figures are for each fund's Direct plan, Growth option, computed from daily NAVs to 30 September 2026. Returns under one year would be absolute; everything here is one year or longer, so it is a compounded annual rate.
The spread, period by period
The category has 46 funds, but many are new. A fund counts in a period only if it has a full record for it.
| 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Funds counted | 40 | 36 | 27 |
| Worst | −5.70% | 6.06% | 4.09% |
| Lower quartile | −2.20% | 9.68% | 8.93% |
| Median | 1.93% | 11.22% | 10.11% |
| Upper quartile | 5.72% | 14.60% | 12.13% |
| Best | 13.02% | 18.38% | 16.42% |
The middle half of funds is about 5 points wide over three years and about 3 points wide over five. The extremes are where the action is.
Over one year, 16 of the 40 funds lost money. Over five years, none did.
Top and bottom over three years
| Fund (Direct, Growth) | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of India Flexi Cap | 11.38% | 18.38% | 16.42% |
| ITI Flexi Cap | 13.02% | 17.96% | |
| Motilal Oswal Flexi Cap | 3.57% | 17.48% | 12.39% |
| 360 ONE Flexicap | 10.09% | 16.67% | |
| Invesco India Flexi Cap | 0.35% | 16.40% | |
| … | |||
| Sundaram Flexicap | −5.26% | 7.84% | |
| SBI Flexicap | −2.22% | 7.83% | 7.62% |
| UTI Flexi Cap | −2.20% | 7.33% | 4.09% |
| Shriram Flexi Cap | −3.20% | 6.06% | 6.83% |
Three of the top five are less than four years old, so they have no five-year number to check the three-year one against.
The five-year list is different again. Its top five are Bank of India (16.42%), HDFC (15.68%), JM (14.64%), ICICI Prudential (14.39%) and Quant (14.17%). HDFC Flexi Cap ranks tenth over three years and second over five. Motilal Oswal is third over three years and seventh over five.
Against the Nifty 500
Flexi-cap funds can hold companies of any size, so the Nifty 500 is the natural yardstick. We don't hold NSE's official total return index, so we estimated one by adding the Nifty 500's published dividend yield back to its price return.
- 3 years: estimated 9.71% a year. 26 of 36 funds beat it.
- 5 years: estimated 9.25% a year. 18 of 27 funds beat it.
- 1 year: estimated −1.82%. 28 of 40 funds did better.
So most funds added something over the index, and roughly a third did not.
What this does not tell you
A three-year rank is mostly the last three years. Funds that ran a large mid- or small-cap share look strong in a period when smaller companies beat larger ones. That can reverse.
New funds have short, flattering records. A fund launched in 2023 has never been through a long fall. Its three-year number cannot show how it behaves in one.
Survivors only. Funds that merged into others are not in the table. None of this is advice to buy or sell any fund.
Where to go from here
The flexi-cap fund page carries the full list, and the flexi-cap outperformers screen picks out those compounding above 18% a year over three years.
If you are choosing between the two "go anywhere" categories, read flexi cap vs multi cap. For the same exercise on smaller companies, see mid-cap fund returns, and for how value funds compare, value and contra funds against flexi caps.
For how much the biggest flexi-cap funds own the same stocks, see how much the six largest flexi-cap funds overlap.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average return of flexi-cap funds?
To 30 September 2026, the median flexi-cap fund (Direct plan, Growth option) returned 1.93% over one year, 11.22% a year over three years and 10.11% a year over five years. Those medians cover 40, 36 and 27 funds respectively.
How different are the best and worst flexi-cap funds?
Over three years the best flexi-cap fund returned 18.38% a year and the worst 6.06%, a gap of 12.32 percentage points a year. The middle half of funds sat between 9.68% and 14.60%.
Did flexi-cap funds beat the Nifty 500?
Mostly. Against our estimate of the Nifty 500's total return, 9.71% a year over three years and 9.25% over five, 26 of 36 funds beat it over three years and 18 of 27 over five.
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.
Keep reading
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Direct vs regular plans: the 1.16-point equity fee gap
A regular equity plan costs a median 1.16 points a year more than its direct twin, on AMFI's September 2026 data. Over ten years, direct ended 10.2% ahead.