Two kinds of recovery
At the end of February the Nifty 50 stood at 25,178.65. A month later it was 11.31% lower. Four and a half months after that, on Tuesday 18 August, it closed at 24,154.90: still 4.07% below its February level, and 8.26% below its record of 2 January.
Most equity funds have done better than that. Of the 306 diversified equity funds with NAVs on both dates, 256 are back at or above their 27 February NAV. The median fund is 6.02% above it.
We used two tests:
- Back above February: the fund's NAV on 18 August is at or above its NAV on 27 February, the last trading day before March's fall.
- Back at a high: the NAV on 18 August is at or above the highest NAV the fund had ever reached before 1 March.
The second is harder. For 101 of these funds that earlier high dates from September 2024. All figures are for each fund's Direct plan, Growth option. "Diversified" means every equity category except sector and theme funds.
Category by category
| Category | Funds | Back above February | Back at a high | Median vs 27 Feb | Median vs earlier high |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Cap | 33 | 33 | 28 | +18.98% | +6.73% |
| Mid Cap | 31 | 31 | 27 | +9.95% | +5.47% |
| Multi Cap | 32 | 32 | 25 | +9.25% | +3.91% |
| Large & Mid Cap | 33 | 31 | 20 | +5.68% | +0.37% |
| Flexi Cap | 43 | 37 | 18 | +5.82% | −0.84% |
| Focused | 28 | 24 | 9 | +4.61% | −0.97% |
| ELSS | 38 | 28 | 10 | +2.80% | −2.38% |
| Value | 22 | 15 | 8 | +1.77% | −2.37% |
| Dividend Yield | 10 | 6 | 2 | +1.36% | −4.33% |
| Large Cap | 33 | 17 | 2 | +0.02% | −3.94% |
| All diversified | 306 | 256 | 149 | +6.02% | −0.08% |
| Sector & theme | 238 | 197 | 109 | +6.83% | −0.99% |
The table runs almost exactly by company size. Every small-cap, mid-cap and multi-cap fund is back above February. Large-cap funds are split down the middle, and only two of them, Invesco India Large Cap and Bank of India Large Cap, are above their earlier highs.
Nearly half of all diversified funds, 149 of 306, are at a high again; the median one is 0.08% short of it.
The indices say the same
| Index | 27 Feb close | 18 Aug close | Change | Earlier high (before March) | vs that high |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nifty 50 | 25,178.65 | 24,154.90 | −4.07% | 26,328.55 (2 Jan 2026) | −8.26% |
| Nifty Midcap 150 | 21,847.35 | 23,364.90 | +6.95% | 22,606.50 (7 Jan 2026) | +3.35% |
| Nifty Smallcap 250 | 15,881.05 | 18,346.75 | +15.53% | 18,623.15 (23 Sep 2024) | −1.48% |
The Nifty Midcap 150 is above anything it reached before March. The Nifty Smallcap 250 has risen most since February but is still a little short of its September 2024 record, while most small-cap funds have already passed their own earlier highs.
The Nifty 50 has not closed above its 27 February level on any day since March began.
Furthest ahead, furthest behind
The five furthest above their pre-March highs are all small-cap funds: TrustMF Small Cap (+21.83%), Union Small Cap (+16.13%), Helios Small Cap (+15.31%), Samco Small Cap (+15.19%) and ITI Small Cap (+15.07%), with Groww Multicap (+14.88%) next.
Furthest below are funds whose highs date from 2024. NJ Flexi Cap is 15.47% below a high of September 2024, though 3.27% above its February NAV. Quant Mid Cap is 10.47% below a July 2024 high while 13.77% above February.
So "not back at a high" often says more about how high a fund went in 2024 than about what it did this year.
What this does not tell you
A recovery is measured from a chosen date. Pick a day in January instead of 27 February and fewer funds would look recovered; measure from the March low and the picture looks better still.
Being back at a high says nothing about what comes next. These are price levels, not forecasts.
Survivors only. Funds merged or closed since February are not counted. None of this is advice to buy or sell any fund.
Where to go from here
For the month the fall happened, see the equity funds that fell least in March. For the latest on each category, see mid-cap fund returns in August and flexi-cap fund returns in August.
The small-cap fund page and large-cap fund page carry each fund's live numbers, and recency bias is a useful read after a quick rebound.
Frequently asked questions
Have equity mutual funds recovered from the March 2026 fall?
Most have. On NAVs of 18 August 2026, 256 of 306 diversified equity funds (Direct plan, Growth option) were at or above their NAV of 27 February 2026, the last day before March's fall. The median fund was 6.02% above it. The Nifty 50, at 24,154.90, was still 4.07% below its 27 February close.
Which fund categories have recovered most since March 2026?
Small caps. All 33 small-cap funds were above their 27 February NAV on 18 August 2026, by a median 18.98%, and 28 of them were above the highest NAV they had reached before March. Large-cap funds were the laggards: 17 of 33 were back above February, and only 2 above their pre-March high.
Is the Nifty 50 back at its record?
No. The Nifty 50 closed at 24,154.90 on 18 August 2026, 8.26% below its record close of 26,328.55 on 2 January. It has not closed above its 27 February level of 25,178.65 at any point since March began.
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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