Focused funds compared: ICICI, Motilal, Invesco, ITI

Same cap, different funds

A focused fund may hold at most 30 stocks, and the guide to focused funds explains why that cap matters. Of the 27 with a three-year record, these four returned the most: Invesco India Focused, ITI Focused, ICICI Prudential Focused and Motilal Oswal Focused.

All four hold between 27 and 30 stocks. That is where the resemblance ends. Every figure is for the Direct plan, Growth option, from NAVs to Friday 9 October 2026.

Returns

Returns of a year or more are compounded annual rates. Invesco India Focused launched in September 2020 and ITI Focused in June 2023. ₹1 lakh put into the Invesco fund three years ago is worth about ₹1.73 lakh, against ₹1.39 lakh at the category median.

The one-year column is the odd one. Motilal Oswal Focused returned 24.37%, the best of 28 focused funds and more than double the next best, at 10.86%. Its three- and five-year figures are the lowest of the four. The calendar years show how that happened.

Invesco India Focused had the two biggest years in the table, 45.09% in 2024 and 43.16% in 2021, and two of the table's five losing entries. ICICI Prudential Focused lost money in no full calendar year here and was the only one of the four up by double digits in 2025. ICICI against Invesco India is the clearest contrast of steady against streaky.

Risk

All columns cover the last three years. Volatility is the annualised swing in daily returns and the worst fall is the deepest peak-to-trough drop. Sharpe is return above a 6.5% risk-free rate per unit of volatility, and down capture compares each fund with the Nifty 500 TRI in months that index fell.

ICICI Prudential was the calmest, with the lowest volatility and the shallowest fall. Motilal Oswal's worst fall was 31.25%, from 13 September 2024 to 3 March 2025; its NAV has since passed that peak. Motilal Oswal against Invesco India puts the deepest fall next to the best Sharpe ratio.

Fees, size and portfolio

Expense ratios are AMFI's, dated 7 and 8 October 2026; AUM is AMFI's quarterly average for all plans. Holdings are from each house's disclosure for 30 September 2026.

The fund with the best three-year record is also the cheapest, at 0.70%, and Motilal Oswal is the dearest, at 1.60%. Even Motilal Oswal against ITI, the next cheapest, is a 0.70-point gap, about ₹7,000 a year on ₹10 lakh. ICICI Prudential's fund is the largest by far, nearly three times Invesco India's.

The same 30-stock cap produces very different books. Invesco India puts 53.1% in its top ten and reports turnover of just 22%. Motilal Oswal spreads its money evenly: its largest holding, ICICI Prudential AMC, is only 3.86%. ICICI Prudential's reported turnover of 232% means the portfolio changes more than twice a year. Turnover is as each house reports it, so treat it as rough.

ICICI Bank is the largest holding in three of the four funds: 8.73% at ICICI Prudential, 8.56% at Invesco India and 5.03% at ITI. Motilal Oswal's portfolio, at 45 times earnings, is the most expensive and shares the least with the others. Weight for weight:

Managers and exit loads

Managers and loads come from the latest Scheme Summary Document or SID for each fund. Invesco India's and ITI's records belong mostly to managers still in place. Motilal Oswal's does not: its current equity managers are named from August 2025, so the 2026 rebound happened on their watch and most of the three-year record did not. The houses' pages list their other schemes: ICICI Prudential, Motilal Oswal, Invesco, ITI.

What this does not tell you

These four were picked for their three-year records, after the fact. Across the whole category, focused funds have behaved much like flexi caps, as the category-level look at focused funds found; and holding 30 stocks is at the low end of how many stocks equity funds hold.

A one-year jump says little about the next year, and portfolios change every month. None of this is a recommendation of any fund. Official expense ratios and AUM are on the AMFI site.