Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund in 2026, by the numbers

The short version

Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund is the fifth-largest fund house in India. In July–September 2026 it managed an average of ₹6,14,116 crore, or 7.04% of the industry's ₹87,21,848 crore. These are AMFI's quarterly average figures, which leave out domestic fund-of-funds so that money is not counted twice.

Three things set it apart: its biggest scheme is an arbitrage fund, its equity costs are below the industry's, and a third of its shelf is less than two years old.

Assets: fifth since 2022

Over ten years Kotak's assets grew 8.7 times, against 5.4 times for the industry, which took it from eighth place to fifth. It was briefly fourth in April–June 2022 and has been fifth in every quarter since October–December 2022. The last year was slower: assets rose 10.5%, while the houses that reported in both quarters grew 12.9% together. That is why its share slipped from 7.21% to 7.04%. Quarter on quarter it grew 4.0%, against 4.9% for the industry.

Its domestic fund-of-funds held another ₹19,884 crore, the fifth-largest such book, which is not in the figures above. For the full league table, see the largest fund houses by AUM.

What it runs

Counting each open-ended scheme still publishing a NAV this October once, by its Direct-plan Growth option, Kotak has 98 open schemes. Closed-ended FMPs and the target-maturity funds that matured at the end of September are left out. Its 22 ETFs, which have no separate Direct plan, are counted on their own.

Index funds are the largest group, and much of the range is new. 32 of the 98 schemes started in the last two years, 19 of them index funds and six sectoral or thematic funds.

Where the money sits

These are scheme totals across all plans. The eight hold ₹3,60,403 crore between them, about 59% of the house.

Kotak Arbitrage alone is 12% of Kotak's assets. It is the largest arbitrage fund in the country, 2.2 times ICICI Prudential's ₹34,615 crore, and its hedged trades earn something close to a short-term interest rate; the guide to arbitrage funds explains how. Among equity funds, Kotak Mid Cap is the second-largest mid-cap fund after HDFC's ₹1,05,346 crore, Flexi Cap is third among flexi caps and Multi Cap second among multi caps.

The equity funds against their categories

Nine of Kotak's diversified equity funds have a three-year record. The table sets each fund's three-year CAGR (Direct plan, Growth, to 9 October 2026) against the median of every Direct Growth fund in its category with three years of history.

Four funds are above their median, the ELSS fund sits exactly on it and four are below. The middle is tight: Kotak Large Cap trails by 0.02 points a year, so a week of NAV moves can change the count. Our house-by-house scorecard, measured to 1 October, had Kotak at five of nine. Over one year, three of the nine were ahead. The widest gaps are at either end of the table: Kotak Focused 2.54 points a year ahead, Kotak Small Cap 3.01 points behind. Contra is a thin category, with only three funds that are three years old.

What it charges

On AMFI's TER file dated 7 October 2026, and counting only schemes at least a year old, the median expense ratio of Kotak's 24 equity funds on the Direct plan is 0.83%, against 1.07% for all 528 such equity funds. Its cheapest are Kotak Mid Cap at 0.54%, the third-lowest of all 528, Kotak Pioneer at 0.62% and Kotak Small Cap at 0.64%. The dearest are Kotak Quant at 1.78% and Kotak Active Momentum at 1.53%.

The cheapest scheme overall is the Kotak Income Plus Arbitrage Omni FOF at 0.07%, a fund-of-funds whose own fee sits on top of what its underlying funds charge, followed by Kotak Overnight at 0.09%. Kotak Arbitrage shows 2.32%, which looks out of place, but the whole category reads high in the same file: the 40 arbitrage funds' Direct plans run from 0.98% to 2.48%, with a median of 1.44%.

What its equity funds own

Across Kotak's 27 equity funds, on portfolios dated 30 September 2026, the largest holdings by approximate value (each fund's weight times its July–September average assets) are HDFC Bank at ₹8,118 crore in 13 funds, Eternal at ₹6,975 crore, ICICI Bank at ₹6,897 crore and State Bank of India at ₹6,200 crore. Next come two defence-linked companies: Bharat Electronics at ₹5,947 crore across nine funds, and Solar Industries at ₹4,256 crore across eight. The most widely held stock is Maruti Suzuki, in 16 of the 27.

The managers

Kotak's Statement of Additional Information, dated 20 July 2026, names Harsha Upadhyaya as CIO for equity; the scheme documents show him on Kotak Flexi Cap and Kotak Large & Mid Cap since August 2012. Hiten Shah has run Kotak Arbitrage since October 2019 and co-manages the house's balanced advantage, equity savings and multi-asset funds. Shibani Sircar Kurian runs Kotak Focused, the fund furthest ahead of its median, and Kotak Contra, both since 2019. Atul Bhole has managed Kotak Mid Cap since January 2024. A manager change resets what a long record means, so check the start dates on each fund's page.

What this does not tell you

Size says nothing about whether any one scheme suits you; AUM reflects distribution and history as much as returns. Three years is one market phase, and every fund counts once in the category comparison whatever its size. TERs change often, and a scheme's costs should be read on its own page.

None of this is a recommendation of Kotak or any of its schemes. To compare its funds with the rest of their categories, use the screener.