One fund per category, three houses
Kotak, Axis and Nippon India are among the ten largest fund houses in India, and each runs a fund in nearly every mainstream category. That makes a clean test: take the same category, one fund from each house, and see who did better. This post does that for 13 categories, using each house's Direct plan, Growth option fund, from NAVs to 23 October 2026. Where a house runs more than one fund in a category it is left out, so each cell is a single fund.
The tables mark the best of the three in each row in bold. Returns of a year or more are compounded annual rates.
Three-year returns, category by category
| Category | Kotak | Axis | Nippon India |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large cap | 9.02% | 7.77% | 9.75% |
| Flexi cap | 10.00% | 11.89% | 8.40% |
| Mid cap | 13.77% | 14.39% | 15.47% |
| Small cap | 9.77% | 12.74% | 12.23% |
| ELSS | 9.37% | 8.99% | 10.75% |
| Multi cap | 14.35% | 16.99% | 10.98% |
| Focused | 12.79% | 8.13% | 8.09% |
| Large & mid cap | 11.33% | 13.15% | 12.40% |
| Balanced advantage | 8.53% | 10.62% | 9.61% |
| Arbitrage | 7.40% | 7.28% | 7.24% |
| Corporate bond | 7.14% | 7.46% | 7.29% |
| Short duration | 7.25% | 7.59% | 7.44% |
| Liquid | 6.90% | 6.96% | 6.93% |
Over three years Kotak led in two, Axis led in eight and Nippon India led in three of the 13 categories. Axis had the most wins, but the margin in each row matters as much as the count.
One-year returns
| Category | Kotak | Axis | Nippon India |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large cap | −9.16% | −7.94% | −9.53% |
| Flexi cap | −8.18% | −2.82% | −7.59% |
| Mid cap | −4.74% | −0.34% | −1.50% |
| Small cap | −0.62% | 3.04% | 1.59% |
| ELSS | −5.48% | −6.60% | −5.87% |
| Multi cap | −4.07% | 1.65% | −7.82% |
| Focused | −4.28% | −7.85% | −6.56% |
| Large & mid cap | −6.01% | −1.75% | −7.53% |
| Balanced advantage | −2.36% | −2.16% | −1.69% |
| Arbitrage | 6.71% | 6.60% | 6.64% |
| Corporate bond | 3.76% | 4.23% | 3.88% |
| Short duration | 4.30% | 4.79% | 4.37% |
| Liquid | 6.41% | 6.52% | 6.48% |
Over one year Kotak led in three, Axis led in nine and Nippon India led in one categories (ties count for the first listed).
Five-year returns
| Category | Kotak | Axis | Nippon India |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large cap | 7.73% | 4.56% | 11.14% |
| Flexi cap | 9.14% | 7.19% | 9.07% |
| Mid cap | 14.27% | 11.39% | 15.77% |
| Small cap | 10.87% | 14.43% | 17.05% |
| ELSS | 10.47% | 4.47% | 9.94% |
| Multi cap | 15.26% | – | 14.38% |
| Focused | 10.14% | 2.42% | 8.22% |
| Large & mid cap | 12.00% | 10.30% | 10.84% |
| Balanced advantage | 8.16% | 8.82% | 8.80% |
| Arbitrage | 6.98% | 6.84% | 6.83% |
| Corporate bond | 6.29% | 6.64% | 6.62% |
| Short duration | 6.33% | 6.69% | 6.56% |
| Liquid | 6.38% | 6.45% | 6.42% |
The averages
| Average across the funds above | Kotak | Axis | Nippon India |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-year return, 8 equity categories | 11.30% | 11.76% | 11.01% |
| 3-year return, all 13 categories | 9.82% | 10.30% | 9.74% |
| 1-year return, 8 equity categories | −5.32% | −2.83% | −5.60% |
An average of categories mixes funds with very different return levels, so it is a rough guide. A house can lead the average on the back of one strong small-cap or mid-cap fund and still trail in the category you care about.
Reading the comparison
- Each cell is one fund. A house with a strong fund in a category is not necessarily strong in the next.
- Three years is a short window, and which house leads changes with the window, as the one-year and five-year tables show.
- Fund houses differ in how many funds they run. The larger the shelf, the more categories in which a house can be both best and worst of the three.
- Returns are historical, from NAVs, and not a forecast. This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any fund.
For the wider picture across every house, see fund houses ranked by their equity funds against category and the fund-house report card on three-year medians.
Source: AMFI NAVs to 23 October 2026, Direct plan Growth option; categories as classified by AMFI.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, Kotak, Axis or Nippon India mutual fund?
No house is better everywhere. Comparing one Direct Growth fund per category to 23 October 2026, Kotak had the best three-year return in 2 of 13 categories, Axis in 8 and Nippon India in 3. Over one year the wins were 3, 9, 1 for Kotak, Axis, Nippon India respectively.
Which of the three has the best average three-year return in equity categories?
Kotak averaged 11.30%, Axis 11.76% and Nippon India 11.01% across the 8 equity categories where all three run a fund. An average mixes very different categories, so use it only as a rough guide.
Why compare one fund per category?
It holds the category constant. A house's fund is then judged against two rivals with the same mandate, instead of against a mix of unrelated funds.
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
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