Three funds, one rule
For years SEBI let a fund house run a value fund or a contra fund, not both, which is why the contra category is so small. Only three contra funds have a record worth comparing: Kotak Contra, SBI Contra and Invesco India Contra. The revised rules allow both if the two portfolios overlap by less than 50%, and a fourth, Bandhan Contra, started on 2 September 2026 alongside Bandhan's value fund.
A contra fund buys what is out of favour and waits, which the guide to contra funds explains in more detail. The three funds below do that in quite different ways. Every figure is for the Direct plan, Growth option, from NAVs to Friday 9 October 2026. SBI Contra's latest NAV in our data is from 8 October, so its figures run to that day.
Returns
| Fund | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kotak Contra | −4.35% | 13.91% | 12.62% | 15.63% |
| SBI Contra | −6.56% | 9.11% | 13.12% | 14.60% |
| Invesco India Contra | −5.13% | 13.13% | 11.65% | 14.98% |
Returns of a year or more are compounded annual rates. ₹1 lakh put into Kotak Contra three years ago is worth about ₹1.48 lakh now, against ₹1.30 lakh in SBI Contra. Over five years the order flips: about ₹1.85 lakh in SBI Contra and ₹1.81 lakh in Kotak.
That flip is the whole story of SBI Contra, and the calendar years show it.
| Year | Kotak | SBI | Invesco India |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 16.71% | 31.37% | 22.63% |
| 2021 | 31.94% | 50.98% | 31.26% |
| 2022 | 8.88% | 13.63% | 5.09% |
| 2023 | 36.86% | 39.53% | 30.29% |
| 2024 | 23.74% | 19.94% | 31.65% |
| 2025 | 8.82% | 7.02% | 4.26% |
| 2026 to 9 Oct | −7.11% | −11.04% | −6.81% |
SBI Contra had the best year of the three four times running, 2020 to 2023. Since then it has been last in 2024 and so far in 2026. Its five-year window takes in 2022 and most of 2023, when it led; its three-year window starts in October 2023 and misses almost all of that. The head-to-head pages for Kotak against SBI and SBI against Invesco India chart the two paths.
Risk
| Fund | Volatility | Worst fall | Sharpe | Down capture |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kotak Contra | 14.64% | −18.95% | 0.51 | 95.9% |
| SBI Contra | 12.56% | −15.84% | 0.21 | 87.5% |
| Invesco India Contra | 15.02% | −18.64% | 0.44 | 104.1% |
All four columns cover the last three years. Volatility is the annualised swing in daily returns, the worst fall is the deepest peak-to-trough drop, and Sharpe is return above a 6.5% risk-free rate per unit of volatility. Down capture compares each fund with the Nifty 500 TRI in the months the index fell: under 100% means it lost less.
SBI Contra was the calmest fund on all three risk measures and the least rewarded for it, with a Sharpe ratio of 0.21. Invesco India Contra was the bumpiest and fell slightly more than the index in down months. Kotak against Invesco India is the closest race: 0.78 points apart on three years, with Kotak slightly less volatile but a fraction deeper in its worst fall.
Fees, size and portfolio
| Kotak | SBI | Invesco India | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct expense ratio | 0.80% | 0.87% | 0.76% |
| Average AUM, Jul–Sep 2026 | ₹5,353 crore | ₹47,465 crore | ₹20,132 crore |
| Stocks held | 63 | 85 | 71 |
| Top 10 holdings | 31.8% | 32.8% | 30.3% |
| Portfolio P/E | 20.4 | 18.0 | 24.7 |
| Turnover, as reported | 38.7% | 146.5% | 64% |
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 fee gap is small: SBI against Invesco India is 0.11 points, about ₹1,100 a year on ₹10 lakh.
Size is not. SBI Contra is nearly nine times Kotak's fund and more than twice Invesco India's. It is also the least fully invested: 88.6% in shares, with 3.4% in REITs, 2.2% in debt and 5.9% in cash and similar. Kotak held 99.0% in shares.
Its portfolio is the cheapest of the three. On the site's portfolio P/E, a weighted average of the holdings' trailing earnings multiples, SBI Contra is at 18.0 and Kotak at 20.4, both under the Nifty 500's 21.56 and the 22 cut-off used by the Value, by what it holds screen. Invesco India Contra, at 24.7, is dearer than the index. Turnover is as each house reports it, and houses calculate it differently, so read it as rough.
The top five holdings show the overlap. ICICI Bank is first in both Kotak's and Invesco India's books, and HDFC Bank leads SBI's. SBI Contra's fourth-largest position is Biocon, at 3.29%; Invesco India's second is Larsen & Toubro, at 4.84%. Weight for weight, the three pairs share 26% to 31% of their portfolios: most of each book is not in the others.
Managers and exit loads
| Fund | Manager | Since | Exit load |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kotak Contra | Shibani Sircar Kurian | May 2019 | 1% within 90 days |
| SBI Contra | Dinesh Balachandran | May 2018 | 0.25% within 30 days, 0.10% from 30 to 90 days |
| Invesco India Contra | Taher Badshah | January 2017 | 1% on units above 10% sold within a year |
Managers and loads are from each fund's latest Scheme Summary Document. Unusually for a comparison like this, each manager has run the fund for longer than its five-year record, so the numbers above belong to the people running the money now. The fund houses' own pages, Kotak Mahindra, SBI and Invesco, list their other schemes.
What this does not tell you
Three funds is not a category. Each contra fund is one manager's reading of what is out of favour, and the three books overlap by less than a third.
A five-year lead can come from one strong stretch. SBI Contra's did, and the category view of value and contra funds against flexi caps shows how quickly the order of these styles changes.
Past returns do not predict future ones, and holdings change every month. None of this is a recommendation of any fund. The AMFI site carries the official expense ratios, and each fund's page here has its current numbers.
Frequently asked questions
Which contra fund has the best returns?
It depends on the period. To 9 October 2026 (Direct Growth), Kotak Contra led over three years at 13.91% a year, SBI Contra over five years at 13.12% and Kotak over ten years at 15.63%. All three lost money over one year, between −4.35% and −6.56%.
Is SBI Contra less risky than Kotak Contra and Invesco India Contra?
On three years of data, yes. SBI Contra had annualised volatility of 12.56% and a worst fall of 15.84%, against 14.64% and 18.95% for Kotak and 15.02% and 18.64% for Invesco India. It also had the weakest three-year return, 9.11% a year.
How many contra funds are there in India?
Four, in our data: Kotak Contra, SBI Contra, Invesco India Contra and Bandhan Contra. Bandhan's launched on 2 September 2026, so only the first three have a track record.
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.
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