Multi-asset funds returned 7.9% while the Nifty fell

The number

Over the twelve months to 30 September 2026, the median multi-asset allocation fund returned 7.85%. Over the same year the Nifty 50 price index fell 8.09%.

The figures are computed from daily NAVs as of 30 September 2026, Direct plan, Growth option. The one-year figures count the 30 funds at least a year old; the category has 37 funds in all, many launched in the last three years.

What a multi-asset fund is

SEBI's rule is short: hold at least three asset classes, with at least 10% of the fund in each. In practice that means equity, debt and something else.

The something else is usually precious metals. In the AMCs' portfolio disclosures for 31 August 2026, 34 of the 36 multi-asset funds that filed one named gold or silver among their holdings. In a year when the equity market fell, that third leg is most of the story.

A wide spread

The gap between the best and weakest fund over the year is 15.25 points. Even the middle half of the category spans five points.

That is the price of a loose rule. A floor of 10% in each of three asset classes leaves a manager free to run 70% in equity or 30%, and to hold a little gold or a lot. Two funds with the same label can be very different products.

The ends of the table

The bottom of the one-year table holds some of the category's oldest funds. ICICI Prudential's has compounded at 14.74% a year over five years, the third-best five-year figure in the category. Its weak year says more about the mix it held through this particular fall than about its record.

Not a smooth year, even so

The one-year figure hides when the gains came. Measured from 31 December 2025, 12 of the 30 funds are down for 2026 so far, and the median is up just 0.73%.

So most of the year's return came in the last three months of 2025. Since January the funds have mostly been holding their ground while equity fell, which is a different thing from gaining.

The median fund's worst fall from a peak over the last three years was 10.78%, across the 15 funds with that much history. That is a hybrid fund's drawdown, not a debt fund's.

Against the other hybrids

Over the same year, the median balanced advantage fund returned 1.48%. Both categories move money between assets. The multi-asset funds did better this year mostly because they must keep a sleeve outside equity and debt altogether. Over the same twelve months, on the international spot price converted to rupees, gold rose 18.0% and silver 40.7%.

What this does not tell you

A good year for metals flatters the category. If gold and silver fall while equity rises, the order could reverse. The 10% floor means a multi-asset fund never fully sits out the third asset.

Past returns don't predict. Most of these funds are less than three years old, and the category has not yet been through a full cycle.

Tax depends on the mix. A multi-asset fund is taxed as equity, as debt, or under a separate rule depending on how much equity it holds. The fund's documents state which applies.

Where to go from here

The multi-asset allocation fund page lists every scheme with live figures. The guides on asset allocation and rebalancing and hedging with debt and gold explain why holding uncorrelated assets helps.

For gold and silver prices themselves, see the year in rupee gold and silver prices.

For the gold side of these funds, see gold in September 2026.