Nippon India Mutual Fund in 2026: fastest of the big five

The house in one number

Nippon India Mutual Fund managed an average of ₹7,87,053 crore in July–September 2026, 9.02% of the industry's ₹87,21,848 crore. These are AMFI's quarterly average AUM figures, which leave out domestic fund-of-funds; the Nippon India fund house page shows the same number.

It is fourth by size and first by pace among the giants. Its average assets rose 19.88% in a year, from ₹6,56,519 crore, against 13.06% for the industry. Of the five largest houses, ICICI Prudential grew 13.91%, Kotak Mahindra 10.46%, HDFC 9.94% and SBI 9.18%. In rupees Nippon India added ₹1,30,534 crore, second only to ICICI Prudential.

The house, called Reliance Mutual Fund until 2019, led the industry in 2010 and slid to sixth by 2021, when its share bottomed at 7.12%. It has been fourth since July–September 2022 and has nearly tripled in five years. For the full table see the largest mutual fund houses by AUM and, for pace, the fastest-growing fund houses.

What it runs

Counting each open-ended scheme once, by its Direct Growth plan, and leaving out ETFs and segregated portfolios, Nippon India runs 73 schemes: 27 index funds, 20 equity funds (9 diversified, 11 sectoral or thematic), 14 debt funds, 7 fund-of-funds, 3 hybrid funds and 2 retirement schemes.

That count is short by five. Nippon India's Aggressive Hybrid, Conservative Hybrid, Equity Savings, Credit Risk and Medium Term funds still carry a note about past segregated portfolios in their AMFI names, so the site's screens set them aside with the side-pockets themselves. With them the house runs 78.

It also runs 26 ETFs, and they matter a great deal. ETFs held 30.9% of the money in Nippon India's schemes in July–September, more than at SBI (28.3%) and far more than at ICICI Prudential (12.4%) or HDFC (4.4%). Equity funds held 40.4%, debt funds 17.2% and hybrids 6.3%.

The biggest schemes

Average AUM for July–September 2026, all plans combined:

Four of these lead their categories. The Small Cap fund is 1.9 times the size of HDFC Small Cap, the next largest small-cap fund. The Multi Cap fund is the largest multi-cap fund, and the Gold BeES and Silver ETF are each about twice the size of ICICI Prudential's gold and silver ETFs, the runners-up. The two metal ETFs alone hold ₹87,500 crore, 10.9% of the house; the gold and silver price page tracks what they hold.

How its equity funds compare

Each diversified equity fund's three-year annualised return, Direct Growth, to 9 October 2026, against the median of its SEBI category (only funds with three years of history are ranked):

Five of nine were above their category's middle, and the typical fund was 0.74 points a year ahead, close to our earlier fund-house scorecard. It is a record of small margins: none of the five led by more than 1.39 points, and the giant Small Cap fund sat just under its median. The two that trailed most, Flexi Cap and Focused, are among the house's smaller diversified equity funds.

Over the last year only 2 of the 9 beat their category's one-year median: the ELSS fund (−2.19% against −4.02%) and Growth Mid Cap (3.32% against 2.81%).

What it charges

On the expense ratios filed with AMFI in September 2026, Nippon India's median direct plan charged 0.43%, against 0.68% across the industry's 1,746 open-ended Direct Growth schemes with a filed figure. Its equity funds had a median of 1.07%, against 1.09% for the industry.

The cheapest were two fund-of-funds at 0.06%, including the Gold Savings Fund. Among equity funds, Flexi Cap charged 0.65% and Small Cap 0.69%. The dearest scheme was the Vision Large & Mid Cap fund at 1.50%, then Focused at 1.39%. Since April 2026 the filed ratio includes brokerage and statutory levies; what a fund really costs explains.

What its equity funds own

Across Nippon India's 20 equity funds, from portfolios disclosed for 30 September 2026. Rupee values are each fund's weight times its July–September average assets, so they are estimates:

Unlike SBI and HDFC, whose equity funds hold more ICICI Bank than anything else, Nippon India leans on HDFC Bank, about 1.6 times its ICICI Bank stake. Below the banks, the most widely shared names are Trent, in 12 of the 20 funds, and Samvardhana Motherson, Hindustan Aeronautics, Dixon Technologies and Eternal, in 11 each.

Who runs the money

Nippon India's Scheme Summary Documents show some long tenures. Sailesh Raj Bhan has run the Multi Cap fund since March 2005, the Large Cap fund since August 2007 and the Pharma fund since June 2004, ₹1,18,484 crore between them. Samir Rachh has run the Small Cap fund since January 2017. Rupesh Patel runs Growth Mid Cap (since January 2023) and the ELSS fund (since July 2021), and Meenakshi Dawar the Flexi Cap fund since January 2023.

What this does not tell you

• Growth includes ETFs. Part of the house's rise is money in index and metal ETFs, which follow markets and prices rather than any manager's choices.
• Small margins move. A lead of one point a year over three years can vanish in a single bad year.
• Estimates. Holding values mix a month-end weight with a quarter's average assets.

None of this is a recommendation of any fund or fund house. Use the screener for current figures on any Nippon India scheme.