One fund per category, three houses
SBI, HDFC and ICICI Prudential are three of the 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 16 categories, using each house's Direct plan, Growth option fund, from NAVs to 19 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 | SBI | HDFC | ICICI Prudential |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large cap | 8.12% | 7.67% | 9.58% |
| Flexi cap | 7.15% | 14.42% | 14.36% |
| Mid cap | 8.62% | 15.17% | 18.72% |
| Small cap | 9.63% | 8.77% | 9.71% |
| ELSS | 12.37% | 11.70% | 9.58% |
| Multi cap | 10.74% | 9.77% | 13.31% |
| Focused | 14.47% | 14.54% | 15.96% |
| Large & mid cap | 11.40% | 11.28% | 12.89% |
| Aggressive hybrid | 11.27% | 5.70% | 11.94% |
| Balanced advantage | 9.11% | 10.03% | 10.27% |
| Equity savings | 7.37% | 7.91% | 6.75% |
| Arbitrage | 7.24% | 7.26% | 7.28% |
| Corporate bond | 7.12% | 6.77% | 7.13% |
| Short duration | 7.18% | 7.34% | 7.60% |
| Gilt | 6.56% | 6.19% | 6.37% |
| Liquid | 6.87% | 6.90% | 6.91% |
Over three years SBI led in two, HDFC led in two and ICICI Prudential led in twelve of the 16 categories. ICICI Prudential had the most wins, but the margin in each row matters as much as the count.
One-year returns
| Category | SBI | HDFC | ICICI Prudential |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large cap | −5.41% | −8.09% | −8.96% |
| Flexi cap | −6.77% | −4.50% | −1.14% |
| Mid cap | −0.76% | 0.82% | 4.62% |
| Small cap | 2.71% | −4.46% | 1.40% |
| ELSS | −7.08% | −9.54% | −7.56% |
| Multi cap | −5.58% | −6.93% | 0.58% |
| Focused | 6.63% | −4.93% | −3.84% |
| Large & mid cap | −2.71% | −4.75% | −6.68% |
| Aggressive hybrid | −1.14% | −7.91% | −3.88% |
| Balanced advantage | −0.90% | −3.87% | 0.44% |
| Equity savings | 1.80% | 0.70% | 2.02% |
| Arbitrage | 6.46% | 6.53% | 6.53% |
| Corporate bond | 4.13% | 3.11% | 4.48% |
| Short duration | 4.33% | 4.59% | 5.18% |
| Gilt | 2.68% | 1.45% | 1.73% |
| Liquid | 6.46% | 6.47% | 6.45% |
Over one year SBI led in seven, HDFC led in two and ICICI Prudential led in seven categories (ties count for the first listed).
Five-year returns
| Category | SBI | HDFC | ICICI Prudential |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large cap | 7.52% | 8.57% | 9.27% |
| Flexi cap | 6.33% | 14.43% | 13.48% |
| Mid cap | 11.32% | 16.53% | 14.61% |
| Small cap | 11.74% | 12.86% | 12.26% |
| ELSS | 12.81% | 12.09% | 7.93% |
| Multi cap | – | – | 12.49% |
| Focused | 10.27% | 15.25% | 13.44% |
| Large & mid cap | 11.29% | 11.70% | 12.38% |
| Aggressive hybrid | 8.49% | 6.87% | 12.38% |
| Balanced advantage | 9.37% | 12.53% | 9.73% |
| Equity savings | 7.75% | 7.57% | 7.16% |
| Arbitrage | 6.83% | 6.71% | 6.78% |
| Corporate bond | 6.24% | 6.10% | 6.64% |
| Short duration | 6.32% | 6.51% | 7.03% |
| Gilt | 6.23% | 5.32% | 6.23% |
| Liquid | 6.37% | 6.38% | 6.38% |
The averages
| Average across the funds above | SBI | HDFC | ICICI Prudential |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-year return, 8 equity categories | 10.31% | 11.66% | 13.01% |
| 3-year return, all 16 categories | 9.08% | 9.46% | 10.52% |
| 1-year return, 8 equity categories | −2.37% | −5.30% | −2.70% |
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 19 October 2026, Direct plan Growth option; categories as classified by AMFI.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, SBI, HDFC or ICICI Prudential mutual fund?
No house is better everywhere. Comparing one Direct Growth fund per category to 19 October 2026, ICICI Prudential had the best three-year return in 12 of 16 categories, SBI in 2 and HDFC in 2. Over one year the leaders were more evenly split: 7, 2, 7 for SBI, HDFC and ICICI Prudential.
Which of the three has the best average three-year return in equity categories?
SBI averaged 10.31%, HDFC 11.66% and ICICI Prudential 13.01% 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.
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