The number
On 31 August 2026, large-cap funds had 26.16% of their money in banks. Small-cap funds had 7.17%.
That one difference shapes everything else. Take banks out of a large-cap portfolio and what is left looks much more like a small-cap one, only with bigger companies.
The data is the AMCs' monthly portfolio disclosures for 31 August 2026, one row per scheme: 35 large-cap funds (₹4,13,967 crore of net assets), 34 mid-cap funds (₹5,40,987 crore) and 35 small-cap funds (₹4,63,088 crore). Each figure is the category's holdings in an industry as a share of its net assets, so a large fund counts for more than a small one. Industries are the AMCs' own labels, with each company given the label most AMCs use for it.
Side by side
| Industry | Large Cap | Mid Cap | Small Cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banks | 26.16% | 9.48% | 7.17% |
| Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology | 5.58% | 7.76% | 5.98% |
| Auto Components | 2.00% | 7.52% | 8.00% |
| Finance | 4.16% | 6.54% | 5.24% |
| Consumer Durables | 2.97% | 4.49% | 5.90% |
| Industrial Products | 0.58% | 4.86% | 7.48% |
| Retailing | 5.18% | 6.31% | 2.93% |
| IT - Software | 5.70% | 4.94% | 1.58% |
| Automobiles | 5.99% | 0.79% | 0.80% |
| Healthcare Services | 1.20% | 4.17% | 4.80% |
| Electrical Equipment | 1.50% | 4.63% | 3.82% |
| Chemicals & Petrochemicals | 0.57% | 2.35% | 4.36% |
| Petroleum Products | 4.95% | 0.95% | 0.17% |
| Capital Markets | 1.13% | 5.27% | 3.55% |
| Telecom - Services | 3.67% | 2.00% | 0.69% |
What large caps hold that small caps don't
Banks, above all, at more than three and a half times the small-cap weight.
Automobiles (5.99% against 0.80%) and petroleum products (4.95% against 0.17%). India's carmakers and oil refiners are a handful of very large companies, so there is little in these industries for a small-cap fund to buy.
IT software (5.70% against 1.58%) and telecom services (3.67% against 0.69%), for the same reason: the money in these industries is in a few big names.
What small caps hold that large caps don't
Industrial products: 7.48% in small caps, 0.58% in large caps, about thirteen times as much. This is pipes, cables, castings, bearings and the like, an industry of many mid-sized and small manufacturers.
Auto components (8.00% against 2.00%). Large caps own the carmakers; small caps own their suppliers.
Chemicals (4.36% against 0.57%) and healthcare services (4.80% against 1.20%), where the listed companies are mostly mid-sized and small.
Mid-cap funds sit between the two on almost every line, closer to small caps than to large caps. Their bank weight is 9.48%, near small caps' 7.17%, and they hold the most capital-markets stocks of the three (5.27%) and the most retailing (6.31%).
How spread out each category is
| Large Cap | Mid Cap | Small Cap | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Largest five industries | 48.61% | 37.61% | 34.52% |
| Largest ten industries | 68.55% | 61.81% | 56.27% |
| Indian shares, total | 97.44% | 95.76% | 93.16% |
Large caps are the most concentrated by sector, almost entirely because of banks. Small caps are the most spread out, and also the least invested: 93.16% in Indian shares, with most of the rest in cash.
What this does not tell you
One month only. This is the 31 August 2026 disclosure. It shows where the money sat, not which sectors funds were adding to or cutting.
Industry labels are imperfect. Each AMC classifies its own holdings, and a company can sit under different labels at different houses. Assigning each company its most common label reduces that, but non-bank lenders sit under Finance and insurers under Insurance, so "financials" is larger than the bank line alone.
Sector mix is not a return forecast. It explains part of why the categories behave differently, not which will do better. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell any fund.
Where to go from here
The category pages rank the funds: large cap, mid cap and small cap.
For two of the sectors in detail, see bank stocks and pharma and healthcare stocks in mutual funds. For how concentrated small caps are stock by stock, see small-cap portfolio concentration.
Frequently asked questions
What sectors do large-cap funds invest in most?
Banks, by far. On the 31 August 2026 portfolio disclosures, large-cap funds held 26.16% of their net assets in banks, followed by automobiles (5.99%), IT software (5.70%), pharmaceuticals (5.58%) and retailing (5.18%). Those five came to 48.61%.
What sectors do small-cap funds invest in most?
Auto components (8.00%), industrial products (7.48%), banks (7.17%), pharmaceuticals (5.98%) and consumer durables (5.90%). Together these five were 34.52% of small-cap funds' net assets, so the money is spread more evenly than in large caps.
Is a small-cap fund more diversified than a large-cap fund?
By sector, yes. The five largest sectors were 48.61% of large-cap funds' money but 34.52% of small-cap funds'. Small-cap funds are less exposed to any one industry, though each company they own is smaller and usually more volatile.
This is commentary on published data, not investment advice. WealthTicker is not a SEBI-registered adviser or distributor. Figures are as of the dates stated and can be revised by their source.
Keep reading
Bank stocks in mutual funds: 17% of equity money
Equity funds held ₹6.34 lakh crore in Indian banks on 31 August 2026, 17.06% of their shares. ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank alone were 48% of it.
IT stocks in mutual funds: 5.4% of equity money
Equity funds held ₹2,02,030 crore in Indian IT companies on 31 August 2026, 5.43% of their shares. Coforge outweighed TCS; Wipro was in just 19 schemes.
Pharma and healthcare stocks in mutual funds: 10%
Equity funds held ₹3,73,711 crore in Indian pharma and healthcare companies on 31 August 2026, 10.05% of their shares. Mid caps held the most.