EquitySmall Cap FundDirectGrowthVery High

Axis Small Cap Fund

Q: What is the NAV of Axis Small Cap Fund?

As of 20 Aug 2026, the NAV of Axis Small Cap Fund is ₹137.98 per unit. NAV (net asset value) is the fund's per-unit price, published once each business day.

Q: What returns has Axis Small Cap Fund delivered?

Axis Small Cap Fund has returned +11.82% over 1 year, +18.08% per year over 3 years, +18.26% per year over 5 years and +22.93% per year since inception. Figures beyond one year are annualised (CAGR) and are computed from AMFI NAV history, so they may differ slightly from other portals.

Q: What is the expense ratio of Axis Small Cap Fund?

Axis Small Cap Fund charges an expense ratio of 0.76% per year. This annual fee is already deducted from the NAV, so the returns you see are net of it.

Q: What are the top holdings of Axis Small Cap Fund?

Its largest holdings are Others CBLO (7.2%), Krishna Institute Of Medical Sciences Ltd (2.8%), CCL Products (India) Ltd (2.7%), JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd (2.3%) and Bank Nifty Index July 2026 Future (2.1%). Holdings are disclosed monthly and change over time.

Q: How risky is Axis Small Cap Fund?

It is rated very high on SEBI's risk-o-meter, its trailing-3Y volatility (annualised) is 14.9% and its worst peak-to-trough fall in our sample was -34.6%. Higher volatility means the NAV swings more; the drawdown shows how far it has fallen from a peak historically.

Q: What does the Sharpe ratio of 0.78 mean?

The Sharpe ratio is return earned per unit of total risk, above a 6.5% risk-free rate. Axis Small Cap Fund's 0.78 means it has rewarded its volatility with excess return. Higher is better.

Q: What is the benchmark of Axis Small Cap Fund?

Axis Small Cap Fund is benchmarked against the NIFTY Smallcap 250 Total Return Index. Its alpha and beta on this page are measured against that index.

Q: Who manages Axis Small Cap Fund?

Axis Small Cap Fund is managed by Krishnaa Narayan and Mayank Hyanki at Axis.

Q: How is Axis Small Cap Fund taxed?

Axis Small Cap Fund is an equity-oriented fund, so its capital gains get concessional rates: short-term gains (units held under 1 year) are taxed at 20%, and long-term gains (held 1 year or more) at 12.5% above a ₹1.25 lakh per-year exemption. These rates apply on redemption and don't add to your income-tax slab.

Axis Mutual Fund · Best Small Cap Mutual Funds

NAV

₹137.98

+0.64% 1D

as of 20 Aug 2026

Compare SIP calculator

Performance

+11.83%CAGR

52-week rangePrev NAV ₹137.10

Latest ₹137.98

Low ₹107.72100th percentile of its 52-week rangeHigh ₹137.98

Scorecard

★★★★☆4/5 vs 26 of 36 Small Cap Fund peers

Performance 60%
Risk 15%
Cost 10%
Downside 15%

How this is computed

Each verdict is computed from this fund's own metrics against its sub-category — the number behind it is shown, not a black-box rating. The stars weight the same ground 60/15/10/15 (performance/risk/cost/downside) across every fund in the peer group. Ranked within Small Cap Fund (same plan and option). 26 of the 36 Small Cap Funds in this cohort carry the full record the stars need, so they are the ones ranked against.

PerformanceAverage

3Y CAGR +18.08% · ranks 13 of 36 Small Cap Funds

RiskLow

Volatility 14.9% vs 17.0% category avg

CostLow

0.8% expense vs 1.0% category avg

ConsistencyHigh

100% of rolling 3Y windows were positive

Strengths & concerns

Generated from this fund's own numbers against its sub-category — each point names the figure behind it.

Strengths

Stronger risk-adjusted returns — Sharpe 0.78 vs 0.68 Small Cap Fund average
Less volatile than its Small Cap Fund peers (14.9% vs 17.0%)
Low expense ratio (0.76%) vs the Small Cap Fund average of 0.97%
Consistent — positive in 100% of rolling 3-year windows

Concerns

1-year return (+11.82%) trails the Small Cap Fund average (+14.16%)

Key Metrics

Annual fee charged by the fund, already deducted from NAV

Category 0.97%

Portfolio-weighted harmonic mean P/E across the fund's equity holdings

Category 29.82

Excess return per unit of total volatility (rf = 6.5%)

0.78

Category 0.68▲0.10

Scheme Info

Definitions

Plan

Direct · Growth

Period before units can be redeemed — 3 years for ELSS, none for most open-ended funds

Exit Load

Statutory levy on every mutual-fund purchase since 1 Jul 2020 (SEBI / Govt of India) — the same for every scheme

0.005%

SIP Inv.

Smallest recurring SIP instalment the scheme accepts

Smallest one-time (lumpsum) investment the scheme accepts

Benchmark

Start of our NAV history for this plan. Direct plans begin 1 Jan 2013, so this is the plan's inception — not necessarily the scheme's original launch date.

05 Dec 2013

Period returns (<1Y, absolute — not annualized)

Definitions

Absolute return over the last 1 month (not annualized)

+3.88%

Absolute return over the last 3 months (not annualized)

+11.63%

Absolute return over the last 6 months (not annualized)

+15.35%

Absolute return since 1 Jan of this year (not annualized)

+13.30%

Annualized returns (≥1Y — CAGR)

Definitions

1-year point-to-point return, annualized (CAGR)

+11.82%

3-year annualized return (CAGR)

+18.08%

5-year annualized return (CAGR)

+18.26%

10-year annualized return (CAGR)

+19.87%

Annualized return (CAGR) since the fund's inception

+22.93%

Advanced metrics — risk and benchmark ratios

Risk (trailing 3Y)

Definitions

Annualized standard deviation of daily returns

14.90%

Excess return per unit of total volatility (rf = 6.5%)

0.78

Excess return per unit of downside deviation — upside swings aren't penalized (rf = 6.5%)

1.06

Largest peak-to-trough decline over full history

-34.64%

Benchmark ratios (vs Nifty Smallcap 250 · 36 monthly returns)

Definitions

Jensen's alpha (annualized): return above what CAPM predicts for the fund's beta vs Nifty Smallcap 250

2.73%

Sensitivity to Nifty Smallcap 250 moves; 1 = moves with the index

0.75

How much of the fund's movement Nifty Smallcap 250 explains

94.8%

Excess return per unit of beta (market risk)

13.47

Active return over the benchmark per unit of tracking error

0.18

Annualized std dev of fund-minus-benchmark returns

6.63%

Fund's share of benchmark gains in up months (100 = matches index)

84.1%

Fund's share of benchmark losses in down months (lower is better)

69.6%

Computed vs the Nifty Smallcap 250 price index — the closest match to this fund's mandate. Needs ~3 years of history; a low R² means the fund tracks the index loosely.

Fund vs category average (Small Cap Fund)

Period	Fund	Category avg.	Diff
1M abs	+3.88%	+3.84%	+0.04%
3M abs	+11.63%	+12.01%	-0.38%
6M abs	+15.35%	+18.20%	-2.85%
1Y CAGR	+11.82%	+14.16%	-2.34%
3Y CAGR	+18.08%	+18.38%	-0.30%
5Y CAGR	+18.26%	+18.21%	+0.05%

Category average across peers in Small Cap Fund (up to 36 funds with data), same plan and option, excluding this fund. Under-1-year figures are absolute; 1Y and beyond are annualised (CAGR).

Not sure what a figure means? The glossary explains every metric, and the methodology shows the formulas.

Category rank

Vs 36 peers in Small Cap Fund

1Y return

+11.82%

Beats 41.9% · rank #19

3Y return

+18.08%

Beats 50% · rank #13

5Y return

+18.26%

Beats 47.6% · rank #12

Sharpe

0.78

Beats 71% · rank #10

Sortino

1.06

Beats 71% · rank #10

Rolling returns

Return for every possible 1Y holding period, not just today’s

This fundNifty Smallcap 250

Average

+22.9%

Median

+16.7%

Best

+98.9%

Worst

-8.3%

Positive periods

87.9%

141 overlapping 1Y windows, sampled monthly across the fund’s history.

Worst falls, and the wait to get back

How far this fund has dropped from a high, and how long it took to reclaim it.

-34.6%11 Feb 2020 → 24 Mar 2020
Fell over 42 days, back to the old high on 13 Nov 2020 — 8 months under water after the low.
-19.4%23 Sep 2024 → 03 Mar 2025
Fell over 5 months, back to the old high on 17 Jul 2025 — 4 months under water after the low.
-17.0%08 Jan 2018 → 23 Oct 2018
Fell over 9 months, back to the old high on 31 May 2019 — 7 months under water after the low.

Measured on this fund’s own NAV history, peak to trough to the day it regained the peak. Falls shallower than 5% are left out. A recovery date is when the NAV got back, not when any particular investor did — that depends on when they bought.

Calendar-year returns

What the fund actually returned in each year, not the smoothed average.

Year	Fund	Nifty Smallcap 250	Diff
2026part	+13.44%	+9.91%	+3.53%
2025	-0.95%	-6.01%	+5.06%
2024	+26.40%	+26.43%	-0.03%
2023	+35.57%	+48.10%	-12.53%
2022	+4.11%	-3.65%	+7.76%
2021	+60.71%	+61.94%	-1.23%
2020	+24.58%	+25.09%	-0.51%
2019	+20.84%	-8.27%	+29.11%
2018	-7.93%	-26.80%	+18.87%
2017	+39.82%	+57.28%	-17.46%

January–December, from this fund's NAV history. Absolute return, not annualised. “part” marks a year the fund didn't run end to end — its first year, the current year so far, or one it stopped reporting in; those years show no benchmark comparison.

Fund size over time

Quarterly average AUM · AMFI

₹27,535Cr

April - June 2026

+8%

since January - March 2026

At or near its largest, ₹27,535Cr in April - June 2026. Size matters most where the mandate is narrow — a large small-cap or a very large flexi-cap book is harder to move without moving the price.

Backtest this fund

What a SIP or one-time investment would have grown to over this fund’s real NAV history.

Monthly investment (₹)

Period

Invested

₹6.00L

Current value

₹9.14L

Absolute

+52.39%

XIRR

+17.41%

Value vs. invested

60 monthly installments of ₹10,000 into Axis Small Cap Fund, valued at the latest NAV. XIRR annualizes for each installment’s timing.

History points

3,134

Expense ratio

AUM

Portfolio turnover

Exit load

P/E ratio

P/B ratio

Avg market cap

Taxation

Taxed as equity

This is an equity-oriented fund (≥65% in Indian equities), so gains get the concessional capital-gains rates below — they do not add to your income-tax slab.

Short-term (STCG)

20%

Held under 1 year

Flat, on the whole gain

Long-term (LTCG)

12.5%

Held 1 year or more

On gains above ₹1.25 L per financial year

Applies to capital gains on redemption. Excludes IDCW/dividend tax, STT, surcharge and cess, and pre-2018 equity grandfathering. For research only — consult a tax advisor before filing.

Peer comparison · Small Cap Fund

Compare all


Axis Small Cap FundThis fund Axis	★★★★☆	+11.82%	+18.08%	+18.26%	29.32	0.76%	₹27,535Cr
BANDHAN Small Cap Fund Bandhan	★★★★★	+12.37%	+27.09%	+20.90%	15.99	0.60%	₹26,012Cr
ITI Small Cap Fund ITI	★★★★☆	+21.14%	+27.03%	+20.66%	37.28	0.89%	₹2,977Cr
Invesco India Smallcap Fund Invesco	★★★★★	+15.87%	+25.13%	+21.76%	42.02	0.64%	₹11,496Cr
Bank of India Small Cap Fund Bank of India	★★★★☆	+27.89%	+24.35%	+21.92%	33.79	0.73%	₹2,235Cr
Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund Mahindra Manulife	★★★☆☆	+16.86%	+22.55%	—	24.61	0.96%	₹4,512Cr

Market-cap allocation · AMFI bands, Jul 2026

Equity holdings by company size — 100% of the equity sleeve priced.

Large cap4.5%
Mid cap22.4%
Small cap73.1%

🚩Holdings under NSE surveillance (ASM)

3 holdings — 3.57% of the portfolio — sit in stocks NSE currently lists under its Additional Surveillance Measure. ASM is an exchange response to unusual price or volume activity (higher margins, and trade-for-trade settlement at stage II), not a view on the company or on this fund.

Sansera Engineering LimitedLong-term · Stage I1.41%
Kirloskar Oil Engines LimitedLong-term · Stage I1.38%
Aditya Infotech LimitedLong-term · Stage I0.77%

Source: NSE ASM list, matched to holdings by company name — a holding whose name differs from NSE's spelling may not be matched. BSE's separate list is not covered.

Axis in the news

Headlines about the fund house, not this scheme in particular — highlights only; tap through to read the full story at the source.

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Returns and risk are computed from NAV history and may differ slightly from other portals due to methodology (rolling vs point-to-point, dividend treatment). For research only — not investment advice.

About Small Cap funds

Small cap funds invest in companies beyond the top 250 by size. They offer the highest growth potential of any equity category and also the sharpest falls, so they suit long horizons and strong stomachs.

Frequently asked questions

What is the NAV of Axis Small Cap Fund?

As of 20 Aug 2026, the NAV of Axis Small Cap Fund is ₹137.98 per unit. NAV (net asset value) is the fund's per-unit price, published once each business day.

What returns has Axis Small Cap Fund delivered?

Axis Small Cap Fund has returned +11.82% over 1 year, +18.08% per year over 3 years, +18.26% per year over 5 years and +22.93% per year since inception. Figures beyond one year are annualised (CAGR) and are computed from AMFI NAV history, so they may differ slightly from other portals.

What is the expense ratio of Axis Small Cap Fund?

Axis Small Cap Fund charges an expense ratio of 0.76% per year. This annual fee is already deducted from the NAV, so the returns you see are net of it.

What are the top holdings of Axis Small Cap Fund?

Its largest holdings are Others CBLO (7.2%), Krishna Institute Of Medical Sciences Ltd (2.8%), CCL Products (India) Ltd (2.7%), JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd (2.3%) and Bank Nifty Index July 2026 Future (2.1%). Holdings are disclosed monthly and change over time.

How risky is Axis Small Cap Fund?

It is rated very high on SEBI's risk-o-meter, its trailing-3Y volatility (annualised) is 14.9% and its worst peak-to-trough fall in our sample was -34.6%. Higher volatility means the NAV swings more; the drawdown shows how far it has fallen from a peak historically.

What does the Sharpe ratio of 0.78 mean?

The Sharpe ratio is return earned per unit of total risk, above a 6.5% risk-free rate. Axis Small Cap Fund's 0.78 means it has rewarded its volatility with excess return. Higher is better.

What is the benchmark of Axis Small Cap Fund?

Axis Small Cap Fund is benchmarked against the NIFTY Smallcap 250 Total Return Index. Its alpha and beta on this page are measured against that index.

Who manages Axis Small Cap Fund?

Axis Small Cap Fund is managed by Krishnaa Narayan and Mayank Hyanki at Axis.

How is Axis Small Cap Fund taxed?

Axis Small Cap Fund is an equity-oriented fund, so its capital gains get concessional rates: short-term gains (units held under 1 year) are taxed at 20%, and long-term gains (held 1 year or more) at 12.5% above a ₹1.25 lakh per-year exemption. These rates apply on redemption and don't add to your income-tax slab.