Archive · 8 Sep 2026
Fund Manager Tenure Matters Beyond Historical Mutual Fund Returns
A mutual fund’s past returns do not always show what its current manager can do.
This is because a new manager may have taken over a fund recently.
A September 2026 report found that most equity fund managers have managed their current schemes for only a short time.
Only 20 of about 320 managers had more than 10 years of scheme-management experience.
Flexi-cap funds had the most managers with more than 10 years in their current schemes.
Banking and Business cycle funds had only one such manager each.
The average tenure in every category was less than three years.
Investors should check how the fund performed after its current manager took charge.
They should also review the manager’s earlier experience and any strategy changes.
A September 2026 DSP Mutual Fund report studied manager experience across equity mutual fund categories.
Of roughly 320 active fund managers, only 20 had more than 10 years of scheme-management experience.
Only eight managers had more than 15 years of experience managing a category.
Flexi-cap funds had the most managers with more than 10 years of current scheme tenure, while Banking and Business cycle funds had one each.
Average manager tenure ranged from 1.99 to 2.69 years, so investors should compare current-manager performance with a fund’s longer-term record.
- Who
- DSP Mutual Fund analyzed equity mutual fund managers and their scheme-management tenures.
- What
- Its report examined fund manager experience and found that long-serving managers are relatively uncommon.
- When
- The findings were published in a September 2026 report.
- Where
- Across equity mutual fund categories and schemes analyzed in the report.
- Why
- To help investors assess whether a fund’s historical returns reflect the decisions and record of its current manager.
- Report
- DSP Mutual Fund’s “NETRA – Early Signals Through Charts”
- Managers studied
- Around 320 active equity mutual fund managers
- Managers with 10+ years’ experience
- 20 managers
- Managers with 15+ years’ category experience
- Eight managers
- Highest average tenure
- Value funds, at 2.69 years
- Lowest average tenure
- Banking funds, at 1.99 years
- Longest-tenure category
- Flexi-cap had seven managers with more than 10 years of current scheme-management tenure