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Small-Cap Funds Lead 2026 Gains, While Mid-Caps Trail Overall
Small-cap and mid-cap funds invest in shares of companies of different sizes.
So far in 2026, small-cap funds have done better on average, while mid-cap funds have slipped slightly.
Some individual funds performed much better than their category average.
Bank of India Small Cap Fund had the strongest small-cap return so far this year.
HSBC Midcap Fund led mid-cap funds over the same period.
Looking back three years, mid-cap funds had a very small average lead.
Over five years, small-cap funds did better on average.
The figures are for direct plans and were reported as of October 8, 2026.
As of October 8, 2026, small-cap funds averaged 9.89% YTD returns, while mid-cap funds averaged -1.02%.
Bank of India Small Cap Fund led small-cap YTD returns at 31.62%; HSBC Midcap Fund led mid-caps at 11.45%.
Over three years, mid-cap funds slightly outperformed small-caps on average, returning 13.89% versus 13.81%.
Over five years, small-cap funds averaged 13.99%, ahead of mid-cap funds at 12.69%.
Bank of India Small Cap Fund and HSBC Midcap Fund were each among the top five in their category across all three periods.
- Who
- Small-cap and mid-cap mutual funds, including the schemes compared in the article.
- What
- A comparison of category-average and leading scheme returns over year-to-date, three-year, and five-year periods.
- Where
- When
- Returns are as of October 8, 2026.
- Why
- To compare how small-cap and mid-cap fund categories and individual schemes performed across different investment horizons.
Key facts
- Small-cap average YTD return
- 9.89%
- Mid-cap average YTD return
- -1.02%
- Three-year average: small-cap
- 13.81% CAGR
- Three-year average: mid-cap
- 13.89% CAGR
- Five-year average: small-cap
- 13.99% CAGR
- Five-year average: mid-cap
- 12.69% CAGR
- Data source and basis
- Morningstar; direct plans; returns as of October 8, 2026
Sources
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