Archive · 7 Sep 2026
Large AUM Equity Funds Trail Smaller Funds in Returns
AUM tells us how much money a mutual fund manages.
A large fund is not automatically a better-performing fund.
In the comparison, the biggest fund listed, Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund, lost 2.11% in one year.
A smaller fund, Trust MF Small Cap Fund, gained 33.87%.
Other smaller funds also had higher returns than several very large funds.
However, the funds do not all belong to the same category or follow the same investment rules.
That means their returns cannot be compared as if they were identical products.
Investors should look at longer-term results, risk and what each fund owns.
Fund size is only one piece of the decision.
Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund, the largest fund listed by AUM at ₹1,48,429 crore, returned -2.11% over one year.
Nippon India Small Cap Fund recorded the strongest one-year return among the five largest listed funds, at 11.71%.
Trust MF Small Cap Fund led the listed diversified equity funds with a 33.87% one-year return despite an AUM of ₹2,860 crore.
Four of the five highest-returning funds listed had AUM below ₹3,000 crore.
The comparison shows that AUM indicates fund size, but investors should also assess performance consistency, risk, portfolio composition, expenses, category and strategy.
- Who
- Indian equity mutual funds and their investors.
- What
- A comparison found that several smaller equity funds produced higher one-year returns than some of the largest funds by AUM.
- When
- The returns were measured as of 4 September 2026, with AUM reported as of 31 July 2026.
- Where
- The comparison covers equity mutual funds in India.
- Why
- To show that a fund’s AUM reflects its size and popularity but does not by itself predict investment returns.
- Largest fund listed
- Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund, with AUM of ₹1,48,429 crore
- Largest fund’s one-year return
- -2.11% for Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund
- Best return among five largest listed funds
- Nippon India Small Cap Fund, at 11.71%
- Best return in the high-performing list
- Trust MF Small Cap Fund, at 33.87%
- Trust MF Small Cap Fund AUM
- ₹2,860 crore
- Performance source
- Value Research; direct plans, excluding sectoral and thematic funds
- Comparison dates
- Returns as of 4 September 2026; AUM as of 31 July 2026