Mutual fund investment: Large cap funds still outperform other funds in March; 38.6% of schemes beat benchmarks
The study, based on the analysis of 298 open-ended diversified equity schemes (excluding sectoral and thematic funds), highlighted a month of mixed results across fund categories. Notably, large cap funds led the pack, with 71.88% of schemes outperforming the NIFTY 50 TRI benchmark.
- Apr 29, 2025,
- Updated Apr 29, 2025 4:10 PM IST
MF investment: In a notable rebound for actively managed funds, 38.64% of equity mutual fund schemes outperformed their respective benchmarks in March 2025, according to a performance study by PL Wealth Management, the wealth arm of PL Capital.
The study, based on the analysis of 298 open-ended diversified equity schemes (excluding sectoral and thematic funds), highlighted a month of mixed results across fund categories. Notably, large cap funds led the pack, with 71.88% of schemes outperforming the NIFTY 50 TRI benchmark.
The AUM of equity mutual funds (excluding sector/thematic) also posted a moderate monthly increase of 7.68%, rising from Rs 23.12 lakh crore in February 2025 to Rs 24.90 lakh crore in March 2025.
Top performing categories:
Large Cap Funds showed the best performance, with 71.88% of schemes exceeding the NIFTY 50 TRI benchmark.
Large & Mid Cap Funds closely followed, with 58.06% of schemes outperforming the NIFTY LargeMidcap 250 TRI.
Mid Cap Funds also displayed a strong performance, with 51.72% of schemes surpassing the Nifty Midcap 150 TRI.
Least performing category
Small Cap Funds had the lowest rate of outperformance at 10.00%, falling short of the Nifty Smallcap 250 TRI benchmark.
Here’s how various categories performed:
| Category | Benchmark | Total Schemes | Outperformed | Outperformance (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Large Cap Funds | NIFTY 50 TRI | 33 | 23 | 71.88% |
| Large & Mid Cap Funds | NIFTY LargeMidcap 250 - TRI | 31 | 18 | 58.06% |
| Mid Cap Funds | Nifty Midcap 150 - TRI | 30 | 15 | 51.72% |
| Flexi Cap Funds | NIFTY 500 - TRI | 39 | 14 | 35.90% |
| ELSS | NIFTY 500 - TRI | 43 | 16 | 37.21% |
| Focused Funds | NIFTY 500 - TRI | 28 | 9 | 32.14% |
| Value/Contra/Dividend Yield | NIFTY 500 - TRI | 34 | 9 | 27.27% |
| Multi Cap Funds | Nifty500 Multicap 50:25:25 TRI | 30 | 7 | 23.33% |
| Small Cap Funds | Nifty Smallcap 250 - TRI | 30 | 3 | 10.00% |
Small cap funds lagged significantly, with only 10% of schemes outperforming their benchmark — the weakest showing among all categories.
Top Mutual Funds: 1-Month Return
Large Cap
LIC MF Large Cap Fund-Reg(G) 1,379.07 7.85 Nikhil Rungta Invesco India Largecap Fund(G) 1,328.90 7.57 Amit Nigam Bandhan Large Cap Fund-Reg(G) 1,765.87 7.47 Manish Gunwani
Large and Mid cap
Motilal Oswal Large & Midcap Fund-Reg(G) 8,712.99 10.58 Ajay Khandelwal LIC MF Large & Midcap Fund-Reg(G) 2,859.42 9.46 Yogesh Patil ITI Large & Mid Cap Fund-Reg(G) 780.75 8.75 Alok Ranjan
Flexi Cap
Bank of India Flexi Cap Fund-Reg(G) 1,962.03 11.06 Alok Singh Quant Flexi Cap Fund(G) 6,712.15 8.66 Sandeep Tandon ITI Flexi Cap Fund-Reg(G) 1,031.77 8.43 Dhimant Shah
Multi Cap
Motilal Oswal Multi Cap Fund-Reg(G) 3,426.18 9.13 Ajay Khandelwal Bank of India Multi Cap Fund-Reg(G) 778.03 8.74 Nitin Gosar Aditya Birla SL Multi-Cap Fund-Reg(G) 5,893.80 8.24 Abhinav Khandelwal
Mid cap
ITI Mid Cap Fund-Reg(G) 1,091.64 9.40 Rohan Korde Union Midcap Fund-Reg(G) 1,312.88 8.84 Gaurav Chopra Kotak Emerging Equity Fund(G) 48,128.71 8.62 Atul Bhole
Small cap
TRUSTMF Small Cap Fund-Reg(G) 817.25 10.85 Mihir Vora ITI Small Cap Fund-Reg(G) 2,219.20 9.81 Dhimant Shah Bank of India Small Cap Fund-Reg(G) 1,574.18 9.73 Alok Singh
Focused
Baroda BNP Paribas Focused Fund-Reg(G) 634.25 8.77 Sanjay Chawla ICICI Pru Focused Equity Fund(G) 10,484.45 8.48 Vaibhav Dusad Motilal Oswal Focused Fund-Reg(G) 1,401.01 8.34 Ajay Khandelwal
Value-Contra-Dividend Yield
Aditya Birla SL Pure Value Fund(G) 5,791.13 9.19 Kunal Sangoi HSBC Value Fund-Reg(G) 12,600.37 8.23 Venugopal Manghat Tata Dividend Yield Fund-Reg(G) 905.36 7.90 Sailesh Jain
ELSS
Bank of India ELSS Tax Saver-Reg(G) 1,319.59 10.95 Alok Singh Motilal Oswal ELSS Tax Saver Fund-Reg(G) 3,816.77 10.58 Ajay Khandelwal Nippon India ELSS Tax Saver Fund(G) 14,392.25 8.73 Rupesh Patel
Benchmark Returns
NIFTY 50 - TRI 6.31 NIFTY 500 - TRI 7.35 Nifty Midcap 150 - TRI 7.73 Nifty Smallcap 250 - TRI 9.10
MF investment: In a notable rebound for actively managed funds, 38.64% of equity mutual fund schemes outperformed their respective benchmarks in March 2025, according to a performance study by PL Wealth Management, the wealth arm of PL Capital.
The study, based on the analysis of 298 open-ended diversified equity schemes (excluding sectoral and thematic funds), highlighted a month of mixed results across fund categories. Notably, large cap funds led the pack, with 71.88% of schemes outperforming the NIFTY 50 TRI benchmark.
The AUM of equity mutual funds (excluding sector/thematic) also posted a moderate monthly increase of 7.68%, rising from Rs 23.12 lakh crore in February 2025 to Rs 24.90 lakh crore in March 2025.
Top performing categories:
Large Cap Funds showed the best performance, with 71.88% of schemes exceeding the NIFTY 50 TRI benchmark.
Large & Mid Cap Funds closely followed, with 58.06% of schemes outperforming the NIFTY LargeMidcap 250 TRI.
Mid Cap Funds also displayed a strong performance, with 51.72% of schemes surpassing the Nifty Midcap 150 TRI.
Least performing category
Small Cap Funds had the lowest rate of outperformance at 10.00%, falling short of the Nifty Smallcap 250 TRI benchmark.
Here’s how various categories performed:
| Category | Benchmark | Total Schemes | Outperformed | Outperformance (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Large Cap Funds | NIFTY 50 TRI | 33 | 23 | 71.88% |
| Large & Mid Cap Funds | NIFTY LargeMidcap 250 - TRI | 31 | 18 | 58.06% |
| Mid Cap Funds | Nifty Midcap 150 - TRI | 30 | 15 | 51.72% |
| Flexi Cap Funds | NIFTY 500 - TRI | 39 | 14 | 35.90% |
| ELSS | NIFTY 500 - TRI | 43 | 16 | 37.21% |
| Focused Funds | NIFTY 500 - TRI | 28 | 9 | 32.14% |
| Value/Contra/Dividend Yield | NIFTY 500 - TRI | 34 | 9 | 27.27% |
| Multi Cap Funds | Nifty500 Multicap 50:25:25 TRI | 30 | 7 | 23.33% |
| Small Cap Funds | Nifty Smallcap 250 - TRI | 30 | 3 | 10.00% |
Small cap funds lagged significantly, with only 10% of schemes outperforming their benchmark — the weakest showing among all categories.
Top Mutual Funds: 1-Month Return
Large Cap
LIC MF Large Cap Fund-Reg(G) 1,379.07 7.85 Nikhil Rungta Invesco India Largecap Fund(G) 1,328.90 7.57 Amit Nigam Bandhan Large Cap Fund-Reg(G) 1,765.87 7.47 Manish Gunwani
Large and Mid cap
Motilal Oswal Large & Midcap Fund-Reg(G) 8,712.99 10.58 Ajay Khandelwal LIC MF Large & Midcap Fund-Reg(G) 2,859.42 9.46 Yogesh Patil ITI Large & Mid Cap Fund-Reg(G) 780.75 8.75 Alok Ranjan
Flexi Cap
Bank of India Flexi Cap Fund-Reg(G) 1,962.03 11.06 Alok Singh Quant Flexi Cap Fund(G) 6,712.15 8.66 Sandeep Tandon ITI Flexi Cap Fund-Reg(G) 1,031.77 8.43 Dhimant Shah
Multi Cap
Motilal Oswal Multi Cap Fund-Reg(G) 3,426.18 9.13 Ajay Khandelwal Bank of India Multi Cap Fund-Reg(G) 778.03 8.74 Nitin Gosar Aditya Birla SL Multi-Cap Fund-Reg(G) 5,893.80 8.24 Abhinav Khandelwal
Mid cap
ITI Mid Cap Fund-Reg(G) 1,091.64 9.40 Rohan Korde Union Midcap Fund-Reg(G) 1,312.88 8.84 Gaurav Chopra Kotak Emerging Equity Fund(G) 48,128.71 8.62 Atul Bhole
Small cap
TRUSTMF Small Cap Fund-Reg(G) 817.25 10.85 Mihir Vora ITI Small Cap Fund-Reg(G) 2,219.20 9.81 Dhimant Shah Bank of India Small Cap Fund-Reg(G) 1,574.18 9.73 Alok Singh
Focused
Baroda BNP Paribas Focused Fund-Reg(G) 634.25 8.77 Sanjay Chawla ICICI Pru Focused Equity Fund(G) 10,484.45 8.48 Vaibhav Dusad Motilal Oswal Focused Fund-Reg(G) 1,401.01 8.34 Ajay Khandelwal
Value-Contra-Dividend Yield
Aditya Birla SL Pure Value Fund(G) 5,791.13 9.19 Kunal Sangoi HSBC Value Fund-Reg(G) 12,600.37 8.23 Venugopal Manghat Tata Dividend Yield Fund-Reg(G) 905.36 7.90 Sailesh Jain
ELSS
Bank of India ELSS Tax Saver-Reg(G) 1,319.59 10.95 Alok Singh Motilal Oswal ELSS Tax Saver Fund-Reg(G) 3,816.77 10.58 Ajay Khandelwal Nippon India ELSS Tax Saver Fund(G) 14,392.25 8.73 Rupesh Patel
Benchmark Returns
NIFTY 50 - TRI 6.31 NIFTY 500 - TRI 7.35 Nifty Midcap 150 - TRI 7.73 Nifty Smallcap 250 - TRI 9.10