Mid-cap funds sink in Sept, but 6 schemes beat the Nifty Midcap 150; Taurus Mid Cap emerges as best performer

September proved to be a difficult month for mid-cap mutual funds, with every scheme in the category snapshot ending in negative territory. However, several funds managed to cushion the decline better than the benchmark, highlighting a wide divergence in downside performance during the market correction.

Taurus Mid Cap emerged as the best-performing scheme in September, declining 2.44% between August 31 and September 30, 2026. The fund substantially outperformed the Nifty Midcap 150 TRI, which fell 7.07% during the month.

Bank of India Mid Cap was the second-best performer, losing 4.25%, followed by Quant Mid Cap, which declined 4.50%. Helios Mid Cap posted a 4.65% fall, while The Wealth Company Mid Cap and JM Midcap declined 4.90% and 5.31%, respectively.

This means six schemes in the snapshot managed to outperform the benchmark despite posting negative monthly returns.

Majority of funds cushion the correction

The September performance highlights the importance of distinguishing between absolute returns and relative performance during a market downturn. While investors in all the funds saw their portfolios decline, the losses were considerably smaller for the top-performing schemes than the benchmark's 7.07% fall.

After JM Midcap, SBI Midcap declined 5.33%, followed by PGIM India Midcap at 5.38%, Bandhan Midcap at 5.41% and Nippon India Mid Cap at 5.55%.

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Axis Midcap, Canara Robeco Mid Cap and Samco Mid Cap fell 5.64%, 5.65% and 6.12%, respectively. WhiteOak Capital Mid Cap declined 6.14%, while Invesco India Midcap and Trustmf Mid Cap lost 6.16% and 6.21%.

Mid-cap funds: September 2026 performance

Longer-term returns remain positive for several funds

Despite the sharp September correction, the snapshot shows that several mid-cap funds continued to deliver strong returns over longer periods.

HSBC Midcap, for instance, recorded a 22.31% six-month return and 21.98% CYF return, while its one-year and three-year returns stood at 17.89% and 22.18%, respectively. Its September decline was 6.81%.

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WhiteOak Capital Mid Cap also posted strong medium-term numbers, with 17.23% over six months, 17.38% CYF, 12.32% over one year and 20.33% over three years, despite a 6.14% monthly fall.

Invesco India Midcap recorded 19.54% over six months, 19.31% CYF and 22.22% over three years, while JM Midcap delivered 21.68% over six months and 21.25% CYF.

Mahindra Manulife records biggest monthly fall

At the other end of the table, Mahindra Manulife Mid Cap was the weakest performer, declining 8.03% in September. Kotak Midcap and Sundaram Mid Cap fell 7.51% and 7.37%, respectively.

The September data therefore paints a clear picture: mid-cap funds were unable to avoid the broader correction, but fund-level performance varied significantly. For investors, the divergence suggests that downside protection and longer-term consistency can be as important as headline returns when assessing mid-cap strategies.

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