SIP for 10 years - Which equity mutual fund categories created the best long-term SIP wealth?

Long-term SIP performance across active equity mutual funds is increasingly becoming a more reliable indicator of consistency than short-term return rankings driven by temporary market rallies. An AMC-wise comparison of active equity mutual funds across 3-year, 5-year and 10-year SIP returns shows that only a handful of fund houses managed to remain consistent through multiple market cycles.

The study, based on data from Value Research as of May 26, 2026, compares SIP returns across categories such as flexi cap, focused, large & mid-cap, large-cap, mid-cap, small-cap and value funds. While several schemes posted sharp gains during bullish phases, the longer-term numbers reveal which AMCs sustained performance over a decade of volatility, corrections and recoveries.

Flexi Cap funds

In the Flexi Cap category, Quant Mutual Fund emerged as one of the strongest long-term performers, delivering 13.20% SIP returns over three years, 16.60% over five years and 21.27% over 10 years.

HDFC Mutual Fund also demonstrated consistency with 9.99%, 15.88% and 17.35% SIP returns respectively, while HSBC Mutual Fund delivered relatively stable performance across all periods at 11.36%, 14.62% and 15.02%.

The category highlights how flexible allocation strategies helped fund managers navigate changing market conditions over the long run.

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Focused funds

Focused funds, which typically hold a limited number of high-conviction stocks, showed stronger divergence in performance across AMCs.

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund stood out with 11.41% 3-year SIP returns, 16.10% over five years and 17.41% over 10 years. SBI Mutual Fund also maintained consistency with 15.17%, 15.08% and 16.26% returns respectively.

The data suggests that concentrated portfolios worked well when backed by disciplined stock selection and long-term holding strategies.

Large & Mid Cap funds

In the Large & Mid Cap category, Invesco Mutual Fund emerged among the strongest performers with SIP returns of 15.50% over three years, 18.62% over five years and 17.99% over 10 years.

Quant Mutual Fund again featured prominently with 12.27%, 16.44% and 18.26% returns across the three periods. Bandhan Mutual Fund also delivered notable long-term performance, especially its 18.33% 10-year SIP return.

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The category benefited from exposure to both stable large-cap companies and faster-growing mid-cap businesses.

Large Cap funds

Large-cap funds generated relatively moderate but more stable returns compared with mid-cap and small-cap segments.

Nippon India Large Cap Fund posted SIP returns of 7.25% over three years, 13.27% over five years and 15.38% over 10 years. SBI and Invesco also maintained healthy long-term returns in the category, reflecting the defensive characteristics of blue-chip investing during volatile periods.

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Mid Cap and Small Cap funds

Mid-cap and small-cap funds delivered some of the strongest long-term SIP returns in the study, though with significantly higher volatility.

In the Mid Cap category, ICICI Prudential generated 21.02% 3-year SIP returns, 21.56% over five years and 20.07% over 10 years. Invesco Mid Cap Fund delivered 18.46%, 21.49% and 21.28% respectively.

Among Small Cap funds, Quant Mutual Fund led the category with 11.07% 3-year SIP returns, 18.04% over five years and an impressive 24.93% over 10 years. Nippon India Small Cap Fund also stood out with 10.80%, 17.87% and 22.27% returns.

Value funds

Value-oriented strategies also generated solid long-term outcomes. HSBC Value Fund delivered 11.54% SIP returns over three years, 17.14% over five years and 17.78% over 10 years. ICICI Prudential and SBI Value Funds also maintained consistent double-digit returns across periods.

The broader takeaway from the study is that long-term SIP investing smoothens short-term market volatility and helps identify mutual fund AMCs that consistently delivered through changing market environments rather than benefiting from temporary momentum-driven rallies.

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