Mutual funds, explained

Mutual funds,
without the jargon.

What you need to know before you invest, in plain English. Already invested? Book a review call and we’ll go through your funds with you.

Check your retirement readiness Find your number

How a mutual fund worksRegulated by SEBI

One pool. Your share of it.

You own units in proportion to what you put in.

Run by: A fund manager
Priced: Every business day
Assets held by: A custodian

Your units, in your name

A riskometer on every scheme

The basics

What is a mutual fund?

A mutual fund pools your money with other investors’ and invests it in shares, bonds or both, as its stated objective says. A fund manager runs it. You own units in proportion to what you put in, and their value is worked out every business day.

Pooled and diversifiedOne fund can hold dozens of companies or bonds.
Professionally managedA fund manager decides what to buy and sell.
Regulated by SEBIWith assets held by an independent custodian.

Types of mutual funds

The three kinds you’ll come across.

Almost every fund is one of these, or a version of one.

Equity funds

Holds: Shares of companies.
Suits: Goals five or more years away.
Risk: Can swing sharply in the short run.

Used in: Wealth Builder

Debt funds

Holds: Bonds, government securities and money-market instruments.
Suits: Shorter goals, steady income and parking cash: liquid, overnight and money-market funds.
Risk: Steadier than equity, but not risk-free: rates and credit both move them.

Used in: Corporate Treasury, Retirement Income

Hybrid funds

Holds: A mix of shares and bonds in one fund.
Suits: Wanting both in one holding, including income in retirement.
Risk: In between the two, depending on the mix.

Used in: Retirement Income

Look closer at a category

Where a business parks cash, and the steadier funds in a retirement plan.

Liquid fundsInvests in debt and money market securities maturing in up to 91 days.Overnight fundsInvests in overnight securities, maturing in one day.Money market fundsInvests in money market instruments maturing in up to one year.Arbitrage fundsFollows an arbitrage strategy, with at least 65% in equity and equity-related instruments.Balanced advantage fundsInvests in equity and debt, with the mix managed dynamically.Conservative hybrid fundsInvests 10% to 25% in equity and equity-related instruments, and 75% to 90% in debt.

Top performers

Top performing funds, category by category.

The five funds with the highest returns in each category over 3 years, or over 1 or 5 years if you choose. From the fund houses we work with. Updated from AMFI’s data every time the site is published.

Equity

Hybrid

Debt

Rank by

1
Nippon India Large Cap Fund
Nippon India · Large cap
1 year
−9.5%
3 years
10.1%
5 years
11.0%
2
ICICI Prudential Large Cap Fund
ICICI Prudential · Large cap
1 year
−10.2%
3 years
9.7%
5 years
9.2%
3
Franklin India Large Cap Fund
Franklin Templeton · Large cap
1 year
−7.3%
3 years
9.3%
5 years
6.2%
4
SBI Large Cap Fund
SBI · Large cap
1 year
−6.4%
3 years
8.5%
5 years
7.6%
5
Axis Large Cap Fund
Axis · Large cap
1 year
−6.5%
3 years
8.4%
5 years
4.3%
6
HDFC Large Cap Fund
HDFC · Large cap
1 year
−8.5%
3 years
8.0%
5 years
8.9%

1
Motilal Oswal Flexi Cap Fund
Motilal Oswal · Flexi cap
1 year
−4.6%
3 years
15.8%
5 years
11.5%
2
HDFC Flexi Cap Fund
HDFC · Flexi cap
1 year
−4.6%
3 years
15.0%
5 years
14.8%
3
ICICI Prudential Flexi Cap Fund
ICICI Prudential · Flexi cap
1 year
−1.8%
3 years
14.1%
5 years
12.7%
4
Axis Flexi Cap Fund
Axis · Flexi cap
1 year
−1.9%
3 years
12.3%
5 years
6.6%
5
Franklin India Flexi Cap Fund
Franklin Templeton · Flexi cap
1 year
−9.7%
3 years
9.5%
5 years
9.2%
6
Nippon India Flexi Cap Fund
Nippon India · Flexi cap
1 year
−8.8%
3 years
7.7%
5 years
7.9%
7
SBI Flexicap Fund
SBI · Flexi cap
1 year
−8.5%
3 years
7.1%
5 years
6.0%

1
Motilal Oswal Large and Midcap Fund
Motilal Oswal · Large & mid cap
1 year
−0.7%
3 years
19.2%
5 years
15.9%
2
Axis Large & Mid Cap Fund
Axis · Large & mid cap
1 year
−1.0%
3 years
13.5%
5 years
9.7%
3
Nippon India Vision Large & Mid Cap Fund
Nippon India · Large & mid cap
1 year
−8.0%
3 years
12.8%
5 years
10.8%
4
ICICI Prudential Large & Mid Cap Fund
ICICI Prudential · Large & mid cap
1 year
−9.9%
3 years
12.2%
5 years
11.8%
5
HDFC Large & Mid Cap Fund
HDFC · Large & mid cap
1 year
−7.7%
3 years
11.2%
5 years
11.4%
6
SBI Large & Midcap Fund
SBI · Large & mid cap
1 year
−6.2%
3 years
10.9%
5 years
10.5%

1
ICICI Prudential Mid Cap Fund
ICICI Prudential · Mid cap
1 year
0.1%
3 years
18.4%
5 years
13.8%
2
Nippon India Growth Mid Cap Fund
Nippon India · Mid cap
1 year
−2.5%
3 years
15.5%
5 years
15.1%
3
HDFC Mid Cap Fund
HDFC · Mid cap
1 year
−3.5%
3 years
14.9%
5 years
16.3%
4
Axis Midcap Fund
Axis · Mid cap
1 year
0.3%
3 years
14.9%
5 years
10.7%
5
Franklin India Mid Cap Fund
Franklin Templeton · Mid cap
1 year
−9.1%
3 years
12.6%
5 years
10.6%
6
SBI Midcap Fund
SBI · Mid cap
1 year
−5.8%
3 years
8.0%
5 years
10.2%

1
Nippon India Small Cap Fund
Nippon India · Small cap
1 year
−1.0%
3 years
12.1%
5 years
16.1%
2
Axis Small Cap Fund
Axis · Small cap
1 year
0.0%
3 years
12.1%
5 years
13.1%
3
SBI Small Cap Fund
SBI · Small cap
1 year
−2.1%
3 years
9.4%
5 years
10.7%
4
Franklin India Small Cap Fund
Franklin Templeton · Small cap
1 year
−6.4%
3 years
8.9%
5 years
12.6%
5
ICICI Prudential Small Cap Fund
ICICI Prudential · Small cap
1 year
−4.9%
3 years
8.4%
5 years
10.7%
6
HDFC Small Cap Fund
HDFC · Small cap
1 year
−10.6%
3 years
8.0%
5 years
12.1%
7
Motilal Oswal Small Cap Fund
Motilal Oswal · Small cap
1 year
9.4%
3 years
–
5 years
–

1
Motilal Oswal ELSS Tax Saver Fund
Motilal Oswal · Tax saver (ELSS)
1 year
−0.2%
3 years
18.1%
5 years
14.3%
2
SBI ELSS Tax Saver Fund
SBI · Tax saver (ELSS)
1 year
−9.5%
3 years
12.5%
5 years
12.4%
3
HDFC ELSS - Tax Saver Fund
HDFC · Tax saver (ELSS)
1 year
−10.1%
3 years
12.0%
5 years
12.3%
4
Nippon India ELSS Tax Saver Fund
Nippon India · Tax saver (ELSS)
1 year
−5.9%
3 years
11.2%
5 years
9.9%
5
Axis Elss- Tax Saver Fund
Axis · Tax saver (ELSS)
1 year
−5.2%
3 years
9.9%
5 years
4.5%
6
ICICI Prudential ELSS - Tax Saver Fund
ICICI Prudential · Tax saver (ELSS)
1 year
−9.0%
3 years
9.7%
5 years
7.8%
7
Franklin India ELSS Tax Saver Fund
Franklin Templeton · Tax saver (ELSS)
1 year
−10.2%
3 years
9.4%
5 years
9.2%

1
ICICI Prudential Aggressive Hybrid Fund
ICICI Prudential · Aggressive hybrid
1 year
−5.2%
3 years
11.6%
5 years
12.2%
2
SBI Aggressive Hybrid Fund
SBI · Aggressive hybrid
1 year
−2.1%
3 years
11.1%
5 years
8.3%
3
Axis Aggressive Hybrid Fund
Axis · Aggressive hybrid
1 year
−4.2%
3 years
8.6%
5 years
4.9%
4
Franklin India Aggressive Hybrid Fund
Franklin Templeton · Aggressive hybrid
1 year
−8.5%
3 years
7.8%
5 years
7.3%
5
HDFC Aggressive Hybrid Fund
HDFC · Aggressive hybrid
1 year
−9.5%
3 years
5.6%
5 years
6.6%

1
Axis Balanced Advantage Fund
Axis · Balanced advantage
1 year
−2.6%
3 years
10.2%
5 years
7.8%
2
ICICI Prudential Balanced Advantage Fund
ICICI Prudential · Balanced advantage
1 year
−0.2%
3 years
9.9%
5 years
9.2%
3
HDFC Balanced Advantage Fund
HDFC · Balanced advantage
1 year
−5.8%
3 years
9.9%
5 years
12.3%
4
Nippon India Balanced Advantage Fund
Nippon India · Balanced advantage
1 year
−2.5%
3 years
8.8%
5 years
7.7%
5
SBI Balanced Advantage Fund
SBI · Balanced advantage
1 year
−3.9%
3 years
8.4%
5 years
8.4%
6
Motilal Oswal Balanced Advantage Fund
Motilal Oswal · Balanced advantage
1 year
−5.6%
3 years
1.4%
5 years
4.2%

1
Nippon India Multi Asset Allocation Fund
Nippon India · Multi asset
1 year
1.9%
3 years
16.2%
5 years
12.3%
2
SBI Multi Asset Allocation Fund
SBI · Multi asset
1 year
1.2%
3 years
12.7%
5 years
11.4%
3
Axis Multi Asset Allocation Fund
Axis · Multi asset
1 year
0.9%
3 years
12.2%
5 years
6.9%
4
ICICI Prudential Multi Asset Allocation Fund
ICICI Prudential · Multi asset
1 year
−4.0%
3 years
12.0%
5 years
13.1%
5
HDFC Multi Asset Allocation Fund
HDFC · Multi asset
1 year
−3.3%
3 years
9.9%
5 years
8.9%
6
Franklin India Multi Asset Allocation Fund
Franklin Templeton · Multi asset
1 year
−0.9%
3 years
–
5 years
–

1
Franklin India Corporate Bond Fund
Franklin Templeton · Corporate bond
1 year
4.8%
3 years
7.2%
5 years
6.1%
2
Nippon India Corporate Bond Fund
Nippon India · Corporate bond
1 year
3.6%
3 years
6.9%
5 years
6.3%
3
Axis Corporate Bond Fund
Axis · Corporate bond
1 year
3.7%
3 years
6.8%
5 years
6.0%
4
ICICI Prudential Corporate Bond Fund
ICICI Prudential · Corporate bond
1 year
4.0%
3 years
6.8%
5 years
6.3%
5
SBI Corporate Bond Fund
SBI · Corporate bond
1 year
3.4%
3 years
6.5%
5 years
5.7%
6
HDFC Corporate Bond Fund
HDFC · Corporate bond
1 year
2.6%
3 years
6.3%
5 years
5.7%

1
Axis Short Term Fund
Axis · Short duration
1 year
4.3%
3 years
7.0%
5 years
6.1%
2
HDFC Short Term Fund
HDFC · Short duration
1 year
3.9%
3 years
6.9%
5 years
6.1%
3
ICICI Prudential Short Term Fund
ICICI Prudential · Short duration
1 year
4.3%
3 years
6.8%
5 years
6.3%
4
Nippon India Short Term Fund
Nippon India · Short duration
1 year
3.9%
3 years
6.8%
5 years
5.9%
5
SBI Short Term Fund
SBI · Short duration
1 year
3.6%
3 years
6.6%
5 years
5.8%

1
Axis Liquid Fund
Axis · Liquid
1 year
6.4%
3 years
6.9%
5 years
6.4%
2
Nippon India Liquid Fund
Nippon India · Liquid
1 year
6.4%
3 years
6.8%
5 years
6.3%
3
ICICI Prudential Liquid Fund
ICICI Prudential · Liquid
1 year
6.3%
3 years
6.8%
5 years
6.3%
4
HDFC Liquid Fund
HDFC · Liquid
1 year
6.4%
3 years
6.8%
5 years
6.3%
5
SBI Liquid Fund
SBI · Liquid
1 year
6.4%
3 years
6.7%
5 years
6.3%

The 5 funds with the highest return over the period you choose (3 years unless you pick 1 or 5), from AMFI’s published NAVs as of 30 October 2026, among the fund houses we work with (Axis, Franklin Templeton, HDFC, ICICI Prudential, Motilal Oswal, Nippon India, SBI). Regular plan, growth option; regular plans include the distributor’s commission. Returns over a year are yearly averages (CAGR). Past returns, not a recommendation: past performance may or may not be sustained in future, and which fund suits you depends on your goals and a suitability check.

Find the right fund for you Or check your retirement readiness

SIP, lump sum, SWP, STP

Four ways to invest and take your money out.

SIP

Systematic Investment Plan

A fixed amount invested every month, automatically. Buys more units when prices are low and fewer when they are high.

Try the SIP calculator

Lump sum

One-time investment

A single amount invested at once. Common for a maturing FD, a bonus, or a business surplus.

SWP

Systematic Withdrawal Plan

A fixed amount paid out to you every month from your investment. The engine of a retirement income.

Try the SWP calculator

STP

Systematic Transfer Plan

Moves money in stages from one fund to another, for example from a debt fund into equity.

Glossary

Six terms worth knowing.

NAV: Net Asset Value: the price of one unit, worked out at the end of every business day.
Expense ratio: The yearly cost of running the fund, taken from its assets. You never see a bill; it comes out of your returns.
Regular vs direct: The same fund, two plans. A regular plan’s expense ratio includes the distributor’s commission; a direct plan’s does not, so it costs less. Through us, you invest in regular plans.
Riskometer: A six-level scale, from Low to Very High, that every scheme has to display.
Exit load: A charge some funds take if you sell within a set period after investing, often a year.
Growth vs IDCW: Growth keeps gains inside the fund. IDCW (income distribution cum capital withdrawal) pays some out, and whatever is paid comes out of the NAV.

Where your money sits

Your units, in your name. Never in ours.

Your money goes straight from your bank to the fund house. We never handle it, and we can’t move it.

Paid directly to the fund houseFrom your own bank account, never through ours.
Units held in your nameRegistered against your PAN, in your folio.
Statements straight from the registrarCAMS or KFintech, the fund’s registrar, report to you directly.

Retirement readiness

Will your money last? Check in two minutes.

Nine quick questions on the basics: what you spend, what’s saved for your stage of life, where it sits. See your score, and the three gaps to close first.

What the check looks at

Question 1 of 9

Where are you today?

Nine quick questions, two minutes. Nothing is stored unless you send it to us.

Free calculators

Put a number on your own money.

Retirement Income2 min

How much can you draw?

Find your number

Corporate Treasury3 min

What is your idle cash earning?

Find your number

Wealth Builder2 min

What will it cost, and what do you put away?

Find your number

FAQs

Your questions about mutual funds.

Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.

Are mutual funds safe?

They are regulated, not guaranteed. SEBI regulates every fund and its assets are held by an independent custodian, but the value of your units rises and falls with what the fund owns. Equity funds can fall sharply in a bad year; debt funds can fall too, usually by less.

How much do I need to start?

Many schemes accept SIPs of a few hundred rupees a month; each scheme’s documents set its minimum. The better question is how much your goal needs, which the calculators answer.

Can I take my money out whenever I want?

Most open-ended funds can be redeemed on any business day, with the money usually in your bank within a few working days. Some charge an exit load if you sell early, and tax-saving ELSS funds have a three-year lock-in.

What is the difference between a regular and a direct plan?

Only the cost. A regular plan includes the distributor’s commission in its expense ratio; a direct plan does not. We are paid through regular plans, and we show you what the direct plan would cost before you invest.

How are mutual funds taxed?

It depends on the type of fund and how long you hold it, and the rules change with budgets. Gains are taxed when you sell, not while you hold. We go through the current rules with you and your CA.

How often should I review my funds?

Once a year is usually enough, plus whenever life changes: a new job, a child, retirement. Checking more often tends to lead to worse decisions, not better ones.

Your next step

Know your money will do what you need it to.

Twenty minutes, on your own numbers
Online or in person
Nothing sold

Book a review call

Mutual funds,
without the jargon.

What is a mutual fund?

The three kinds you’ll come across.

Equity funds

Debt funds

Hybrid funds

Look closer at a category

Top performing funds, category by category.

Four ways to invest and take your money out.

SIP

Lump sum

SWP

STP

Six terms worth knowing.

Your units, in your name. Never in ours.

Will your money last? Check in two minutes.

Go through your answers with us

Thank you. We have your details.

One last step

Put a number on your own money.

How much can you draw?

What is your idle cash earning?

What will it cost, and what do you put away?

Your questions about mutual funds.

Know your money will do what you need it to.

Mutual funds, without the jargon.

What is a mutual fund?

The three kinds you’ll come across.

Equity funds

Debt funds

Hybrid funds

Look closer at a category

Top performing funds, category by category.

Top performing large cap funds

Top performing flexi cap funds

Top performing large & mid cap funds

Top performing mid cap funds

Top performing small cap funds

Top performing tax saver (elss) funds

Top performing aggressive hybrid funds

Top performing balanced advantage funds

Top performing multi asset funds

Top performing corporate bond funds

Top performing short duration funds

Top performing liquid funds

Four ways to invest and take your money out.

SIP

Lump sum

SWP

STP

Six terms worth knowing.

Your units, in your name. Never in ours.

Will your money last? Check in two minutes.

Go through your answers with us

Thank you. We have your details.

One last step

Put a number on your own money.

How much can you draw?

What is your idle cash earning?

What will it cost, and what do you put away?

Your questions about mutual funds.

Know your money will do what you need it to.

Mutual funds,
without the jargon.