Highest Return Mutual Funds in the Last 10 Years in India
One of the best methods to accumulate long-term wealth is investing in direct mutual funds. Direct mutual fund plans can assist investors in optimising returns by removing distributor commissions. In the last ten years, a number of direct mutual funds in India have shown extraordinary performance, beating their indices throughout market cycles. These funds spread investments across small-cap, mid-cap, flexi-cap, and large & mid-cap categories, with robust stock selection, management, and disciplined strategies.
In this blog, we will explore the top-performing mutual funds in India (2015–2025) based on their 10-year absolute and annualised returns (CAGR).
Top Performing Direct Mutual Funds: 2015–2025
Overview of the top-performing mutual funds in the past ten years is as follows:
Nippon India Small Cap Fund – Direct (Growth)
Nippon India Small Cap Fund has been a consistent outperformer, delivering a 21.68% return in the past ten years. It is known for spotting multibagger opportunities within the small-cap segment.
The fund holds more than 200 stocks, such as MCX, HDFC Bank, Kirloskar Brothers, Karur Vysya Bank, and new entrants in the field of auto parts, consumer goods, and machinery.
It has rewarded long-term, patient investors with attractive returns. Its past performance is due to its significant AUM (₹66,136 crore), proactive management, and a research-based investing strategy. It is suitable for risk-tolerant investors due to higher volatility during market downturns.
Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund – Direct (Growth)
Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund is distinguished by its flexible and value-oriented approach. The fund has a 65.57% investment in domestic equities, of which it actively allocates between large (50.28%), mid (2.18%), and small caps (3.5%), with approximately 10.65% in debt instruments. It also offers foreign equity exposure, which provides investors with global diversification.
Leading holdings are HDFC Bank, Bajaj Holdings, Power Grid, Coal India, and ICICI Bank. Its flexibility enables fund managers to switch between market caps during valuation periods, enhancing its overall returns during turbulent times.
This fund can be appealing to investors who seek a balanced approach, diversification with moderate volatility, owing to its proven strategy and disciplined execution.
Edelweiss Mid Cap Fund – Direct (Growth)
Edelweiss Mid Cap Fund focuses on investing in mid-cap stocks with strong fundamentals and growth prospects. The fund targets stocks that are attractively priced using its FAIR framework (Fundamentals, Attractive valuation, Integrity, and Risk management).
Marico, Persistent Systems, Coforge, and Max Healthcare are among the top holdings of the fund. The fund has a diversified portfolio, with an AUM of more than ₹11,000+ crore and a disciplined investment process driving its strong performance.
This is an appealing fund as it has a balanced risk and growth profile and gives exposure to the mid-cap growth story of India over a long-term period of 5-10 years.
HDFC Mid Cap Fund – Direct (Growth)
The HDFC Mid Cap Fund is one of the oldest and most trusted mid-cap schemes in India and is oriented towards companies with strong business models and growth prospects. Since the launch, it has delivered 18.90% annualised returns.
Its major holdings are Max Financial Services, Balkrishna Industries, Coforge, Federal Bank, and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals. The disciplined selection and strong risk management of the fund have contributed to its performance through different cycles while protecting the capital during downturns.
It suits investors with medium-to-high risk tolerance and an investment horizon of 5-10 years, looking to beat large-cap indices.
ICICI Prudential Large & Mid Cap Fund – Direct (Growth)
It is a hybrid fund that invests in both large and mid-cap companies. This fund brings together the predictability of large-caps and the growth of mid-caps, providing the investor with a balanced risk-reward profile.
The leading holdings are Axis Bank, Maruti Suzuki, SBI Cards and payments services, FSN E-Commerce Ventures, and Alkem Laboratories. Its large AUM provides liquidity and uniformity.
This fund is appropriate for investors pursuing long-term growth with lower volatility as compared to small-cap funds.
Conclusion
In the past 10 years, investments in mutual funds have yielded attractive returns to investors. But some things were common in all these mutual funds, like strong fundamentals, proactive fund management, and a diversified portfolio.
While these funds show that long-term investing is effective, investors should align their choices with their risk tolerance, financial goals, and time frame.
