Summary of this article
Five fund managers oversee Rs 9.04 lakh crore worth of active equity and hybrid AUM.
ICICI Pru’s S. Naren leads, followed by SBI MF’s R. Srinivasan, HDFC MF’s Gopal Agrawal.
Large scale hasn’t hurt returns, with most delivering mid-to-high teen gains over 3–5 years.
The top five mutual fund managers by assets under management (AUM) across actively-managed equity and hybrid schemes together oversee around Rs 9.04 lakh crore, that is nearly 19.18 per cent of the total AUM in equity, hybrid and solution-oriented schemes as of November 30, 2025, shows data from Ace Mutual Fund and Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi).
Leading the pack is the industry veteran Sankaran Naren of ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, who manages assets worth Rs 2.59 lakh crore, as on November 30, 20205. He is followed by R. Srinivasan of SBI Mutual Fund with Rs 1.91 lakh crore, Gopal Agrawal of HDFC Mutual Fund managing Rs 1.69 lakh crore, Rajeev Thakkar of PPFAS Mutual Fund with Rs 1.43 lakh crore, and Chirag Setalvad of HDFC Mutual Fund with Rs 1.40 lakh crore.
We have considered only the primary fund managers of the schemes.
From Chirag Setalvad’s overall AUM, assets of the HDFC Flexi Cap Fund, worth Rs 94,000 crore and the second-largest scheme in the flexicap category, have been excluded, as he took over the fund only recently following the exit of the earlier fund manager, Roshi Jain, in early November.
Sankaran Naren of ICICI Pru Mutual Fund
Sankaran Naren, Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer at ICICI Prudential AMC, manages the largest value-oriented fund in the industry—ICICI Prudential Value Fund—with assets of over Rs 60,000 crore. He also oversees the largest fund in the multi-asset category, ICICI Prudential Multi-Asset Fund, which has an AUM of Rs 75,067 crore.
In all, Naren manages six actively managed equity and hybrid schemes. His other mandates include ICICI Prudential Equity & Debt Fund, ICICI Prudential India Opportunities Fund, and ICICI Prudential Exports & Services Fund. Over the past five years, Naren has delivered returns of 22.61 per cent, while three-year returns stand at 20.07 per cent.
Earlier during the month, ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company (AMC) launched its Initial Public Offering (IPO), which attracted bids worth Rs 2.97 lakh crore ($32.86 billion), making it the fourth most subscribed public issue in India and the second most subscribed IPO so far this year.
R. Srinivasan of SBI Mutual Fund
R. Srinivasan, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) - Equity at SBI Mutual Fund, manages the SBI Small Cap Fund, the third-largest small-cap scheme in the industry, with assets of over Rs 36,000 crore. His other funds include SBI Multicap Fund (Rs 23,956 crore), SBI Focused Fund (Rs 42,773 crore), SBI Equity Hybrid Fund, and SBI Children’s Fund. He has delivered returns of 15.88per cent over the last three years and an impressive 17.86 per cent over the last five-year period, according to Ace MF data.
Gopal Agrawal of HDFC Mutual Fund
Gopal Agrawal has been managing the HDFC Balanced Advantage Fund since July 2022. The schemes' total AUM stands at Rs 1.08 lakh crore and is the biggest in its category.
He also manages HDFC Large and Mid Cap Fund, HDFC Focused Fund and HDFC Dividend Yield Fund.
The fund manager has delivered an impressive 21.73 per cent over the last five years and 18.61 per cent over the three-year period.
Rajeev Thakkar of PPFAS Mutual Fund
Rajeev Thakkar, Chief Investment Officer - Equity and Director at PPFAS Mutual Fund, manages the largest actively-managed equity scheme, Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund. It is the only actively-managed equity scheme having assets over one lakh crore at Rs 1.29 lakh crore.
Thakkar has delivered returns to the tune of 16.33 per cent over the last three years and 19.35 per cent over the last five years.
While he manages five schemes in all, only three of those schemes, namely Parag Parikh Conservative Hybrid Fund, ELSS Tax Saver Fund and Flexi Cap Fund, have completed three years. And, only two schemes in the tax saving and flexi cap category have completed five years.
Chirag Setalvad of HDFC Mutual Fund
Setalvad, widely regarded for his sharp mid-cap stock-picking skills, manages some of HDFC Mutual Fund’s largest equity schemes, including the HDFC Mid-Cap Fund, the largest in its category with assets of Rs 92,168 crore, and the second-largest small-cap fund with assets exceeding Rs 38,000 crore. He also manages the HDFC Children’s Fund, a solution-oriented scheme. As per Ace Mutual Fund data, over the past five years, Setalvad has delivered returns of 22.38 per cent, while three-year returns stand at 19.92 per cent.
