Summary of this article
Many mid and small cap mutual funds doubled investors' money in 6 years.
Top performer was Quant Small Cap Fund with 28 per cent SIP returns.
Mid- and small-cap funds carry high risk and past returns may not repeat.
Every investor wants to invest in the best mutual funds to earn the highest returns. But neither every investor can spot the winning funds, nor do the best funds behave the same way through all market cycles.
Yet, some schemes manage to outrun their peers and deliver eye-popping returns, growing investors' money far more than expected. In fact, 18 equity mutual fund schemes have doubled investors' money in just six years. What makes this even more impressive is that the investments were made through a systematic investment plan (SIP), with money getting invested month after month in small chunks over six years.
For equity funds, we considered actively-managed equity schemes across large-, mid-, small-, large-and-mid, multi-, flexi-cap, equity-linked savings scheme (ELSS), dividend yield, contra and value fund categories. Out of the 18 funds that managed to grow monthly systematic investment plan (SIP) contributions to 2x over six years, most were from the mid-, and small-cap space.
The top three funds in the chart were Quant Small Cap Fund, which delivered 28 per cent SIP returns, followed by Motilal Oswal Midcap Fund with 27.56 per cent, and HDFC Mid Cap Opportunities Fund, which delivered 26.03 per cent returns over the last six years, according to data from Ace Mutual Fund.
To put it simply, if an investor had started an SIP of Rs 1,000 per month six years ago, she would have invested Rs 72,000 in total. At current valuations, the amount would have grown to around Rs 1.71 lakh in Quant Small Cap Fund, significantly higher than double the total investment. Similarly, an SIP of Rs 1,000 per month in HDFC Mid Cap Opportunities Fund over the same period would have grown to around Rs 1.57 lakh, again more than double the invested amount.
Apart from the mid-and small-cap segments, a handful of funds from other categories also managed to make their way to the list.
These included, ICICI Pru Dividend Yield Equity Fund with 24.48 per cent SIP returns, Motilal Oswal Large and Midcap Fund with 23.98 per cent, SBI Contra Fund with 23.78 per cent, Nippon India Multi Cap Fund with 23.66 per cent, HDFC Focused Fund with 23.62 per cent, HDFC Flexi Cap Fund with 23.47 per cent, and ICICI Pru Value Fund with 23.14 per cent.
The table below shows the complete list of 18 funds.
| Scheme Name | Total Amount Invested via Rs 1,000 SIP over 6 Years (Rs) | Present value (Rs) | XIRR or SIP Returns (%) |
| Quant Small Cap Fund | 72,000 | 171,368 | 29.01 |
| Motilal Oswal Midcap Fund | 72,000 | 164,253 | 27.56 |
| HDFC Mid Cap Fund | 72,000 | 157,058 | 26.03 |
| Invesco India Midcap Fund | 72,000 | 156,214 | 25.85 |
| Nippon India Small Cap Fund | 72,000 | 155,148 | 25.62 |
| Edelweiss Mid Cap Fund | 72,000 | 153,864 | 25.33 |
| Invesco India Smallcap Fund | 72,000 | 153,075 | 25.16 |
| Nippon India Growth Mid Cap Fund | 72,000 | 152,183 | 24.96 |
| ICICI Pru Dividend Yield Equity Fund | 72,000 | 150,059 | 24.48 |
| Motilal Oswal Large & Midcap Fund | 72,000 | 147,846 | 23.98 |
| SBI Contra Fund | 72,000 | 146,985 | 23.78 |
| Nippon India Multi Cap Fund | 72,000 | 146,465 | 23.66 |
| HDFC Focused Fund | 72,000 | 146,322 | 23.63 |
| HDFC Small Cap Fund | 72,000 | 145,998 | 23.55 |
| HDFC Flexi Cap Fund | 72,000 | 145,652 | 23.47 |
| Sundaram Mid Cap Fund | 72,000 | 144,674 | 23.24 |
| ICICI Pru Midcap Fund | 72,000 | 144,589 | 23.22 |
| ICICI Pru Value Fund | 72,000 | 144,233 | 23.14 |
| Source: Ace Mutual Fund |
For investors, it is important to treat this as educational information and nothing more. Past performance does not guarantee similar future returns. Do not invest in any mutual fund without doing your own research. Mid-and small-cap funds come with high levels of risk and may not be suitable for many investors. Always invest as per your risk appetite.
