Summary of this article
Mid cap and small cap funds dominate the list.
Look for consistently-performing equity funds to invest.
Nippon India Small Cap Fund tops the list.
The best mutual funds are not the ones that top the charts for a year or two. Those rankings keep changing. What really matters for long-term investors is consistency– the ability to deliver decent, inflation-beating returns across market cycles.
At Outlook Money, we looked beyond short-term winners and focused on equity mutual funds that have quietly done their job year after year. Our aim was simple: identify funds that never disappointed long-term investors.
For this analysis, we looked at equity mutual fund schemes whose seven-year rolling returns never fell below 12 per cent in any seven-year period over the last decade, from December 2015 to December 2025. The returns were rolled on a daily basis.
We chose 12 per cent because it is the most commonly used assumed return for equity mutual funds in long-term financial planning. We chose a seven-year holding period because most experts recommend investing in equity only if you can stay invested for at least that long.
In other words, we were not looking for funds that delivered spectacular returns in a bull market. We were looking for funds that avoided very low returns, even over long holding periods.
To do this, we analysed the seven-year rolling returns of actively managed equity mutual fund schemes between December 2015 and December 2025. Only schemes that had completed at least 10 years of existence were considered. This ensured that each fund had lived through different market phases of strong rallies, sharp corrections, and periods of high volatility.
After applying this filter, we found 12 actively managed equity mutual fund schemes that passed the test. These funds delivered a minimum of 12 per cent returns in every single seven-year period during the last 10 years, without exception.
At the top of the list was Nippon India Small Cap Fund. The minimum seven-year return delivered by the fund across all seven-year periods ending in the last decade stood at 15.30 per cent. In simple terms, there was no seven-year period during this time when the fund delivered returns lower than 15.30 per cent.
The fund’s average seven-year return stood at mind-blowing 21.94 per cent, while the maximum seven-year return touched 26.83 per cent.
Before we give out the complete list of funds, you must understand that the returns part is just one criterion to gauge a mutual fund scheme. You should not invest in any of these funds just on the basis of this report. Always do your own deep analysis and invest as per your risk profile. Also, a 10-year period is a long time in the life of a mutual fund. During this period, some of these schemes would have gone through changes due to SEBI’s recategorisation of mutual fund schemes in 2018. A few schemes may have been renamed, while others may have been merged.
Below is the complete list of 12 equity mutual fund schemes whose returns have never fallen below 12 per cent in any seven-year period between December 2015 and December 2025.
| Scheme Name | Max. 7-Yr Return (%) | Min. 7-Yr Return (%) | Average 7-Yr Returns (%) |
| Nippon India Small Cap Fund | 26.83 | 15.30 | 21.94 |
| Mirae Asset Large & Midcap Fund | 27.24 | 13.94 | 20.64 |
| Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund | 21.23 | 13.94 | 18.24 |
| SBI Small Cap Fund | 28.36 | 13.83 | 21.85 |
| PGIM India Midcap Fund | 22.01 | 13.44 | 17.23 |
| HSBC Small Cap Fund | 22.23 | 13.28 | 18.31 |
| DSP Small Cap Fund | 37.45 | 13.11 | 19.81 |
| Kotak Midcap Fund | 25.38 | 12.83 | 18.53 |
| 360 ONE Focused Fund | 20.25 | 12.82 | 16.96 |
| Canara Robeco Large and Mid Cap Fund | 34.71 | 12.68 | 19.55 |
| Axis Midcap Fund | 22.45 | 12.46 | 17.90 |
| Edelweiss Mid Cap Fund | 30.53 | 12.27 | 18.91 |
| Data based on analysis of 7-year rolling retruns between December 2015 to December 2025; Source: Ace MF |
From the list, it is clear that most of the schemes belong to the mid-cap and small-cap categories. These are high-risk categories and may not be suitable for many new investors. Do not invest in them unless you understand the risk profile of such schemes. This piece should be treated purely for educational purposes. Alternatively, consult your advisor before investing in any of these schemes.
