Summary of this article
Equity mutual funds account for 44 per cent of the overall AUM.
Six funds gained over Rs 10,000 crore in AUM, mark-to-market.
46 funds saw AUM decline, with Quant Multi Cap Fund recording the largest drop.
As we head toward the year-end, it feels like the right time to look back and see which equity mutual funds truly captured investor attention in 2025. So we dug deep into the numbers to find the schemes that saw the biggest surge in inflows and overall popularity during the year.
Out of 292 equity funds, 246 schemes saw an increase in their AUM from last year, according to data from Ace Mutual Fund. We have compared the AUM as of October 31, 2025, with that of December 31, 2024.
Equity mutual funds have seen a rise of 15 per cent in their overall assets under management (AUM). The change in AUM is mark to market. Mark to market” means valuing an investment at its current market price, not its purchase price, so the AUM reflects real-time gains or losses.
The equity funds AUM has risen from Rs 30.62 lakh crore as on December 31, 2024, to Rs 35.21 lakh crore as on October 31, 2025, as shown by the Association of Mutual Funds in India. Equity mutual funds account for a massive 44 per cent of the overall assets under management as on October 31, 2025.
Equity funds here mean large-cap funds, mid-cap funds, small-cap, multi-cap, flexi-cap, contra funds, tax-saving equity-linked savings schemes (ELSS), dividend yield funds, value funds, focused funds, sectoral and thematic funds.
Six equity mutual funds saw an AUM increase of over Rs 10,000 crore. These funds, no doubt, were the investors' favourites during the year. Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund, the largest actively-managed equity fund, saw an AUM increase of Rs 38,260 crore, taking its total AUM to Rs 1.26 lakh crore as on October 31, 2025.
HDFC Flexi Cap Fund and Nippon India Large Cap Fund followed with an AUM rise of Rs 24,697 crore and Rs 13,170 crore, respectively.
ICICI Prudential Large Cap Fund saw an AUM rise of Rs 12,598 crore, and HDFC Mid-Cap Opportunities saw Rs 11,416 crore worth of addition to its AUM as compared to December-end last year.
Motilal Oswal Mid Cap Fund was another fund that saw a rise of Rs 11,079 crore in its AUM.
Coming to their year-to-date performance, while HDFC Flexi Cap Fund (year-to-date returns of 11.98 per cent) and ICICI Pru Large Cap Fund (11.89 per cent) have delivered double-digit growth, Motilal Oswal Midcap Fund has delivered minus 8 per cent returns year-to-date as of October 31, 2025.
Other funds — Nippon India Large Cap Fund, Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund and HDFC Mid-Cap Opportunities Fund — have grown by 9.43 per cent, 7.63 per cent and 7.41 per cent, respectively.
Their long-term returns, however, stay strong. Over the last seven years, these funds have delivered a compounded average growth rate (CAGR) between 16 per cent and 23 per cent. And their 10-year average returns stood in the range of 14.81 per cent and 18.37 per cent.
Fifteen equity funds saw an AUM rise between Rs 5,000 crore and Rs 10,000 crore. The top five funds among these 15 were the Nippon India Multi Cap Fund, ICICI Pru Value Fund, HDFC Focused Fund, ICICI Pru Large & Mid Cap Fund, and Bandhan Small Cap Fund.
Next, there were 56 equity mutual fund schemes that saw an AUM rise in the range of Rs 1,000 crore and Rs 5,000 crore.
Equity Funds that saw a fall in their Assets in 2025
Out of the funds that saw a fall in their assets, Quant Multi Cap Fund took the worst hit with an AUM fall of Rs 962 crore, followed by HDFC Small Cap Fund (-838 crore), Axis ELSS Tax Saver Fund (-782 crore), Axis Focused Fund (-488 crore) and Quant Mid Cap Fund (-366 crore). Out of 46 equity funds that saw a decline in their AUM from last year, 18 funds experienced a decrease of more than Rs 100 crore.
As the numbers show, 2025 clearly belonged to a handful of standout performers that drew in unmatched investor trust. And as we wrap up the year, these inflow trends tell us exactly where investor conviction and confidence are headed next.
