India’s top performing mutual fund schemes for July 2026
India’s top performing mutual fund schemes for July 2026 MUTUAL FUND RETURNS IN JULY 2026 – THE BIG PICTURE It has been a mixed month for equity markets in the first 3 weeks of July. The month began with optimism that the US and Iran…
India’s top performing mutual fund schemes for July 2026
MUTUAL FUND RETURNS IN JULY 2026 – THE BIG PICTURE
It has been a mixed month for equity markets in the first 3 weeks of July. The month began with optimism that the US and Iran would be able to put their differences and move towards a deal. However, neither side appears to be keen on a deal with the attacks on each other starting all over again. For the last 1 month, equity returns at the short end and the long end have taken a hit, while funds with global exposure have done relatively better.
The big macro question is whether the RBI will hike rates in the upcoming August RBI MPC meeting. For now, it looks a tough call. India is too dependent on domestic spending driving growth, and a hike in interest rates would only tighten demand. On the other side, the rupee has been persistently weakening and a rate hike would be the best way to arrest this fall. For now, the consensus appears to be that the rate hike may happen in October, instead of August.
Equity Large Cap Funds
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 23rd Jul-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nippon India Large Cap Fund (G) | -1.211% | 12.619% | 15.792% |
| ICICI Pru Large Cap Fund (G) | -1.571% | 12.512% | 13.630% |
| Invesco India Large Cap Fund (G) | 3.053% | 14.485% | 13.387% |
| Category Average | -2.076% | 10.012% | 10.406% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Equity Large & Mid Cap Funds
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 23rd Jul-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motilal Oswal Large & Mid Cap (G) | 5.224% | 23.289% | 20.107% |
| Invesco India Large & Mid-Cap (G) | 6.570% | 24.368% | 18.480% |
| ICICI Pru Large & Mid Cap (G) | 3.936% | 17.567% | 18.314% |
| Category Average | 0.591% | 14.672% | 13.748% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Equity Multi-Cap Funds
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 23rd Jul-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nippon India Multi Cap (G) | -0.712% | 15.760% | 19.400% |
| Mahindra Manulife Multi Cap (G) | 6.603% | 18.627% | 17.262% |
| ICICI Pru Multi-Cap Fund (G) | 6.377% | 17.780% | 16.176% |
| Category Average | 1.546% | 14.977% | 13.847% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Equity Flexi Cap Funds
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 23rd Jul-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| HDFC Flexi Cap Fund (G) | 2.436% | 16.977% | 18.360% |
| BOI Flexi Cap Fund (G) | 9.098% | 21.544% | 17.514% |
| JM Flexi Cap Fund (G) | -0.260% | 16.299% | 17.401% |
| Category Average | -0.320% | 12.501% | 11.999% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Equity Mid Cap Funds
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 23rd Jul-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motilal Oswal Mid-Cap Fund (G) | -4.213% | 20.217% | 22.926% |
| Invesco India Mid-Cap Fund (G) | 8.304% | 25.931% | 20.881% |
| HDFC Mid-Cap Fund (G) | 5.106% | 19.823% | 20.247% |
| Category Average | 4.418% | 18.423% | 16.019% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Equity Small Cap Funds
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 23rd Jul-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bandhan Small Cap Fund (G) | 5.587% | 27.701% | 20.194% |
| Invesco India Small Cap Fund (G) | 9.156% | 23.653% | 19.973% |
| Nippon India Small Cap Fund (G) | 3.633% | 17.359% | 19.592% |
| Category Average | 4.497% | 16.535% | 16.102% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Dynamic Asset Allocation Funds (BAF)
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 23rd Jul-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| HDFC BAF (G) | 0.600% | 13.596% | 15.457% |
| Baroda BNP Paribas BAF (G) | 5.218% | 12.929% | 12.386% |
| ICICI Prudential BAF (G) | 5.997% | 12.070% | 11.550% |
| Category Average | 0.285% | 9.388% | 8.995% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Multi-Asset Allocation Funds (MAAF)
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 23rd Jul-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quant Multi-Asset Fund (G) | 21.411% | 23.436% | 20.864% |
| ICICI Pru Multi-Asset Fund (G) | 7.264% | 16.104% | 18.272% |
| Nippon Multi-Asset Fund (G) | 14.602% | 19.188% | 16.589% |
| Category Average | N.A. | N.A. | N.A. |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Arbitrage Funds (Cash-Futures)
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 23rd Jul-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invesco India Arbitrage Fund (G) | 6.757% | 7.624% | 6.950% |
| Kotak Arbitrage Fund (G) | 6.676% | 7.646% | 6.855% |
| Edelweiss Arbitrage Fund (G) | 6.644% | 7.599% | 6.824% |
| Category Average | 6.126% | 6.945% | 6.106% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Government Securities Funds (Gilt Funds)
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 23rd Jul-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| ICICI Prudential Gilt Fund (G) | 4.388% | 7.610% | 7.150% |
| Bandhan Gilt Fund (G) | 5.970% | 8.118% | 6.601% |
| SBI Gilt Fund (G) | 3.343% | 6.897% | 6.578% |
| Category Average | 2.458% | 6.476% | 5.626% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Corporate Bond Funds
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 23rd Jul-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| ICICI Pru Corporate Bond (G) | 5.880% | 7.666% | 6.929% |
| Nippon Corporate Bond (G) | 5.171% | 7.672% | 6.898% |
| Axis Corporate Bond (G) | 5.567% | 7.831% | 6.875% |
| Category Average | 4.525% | 6.980% | 6.052% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Credit Risk Funds
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 23rd Jul-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| BOI Credit Risk Fund (G) | 17.353% | 10.014% | 27.749% |
| DSP Credit Risk Fund (G) | 10.772% | 16.849% | 13.255% |
| ABSL Credit Risk Fund (G) | 12.696% | 13.112% | 10.897% |
| Category Average | 7.803% | 9.102% | 9.464% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Having seen returns for various categories of funds for the year to July 2026, here are some key takeaways for investors.
KEY INVESTOR TAKEAWAYS FROM THE MUTUAL FUND RANKINGS
Here are some key trends we deciphered from the MF rankings for year to July 2026.
Debt funds have done relatively well, despite the high probability of a rate hike by the RBI. With rates stable, the bond yields have tapered and that helped the longer-duration debt funds like Gilt Funds and corporate bond funds to do better than the street.
Once again, it was the global funds and the multi-asset funds that appeared to gain the most over the longer term. This is despite the extremely volatile price moves in gold and silver. Hybrids have done much better than other classes in these market conditions.
In the equity space, the large cap funds continue to struggle, with most of the positive traction coming from mid-cap and small cap funds. Consequently, even the multi-cap and flexi-cap funds have done a lot better than the pure large cap funds.
Most of the funds in the top-3 obviously have not only beaten the averages, but have also beaten the comparable benchmark index returns. This outperformance is more reliable over a 3-year and 5-year time frame, while short term comparisons are more erratic.
The key takeaways is that; winners have been consistent over time. What does that mean? Past winners have predictive ability about likely top performers for the future. This is critical for investors and financial advisors; as past returns becomes a key index of future performance. That is the good news for mutual fund investors.
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