India’s top performing mutual fund schemes for August 2026
India’s top performing mutual fund schemes for August 2026 MUTUAL FUND RETURNS IN AUGUST 2026 – THE BIG PICTURE If July was the month of optimism, August 2026 saw a return to hard reality. The dispute in the Middle East stays; in fact,…
India’s top performing mutual fund schemes for August 2026
MUTUAL FUND RETURNS IN AUGUST 2026 – THE BIG PICTURE
If July was the month of optimism, August 2026 saw a return to hard reality. The dispute in the Middle East stays; in fact, it has just gotten worse. With Trump threatening D-Day like sanctions on Iran; and the latter threatening retaliation, the situation is far from normal. It remains to be seen how much this uncertainty affects the flow of shipping traffic through the Straits of Hormuz and the Bab-al-Mandeb. That will determine the supply chain impact.
August has been another difficult month for the markets with pressure across large caps and mid-caps; with only small caps seeing some positive buying. The macro story is what is taking a hit. There are also macro concerns like the US debt crossing $40 trillion and its possible impact on the bond yields. The minutes of the RBI policy announced in August 2026 were much more hawkish than expected; but for now, it looks like boosting GDP growth may be the priority.
Equity Large Cap Funds
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 23rd Aug-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nippon India Large Cap Fund (G) | -1.891% | 12.114% | 14.405% |
| Invesco India Large Cap Fund (G) | 6.904% | 15.933% | 13.458% |
| HDFC Large Cap Fund (G) | 0.586% | 11.243% | 13.163% |
| Category Average | 0.472% | 11.165% | 10.293% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Equity Large & Mid Cap Funds
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 23rd Aug-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motilal Oswal Large & Mid Cap (G) | 13.632% | 24.311% | 20.309% |
| Invesco India Large & Mid-Cap (G) | 8.165% | 24.586% | 19.012% |
| ICICI Pru Large & Mid Cap (G) | 6.636% | 18.093% | 18.732% |
| Category Average | 5.243% | 15.632% | 14.325% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Equity Multi-Cap Funds
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 23rd Aug-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nippon India Multi Cap (G) | 1.580% | 15.394% | 19.496% |
| ICICI Pru Multi-Cap Fund (G) | 10.177% | 18.405% | 17.072% |
| Baroda BNP Multi-Cap Fund (G) | 5.470% | 16.723% | 15.525% |
| Category Average | 7.119% | 15.919% | 14.864% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Equity Flexi Cap Funds
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 23rd Aug-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| HDFC Flexi Cap Fund (G) | 4.191% | 17.706% | 19.397% |
| JM Flexi Cap Fund (G) | 4.378% | 16.939% | 17.739% |
| Quant Flexi Cap Fund (G) | 14.939% | 16.035% | 15.650% |
| Category Average | 4.455% | 13.892% | 12.583% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Equity Mid Cap Funds
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 23rd Aug-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motilal Oswal Mid-Cap Fund (G) | 2.206% | 22.529% | 24.107% |
| Invesco India Mid-Cap Fund (G) | 9.960% | 25.915% | 21.952% |
| HDFC Mid-Cap Fund (G) | 10.383% | 20.021% | 21.447% |
| Category Average | 9.826% | 18.788% | 17.260% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Equity Small Cap Funds
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 23rd Aug-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quant Small Cap Fund (G) | 14.437% | 19.043% | 21.382% |
| Bandhan Small Cap Fund (G) | 12.520% | 26.849% | 20.942% |
| Nippon India Small Cap Fund (G) | 9.902% | 16.856% | 20.101% |
| Category Average | 12.982% | 17.586% | 17.769% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Dynamic Asset Allocation Funds (BAF)
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 23rd Aug-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| ABSL BAF (G) | 8.558% | 13.088% | 11.328% |
| Bank of India BAF (G) | 7.922% | 10.541% | 11.270% |
| ICICI Prudential BAF (G) | 6.911% | 12.203% | 11.247% |
| Category Average | 3.020% | 10.099% | 9.372% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Multi-Asset Allocation Funds (MAAF)
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 23rd Aug-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| ICICI Pru Multi-Asset Fund (G) | 8.133% | 16.094% | 17.467% |
| Nippon Multi-Asset Fund (G) | 18.033% | 20.795% | 16.842% |
| SBI Multi-Asset Fund (G) | 13.835% | 16.443% | 14.232% |
| 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 Aug-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kotak Arbitrage Fund (G) | 6.734% | 7.611% | 6.884% |
| Edelweiss Arbitrage Fund (G) | 6.697% | 7.561% | 6.849% |
| Axis Arbitrage Fund (G) | 6.700% | 7.504% | 6.782% |
| Category Average | 6.142% | 6.917% | 6.135% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Government Securities Funds (Gilt Funds)
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 23rd Aug-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| ICICI Prudential Gilt Fund (G) | 6.312% | 7.631% | 7.116% |
| Bandhan Gilt Fund (G) | 8.795% | 8.187% | 6.536% |
| Axis Gilt Fund (G) | 5.961% | 7.573% | 6.380% |
| Category Average | 4.571% | 6.614% | 5.614% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Corporate Bond Funds
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 23rd Aug-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| ICICI Pru Corporate Bond (G) | 6.218% | 7.614% | 6.898% |
| Nippon Corporate Bond (G) | 5.572% | 7.673% | 6.823% |
| Kotak Corporate Bond (G) | 5.533% | 7.540% | 6.522% |
| Category Average | 4.959% | 6.986% | 5.994% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Credit Risk Funds
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 23rd Aug-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| BOI Credit Risk Fund (G) | 17.663% | 10.061% | 27.769% |
| DSP Credit Risk Fund (G) | 11.215% | 16.829% | 13.314% |
| ABSL Credit Risk Fund (G) | 12.937% | 13.213% | 10.931% |
| Category Average | 8.557% | 9.332% | 9.564% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Having seen returns for various categories of funds for the year to August 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 August 2026.
Debt funds have done relatively well, but again the theme seems to be alpha hunting. The performance of premium of credit risk funds over corporate bond funds and gilt funds has been widening as investors are going down the risk curve for higher returns.
Multi asset allocation funds have done well this month, on the back of a sharp revival in gold and silver prices. That portion of the portfolio has seen a fresh revival in the last one month and that is evident in the short-term returns of the MAAFs.
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. Multi-caps and flexi-caps look like a better diversification bet compared to large cap funds.
Most of the funds in the top-3 list have managed to beat the benchmark index returns over 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year time frames. This is indicative of genuine alpha generation by the top ranked funds across mutual fund categories.
Like in most months; the past winners mostly tend to repeat. This gives predictive ability to top performers. This is critical for investors and financial advisors; as past returns becomes a good illustration for future decision making.
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