India’s top performing mutual fund schemes in May 2026
India’s top performing mutual fund schemes in May 2026 MUTUAL FUNDS RETURNS IN YEAR TO MAY 2026 If March and first half of April were about a sharp fall in the markets, then the second half of April and May have been about a gradual…
India’s top performing mutual fund schemes in May 2026
MUTUAL FUNDS RETURNS IN YEAR TO MAY 2026
If March and first half of April were about a sharp fall in the markets, then the second half of April and May have been about a gradual recovery. The war risks have not vanished, but there appears to be an overpowering sense of optimism that the worst may be over for the global markets. Hopefully, good economic sense should prevail. Here we capture equity funds, debt funds, and hybrid fund performance across 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year time frames.
The US-Iran war that began on the last day of February is not yet over, but the ceasefire appears to be holding. A lot will depend on when the Straits of Hormuz are opened to shipping traffic and how supply chains get normalized. It has been a period in which FPI selling was intense and longer duration bonds are under cloud due to a possible rate hike by central banks. While these are early days, the world may be inching closer towards rate hikes.
Equity Large Cap Funds
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 22nd May-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nippon India Large Cap Fund (G) | 0.858% | 15.893% | 16.697% |
| ICICI Pru Large Cap Fund (G) | -1.265% | 15.187% | 14.389% |
| Invesco India Large Cap Fund (G) | 1.483% | 16.163% | 14.194% |
| Category Average | -1.127% | 12.531% | 11.290% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Equity Large & Mid Cap Funds
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 22nd May-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motilal Oswal Large & Mid Cap (G) | 6.179% | 25.337% | 21.567% |
| Bandhan Large & Mid-Cap (G) | 8.546% | 24.152% | 19.539% |
| ICICI Pru Large & Mid Cap (G) | 2.145% | 19.499% | 18.992% |
| Category Average | 3.568% | 17.388% | 15.236% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Equity Multi-Cap Funds
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 22nd May-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nippon India Multi Cap (G) | 3.687% | 20.012% | 21.207% |
| Mahindra Manulife Multi Cap (G) | 8.801% | 21.226% | 18.608% |
| ICICI Pru Multi-Cap Fund (G) | 7.929% | 20.837% | 17.710% |
| Category Average | 4.326% | 18.153% | 15.691% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Equity Flexi Cap Funds
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 22nd May-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| BOI Flexi Cap Fund (G) | 9.374% | 23.078% | 19.054% |
| HDFC Flexi Cap Fund (G) | 0.957% | 18.849% | 18.555% |
| Quant Flexi Cap Fund (G) | 9.551% | 19.926% | 18.364% |
| Category Average | 1.317% | 14.773% | 13.026% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Equity Mid Cap Funds
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 22nd May-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motilal Oswal Mid-Cap Fund (G) | -5.690% | 20.574% | 23.576% |
| Nippon India Mid-Cap Fund (G) | 11.300% | 25.864% | 22.544% |
| Invesco India Mid-Cap Fund (G) | 11.938% | 26.778% | 21.908% |
| Category Average | 8.284% | 21.522% | 18.022% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Equity Small Cap Funds
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 22nd May-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bandhan Small Cap Fund (G) | 8.995% | 30.838% | 23.468% |
| Nippon Small Cap Fund (G) | 6.627% | 20.940% | 22.222% |
| Invesco Small Cap Fund (G) | 8.976% | 24.430% | 21.922% |
| Category Average | 6.914% | 19.076% | 18.384% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Dynamic Asset Allocation Funds (BAF)
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 22nd May-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| HDFC BAF (G) | 0.034% | 15.372% | 15.950% |
| Baroda BNP Paribas BAF (G) | 7.472% | 14.774% | 12.824% |
| Axis BAF (G) | 2.040% | 13.475% | 11.520% |
| Category Average | 1.602% | 11.041% | 9.512% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Multi-Asset Allocation Funds (MAAF)
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 22nd May-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quant Multi-Asset Fund (G) | 21.616% | 25.017% | 21.565% |
| ICICI Pru Multi-Asset Fund (G) | 8.452% | 18.087% | 18.514% |
| Nippon Multi-Asset Fund (G) | 18.421% | 21.631% | 17.374% |
| Category Average | 13.300% | 17.562% | 15.131% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Arbitrage Funds (Cash-Futures)
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 22nd May-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invesco India Arbitrage Fund (G) | 6.609% | 7.611% | 6.877% |
| Kotak Arbitrage Fund (G) | 6.484% | 7.630% | 6.785% |
| Edelweiss Arbitrage Fund (G) | 6.466% | 7.577% | 6.752% |
| Category Average | 6.044% | 7.007% | 6.105% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Government Securities Funds (Gilt Funds)
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 22nd May-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| ICICI Prudential Gilt Fund (G) | 1.481% | 6.844% | 6.418% |
| SBI Gilt Fund (G) | 0.239% | 6.233% | 6.130% |
| Bandhan Gilt Fund (G) | 1.636% | 6.963% | 5.983% |
| Category Average | -1.332% | 5.399% | 5.409% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Corporate Bond Funds
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 22nd May-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nippon Corporate Bond (G) | 3.550% | 7.171% | 6.611% |
| Franklin Corporate Debt Fund (G) | 5.305% | 7.754% | 6.561% |
| ICICI Pru Corporate Bond (G) | 4.463% | 7.255% | 6.558% |
| Category Average | 3.469% | 6.734% | 5.861% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Credit Risk Funds
Top performing Direct Plans (Growth Option) on 5-year returns (as on 22nd May-26):
| Name of Fund | 1-Year Return | 3-Year Return | 5-Year Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| BOI Credit Risk Fund (G) | 16.971% | 9.845% | 27.882% |
| DSP Credit Risk Fund (G) | 9.900% | 16.28% | 12.813% |
| ABSL Credit Risk Fund (G) | 11.671% | 12.592% | 10.608% |
| Category Average | 7.202% | 8.929% | 9.485% |
| Data Source: Morningstar |
Having seen returns for various categories of funds for the year to May 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 May 2026.
Despite the volatility in the last few months, the impact has been more at the short-end 1-year returns. The 3-year returns and the 5-year returns have largely not been disturbed and continue to be very robust.
Across all the categories, the best one-year returns were seen in mid-cap funds or in fund categories that had a sizable exposure to mid-caps like Large & Mid-Cap Funds or Multi-Cap Funds. Mid-Caps have been the outperformers in these tough market conditions.
Most of the funds in the top-3 obviously have not only beaten the averages, but have also beaten the comparable benchmark index returns. Across equity, debt, and hybrid funds; there has been genuine alpha created by the segment leaders.
Winners have been consistent over time with marginal changes. What does that mean? In a nutshell; past winners have predictive ability about being the likely top performers for the future. This has positive implications for investors and financial advisors. They can make consistency of top rankings as a principal criterion, while deciding future winners.
In the last few years, the outperformance has rotated from small caps to large caps, to gold / silver to mid-caps. This once again underlines the importance of asset allocation in navigating through complex market conditions.
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