Contents
Returns vs category
3 years: 13.86% a year, 13th of 24 small cap funds
Direct-Growth plan, a year, to 16 October 2026, from AMFI NAVs. Ranks and averages cover the 36 small cap funds AMFI lists that are old enough for each period.
Year by year
Ahead of the category average in 4 of the last 10 calendar years
- 2016+5.1%avg +6.8%
- 2017+39.8%avg +49.2%
- 2018−7.9%avg −16.3%
- 2019+20.8%avg +0.9%
- 2020+24.6%avg +33.6%
- 2021+60.7%avg +64.1%
- 2022+4.1%avg +2.7%
- 2023+35.6%avg +43.2%
- 2024+26.4%avg +28.4%
- 2025−0.9%avg −3.3%
- 2026to 23 Oct+2.5%avg +5.0%
Calendar-year returns of the Direct-Growth plan. The average covers today’s small cap funds that had a full year then.
3-year returns
Every 3-year stretch since 2013 made money: -0.0% to 41.3% a year
- Lowest
- −0.0% to April 2020
- Middle
- +19.5%
- Highest
- +41.3% to May 2023
Every 3-year holding period ending on a NAV day from 5 December 2016 to 23 October 2026 (2,446 periods), annualised.
Worst fall
Worst fall: 34.6% (Feb 2020–Mar 2020), back at its high 8 months later
- High
- 11 Feb 2020
- Low
- 24 Mar 2020
- Back at the high
- 13 Nov 2020
- Now
- 10.0% below the 8 Sept 2026 high
Fall from the highest NAV to the lowest that followed, on daily direct plan NAVs since 5 December 2013.
Cost
The regular plan costs 0.99% a year more: about ₹2.50 lakh on ₹10 lakh over 10 years
₹10 lakh invested once and held 10 years, assuming 12% a year before costs (an assumption, not a forecast). Expense ratios as disclosed on 15 October 2026. Try your own numbers in the fee calculator.
Size and facts
₹30,705 crore of assets: the 6th largest of 36 small cap funds
- Average assets, July–September 2026
- ₹30,705 crore
- Fund house
- Axis Mutual Fund
- Category
- Small cap
Genvest AI score
Genvest AI score 67 out of 100, ranked 11 of 31
Ranked 11 of 31 small cap funds
Two of the things the score looks at, against other small cap funds:
- Holding up in fallsFalls about in line with other small cap funds
- How bad the bad days wereBad days about in line with other small cap funds
The Genvest AI score is Genvest’s proprietary score that ranks mutual funds within their category using quantitative methods. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any fund.
Scored on data to 23 October 2026, among the 31 small cap funds Genvest scores. How the score works.
Similar funds
Other small cap funds of a similar size
- HDFC Small Cap Fund3 years 9.21% a year · expense ratio 0.79%
- SBI Small Cap Fund3 years 10.27% a year · expense ratio 0.80%
- Quant Small Cap Fund3 years 16.58% a year · expense ratio 0.90%
- Bandhan Small Cap Fund3 years 22.67% a year · expense ratio 0.64%
Every small cap fund compared, from the category guide.
Questions people ask
To 16 October 2026, the direct plan returned 6.45% over 1 year, 13.86% over 3 years, 14.15% over 5 years (a year, annualised beyond one year). These are AMFI NAV returns of the Direct-Growth plan; the regular plan’s are lower by roughly the difference in expense ratios. Past returns do not guarantee future returns.
Over 1 year it ranked 21st of 31, against a category average of 9.63%. Over 3 years it ranked 13th of 24, against a category average of 14.60%. Over 5 years it ranked 13th of 23, against a category average of 14.47%. Ranks compare the direct plans of the small cap funds AMFI lists today, by return; they are not ratings.
As disclosed on 15 October 2026, the total expense ratio is 0.69% a year for the direct plan and 1.68% for the regular plan. The 0.99% gap is mostly the distributor’s commission. On ₹10 lakh held for 10 years at an assumed 12% a year before costs, the direct plan would end about ₹2.50 lakh ahead.
Its direct plan NAV fell 34.6% from its high on 11 February 2020 to 24 March 2020, and was back at that high on 13 November 2020. On 23 October 2026 it was 10.0% below its highest NAV, set on 8 September 2026.
Its average assets in July–September 2026 were ₹30,705 crore, across all plans, per AMFI: the 6th largest of 36 small cap funds.
67 out of 100 as of 23 October 2026, ranking it 11 of the 31 small cap funds Genvest scores. The Genvest AI score is Genvest’s proprietary score that ranks mutual funds within their category using quantitative methods. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any fund.
That depends on your goals, how long you can stay invested and what else you hold, which this page cannot know. What the data shows: its returns against other small cap funds, how far it has fallen, and what it costs. Its rank changes from year to year, so look at several periods rather than one, and at how a fall like its worst would feel for your money. This is education, not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold.
Related
This page is educational research based on AMFI data and Genvest’s own analysis. It is not a recommendation to invest in any scheme, or personalised investment advice. Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks; read all scheme related documents carefully. Past returns do not guarantee future returns. Registration granted by SEBI, enlistment with IAASB and certification from NISM in no way guarantee performance of the intermediary or provide any assurance of returns to investors.
