Fund analysisSmall cap

DSP Small Cap Fund: Returns, Risk and Cost

How the direct plan has done against other small cap funds, its worst fall, what it costs and its Genvest AI score.

Genvest ResearchSEBI-registered Investment Adviser INA000018382
NAV to 23 OctSource: AMFIDirect plan
Contents
16.20%A year over 3 years, direct plan
8 of 24Rank among small cap funds over 3 years
0.82%Expense ratio, direct
47/100Genvest AI score

Returns vs category

3 years: 16.20% a year, 8th of 24 small cap funds

1 year5th of 31
This fund+17.27%
Category+9.63%
3 years8th of 24
This fund+16.20%
Category+14.60%
5 years7th of 23
This fund+16.07%
Category+14.47%

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+13.6%avg +6.8%
  • 2017+43.4%avg +49.2%
  • 2018−25.1%avg −16.3%
  • 2019+1.6%avg +0.9%
  • 2020+34.3%avg +33.6%
  • 2021+60.3%avg +64.1%
  • 2022+1.4%avg +2.7%
  • 2023+42.5%avg +43.2%
  • 2024+26.7%avg +28.4%
  • 2025−1.9%avg −3.3%
  • 2026to 23 Oct+8.9%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

3-year returns since 2013 ranged from −12.6% to 56.5% a year

Lowest
−12.6%
to March 2020
Middle
+23.1%
Highest
+56.5%
to August 2016
7% of 3-year periods lost money78% made 10% a year or more

Every 3-year holding period ending on a NAV day from 4 January 2016 to 23 October 2026 (2,665 periods), annualised.

Worst fall

Worst fall: 49.1% (Jan 2018–Mar 2020), back at its high 9 months later

High
9 Jan 2018
Low
24 Mar 2020
Back at the high
4 Jan 2021
Now
9.7% below the 31 Aug 2026 high

Fall from the highest NAV to the lowest that followed, on daily direct plan NAVs since 2 January 2013.

Cost

The regular plan costs 0.89% a year more: about ₹2.23 lakh on ₹10 lakh over 10 years

Direct 0.82%₹28.9 lakh
Regular 1.71%₹26.6 lakh

₹10 lakh invested once and held 10 years, assuming 12% a year before costs (an assumption, not a forecast). Expense ratios as disclosed on 16 October 2026. Try your own numbers in the fee calculator.

Size and facts

₹20,857 crore of assets: the 7th largest of 36 small cap funds

Average assets, July–September 2026
₹20,857 crore
Fund house
DSP Mutual Fund
Category
Small cap

Genvest AI score

Genvest AI score 47 out of 100, ranked 17 of 31

Ranked 17 of 31 small cap funds

Two of the things the score looks at, against other small cap funds:

  • Holding up in fallsDeeper or longer falls than most 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

Every small cap fund compared, from the category guide.

Questions people ask

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.