Top 10 equity mutual funds in India to invest in 2024

Mutual funds pool money from various investors, enabling professional fund managers to make strategic investment decisions. The appeal lies in expert management, diversification to manage risk, and the flexibility to align with diverse financial goals.

With options catering to different risk profiles and objectives, mutual funds provide liquidity, allowing investors to buy or sell shares at the net asset value (NAV). This blog will explore the top mutual funds across ten different categories based on their CRISIL rankings.

Top 10 mutual funds

Let’s check out the top mutual funds for investment, along with the AUM (Assets under Management) and category of each (as of December 31, 2023):

Also Read: Types of Mutual funds in India based on investment goals, asset class, risk and more

Fund name	AUM (Rs cr)	Category
HDFC Mid-Cap Opportunities Fund	52,137.70	Mid-cap fund
ICICI Prudential Bluechip Fund	44,425.37	Large-cap fund
HDFC Flexi Cap Fund	42,271	Flexi cap Fund
Nippon India Small Cap Fund	41,018.84	Small cap fund
Nippon India Multicap Fund	22,695.37	Multi cap fund
SBI Contra Fund	18,930.58	Value/Contra fund
SBI Long-Term Equity Fund	17,279.15	ELSS
UTI Nifty 50 Index Fund Direct-Growth	13,626.63	Fund/ETFs
HDFC Large and Mid Cap Fund	13,427.73	Large and mid-cap fund
HDFC Focused 30 Fund	7,762.21	Focussed fund

Deeper insight into the top 10 mutual funds

It is time for a closer look at the top mutual funds for investment across categories based on factors like volatility, expense ratios, total returns since inception, and more.

Also Read: Top 10 index funds in India by AUM

Note that-

1. The expense ratio stands for the annual maintenance charge a mutual fund uses to finance miscellaneous expenses like management fees, allocation charges, costs of advertising, and more.
2. Volatility refers to the degree of variation in the price of a mutual fund over time. Standard deviation gauges the dispersion of returns from the mean, offering insights into the fund's historical price fluctuations. Beta, on the other hand, compares the fund's volatility to the overall market's.
3. Total returns since inception offer investors a long-term perspective on how well the fund has performed over its entire existence.
4. The Portfolio Turnover Ratio (PTR) measures the frequency with which the fund's holdings are bought and sold within a specific period. A higher turnover ratio indicates more frequent trading, potentially leading to increased transaction costs and capital gains taxes for investors. On the other hand, a lower turnover ratio implies a buy-and-hold strategy with fewer portfolio adjustments.
5. Tracking error quantifies the variability between a mutual fund's performance and the performance of its benchmark index. A low tracking error suggests the fund closely mirrors the benchmark, while a higher tracking error indicates greater deviation.

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HDFC Mid-Cap Opportunities Fund

• Fund house: HDFC Mutual Fund
• Expense ratio: 1.5%
• Volatility, shared deviation: 15.11 vs 14.97
• Volatility, beta version:  0.9 vs 0.88
• Total returns since inception: 1329.75%
• Portfolio turnover ratio: 12.35%
• Tracking error: 4.65%

The fund puts 93.96 percent of its accumulations in local stocks. Of this, 5.16 percent is in Large-cap stocks, 54.07 percent is in mid-cap stocks, and 18.58 percent is in small-cap stocks.

ICICI Prudential Bluechip Fund

• Fund house: ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund
• Expense ratio: 1.56%
• Volatility, shared deviation: 13.4 vs 14.03
• Volatility, beta version:  0.91 vs 0.94
• Total returns since inception: 761.20%
• Portfolio turnover ratio: 23.00%
• Tracking error: 6.18%

The fund allocates 90.89 percent of its investments to local stocks, with 79.12 percent in large-cap stocks, 5.63 percent in mid-cap stocks, and 0.36 percent in small-cap stocks. Additionally, 0.5 percent of the fund is invested in Debt, with 0.51 percent specifically in Government securities.

Also Read: Mutual fund stress test: Methodology and test results for small and mid cap funds

HDFC Flexi Cap Fund

• Fund house: HDFC Mutual Fund
• Expense ratio: 1.57%
• Volatility, shared deviation: 14.82 vs 14.24
• Volatility, beta version:  0.96 vs 0.94
• Total returns since inception: 14572.15%
• Portfolio turnover ratio: 24.52% 
• Tracking error: 7.50%

The fund holds 88.57 percent of its investments in local equities, with 62.49 percent in large-cap stocks, 5.99 percent in mid-cap stocks, and 3.98 percent in small-cap stocks.

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Nippon India Small Cap Fund

• Fund house: Nippon India Mutual Fund
• Expense ratio: 1.53%
• Volatility, shared deviation: 15.98 vs 15.1
• Volatility, beta version:  0.89 vs 0.81
• Total returns since inception: 1236.02%
• Portfolio turnover ratio: 19.00%
• Tracking error: 0.0%

This fund allocates 96.26 percent of its investments to domestic equities, with 5.35 percent in large-cap stocks, 8.64 percent in mid-cap stocks, and a significant 56.38 percent in small-cap stocks.

Nippon India Multicap Fund

• Fund house: Nippon India Mutual Fund
• Expense ratio: 1.67%
• Volatility, shared deviation: 15.27 vs 14.67
• Volatility, beta version: 0.99 vs 0.92
• Total returns since inception: 2125.12%
• Portfolio turnover ratio: 30.00%
• Tracking error: 10.18%

This fund has a portfolio comprising 98.37 percent of investments in domestic equities. Among these, 36 percent is in Large-cap stocks, 21.97 percent is in mid-cap stocks, and 23.75 percent is in small-cap stocks.

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SBI Contra Fund

• Fund house: SBI Mutual fund
• Expense ratio: 1.7%
• Volatility, shared deviation: 13.44 vs 13.95
• Volatility, beta version: 0.86 vs 0.93
• Total returns since inception: 1795.84%
• Portfolio turnover ratio: 204.00%
• Tracking error: 6.84%

The fund allocates 76.23 percent of its investments to domestic equities, with 34.51 percent in large-cap stocks, 17.62 percent in mid-cap stocks, and 9.51 percent in small-cap stocks. Additionally, the fund has 6.21 percent invested in Debt, with the entire Debt allocation in Government securities.

SBI Long-Term Equity Fund

• Fund house: SBI Mutual fund
• Expense ratio: 1.72%
• Volatility, shared deviation: 13.42 VS 13.81
• Volatility, beta version:  0.92 VS 0.91
• Total returns since inception: 3091.43%
• Portfolio turnover ratio: 17.00%
• Tracking error: 3.66%

The fund holds 93.28 percent of its investments in domestic equities, with 54.47 percent in large-cap stocks, 13.88 percent in mid-cap stocks, and 11.8 percent in small-cap stocks.

UTI Nifty 50 Index Fund Direct-Growth

• Fund house: UTI Mutual fund
• Expense ratio: 0.21%
• Volatility, shared deviation: 14.51 vs 14.89
• Volatility, beta version:  0.99 vs 0.83
• Total returns since inception: 287.42%
• Portfolio turnover ratio: 4.00%
• Tracking error: 0.13%

This fund brings a passive investment strategy in a diversified portfolio of Nifty 50 stocks.

HDFC Large and Mid Cap Fund

• Fund house: HDFC Mutual fund
• Expense ratio: 1.57%
• Volatility, shared deviation: 14.82 vs 14.24
• Volatility, beta version:  0.96 vs 0.94
• Total returns since inception: 14572.15%
• Portfolio turnover ratio: 24.52%
• Tracking error: 5.12%

The fund holds a portfolio with 95.81 percent invested in domestic equities; 38.05 percent is in large-cap stocks, 29.47 percent in mid-cap stocks, and 9.06 percent in small-cap stocks.

HDFC Focused 30 Fund

• Fund house: HDFC Mutual fund
• Expense ratio: 1.76%
• Volatility, shared deviation: 13.88 vs 14.26
• Volatility, beta version:  0.9 vs 0.93
• Total returns since inception: 1594.39% 
• Portfolio turnover ratio: 18.84% 
• Tracking error: 7.04%

The fund maintains an 83.14 percent investment in domestic equities, with a breakdown comprising 55.86 percent in large-cap stocks, 7.5 percent in mid-cap stocks, and 4.19 percent in small-cap stocks.