India’s mutual fund industry has witnessed a new wave of asset management companies (AMCs) over the past five years.

Their performance, however, has been mixed with the alpha being almost a coin toss. Our analysis shows that among 39 eligible actively-managed equity schemes, 19—or 49 per cent—have beaten their stated benchmarks since launch. While a handful of fund houses have established themselves as early outperformers, many are still building a track record and refining their investment processes.

How we analysed

We screened 14 AMCs that launched their first mutual fund scheme on or after June 30, 2021. After excluding passive-only fund houses, 11 AMCs with eligible actively-managed schemes remained in the performance universe.

The since-inception study compares 39 equity schemes with their respective stated benchmarks over identical dates beginning with each scheme’s launch. Since the schemes were launched at different times, these results do not represent a common-period ranking.

The one-year study covers 25 schemes with at least 12 months of history: 18 equity schemes and seven hybrid schemes. Returns are measured to July 28, while AUM figures are as of June 30.

At bl.portfolio, we generally refrain from issuing recommendations on funds with less than seven years of performance history for equity and hybrid funds and five years for debt funds. Hence, the objective in this analysis is only to provide a perspective on how the new AMCs have fared, given the growing number of new fund launches and the interest they generate among investors. In this analysis, we seek to provide some insights on how these relatively-young AMCs have navigated market conditions, positioned their portfolios and performed against peers and benchmarks thus far.

Funds that stand out

While most new funds are still building a long-term track record, a select few, notably Helios Mid Cap, Old Bridge Focused, Bajaj Finserv Multi Asset Allocation and Unifi Dynamic Asset Allocation, have distinguished themselves through strong performance.

These funds have shown an ability to navigate varied market conditions and deserve close monitoring as they build a longer performance history and establish their long-term credentials.

Deep dive

* Handful of early leaders

Bajaj Finserv MF recorded the highest success rate, with eight of its nine eligible schemes beating their benchmarks. Helios MF followed, with four of five schemes outperforming.

Abakkus MF and Old Bridge MF also had every eligible scheme ahead of its benchmark, though their smaller scheme bases make the comparison less conclusive. Unifi MF’s sole eligible flexi-cap fund also outperformed.

At the other end, Samco MF underperformed across seven of its eight schemes. Similar weakness was observed in The Wealth Company MF, Jio BlackRock MF and NJ MF.

These results are encouraging for some entrants, but remain preliminary. Most schemes have histories of less than three years, making it difficult to distinguish durable investment skill from favourable market positioning.

* What drove the performance gap

An analysis of the portfolios of the 25 schemes with at least a one-year track record shows that the stronger funds generally carried greater exposure to domestic manufacturing, capital goods and infrastructure-linked businesses. Many laggards remained more heavily exposed to large private-sector banks and IT companies.

Fund managers reduced exposure to IT software, insurance, asset management, investment finance, and breweries and distilleries. Portfolio exposure shifted towards electrical equipment, engineering and construction, auto ancillaries, textiles and power generation, indicating a greater tilt towards domestic manufacturing themes.

The shift proved rewarding. Stocks such as Adani Energy Solutions, Shriram Finance, Cummins India, Laurus Labs, Ather Energy and Acutaas Chemicals emerged as key contributors to returns. On the other hand, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, ITC, Swiggy and Bharat Dynamics detracted from performance.

Several underperforming funds had relatively-high exposure to large private-sector banks, which lagged during the period. Funds with greater exposure to public-sector banks, select NBFCs and domestic cyclicals generally fared better. HDFC Bank was a drag on performance, whereas SBI and Shriram Finance emerged as major contributors.

Across market-cap segments, successful portfolios generally favoured industrial, power and select financial businesses over defensive consumer and insurance names. This positioning benefited from the market’s preference for domestic cyclicals during the period. Fund managers increased allocations to stocks such as Titan Company, Shriram Finance, Federal Bank, Apar Industries and Vedanta Power.

* Aggressive churn

Samco Mutual Fund recorded exceptionally high portfolio turnover over the past year, alongside weak performance across several schemes.

As of June, the average portfolio turnover ratio of its equity-oriented schemes stood at 1,022 per cent, compared with just 33 per cent for Helios MF. The sharp increase in portfolio churn suggests a significant shift in investment strategy. While such high turnover may help capture emerging opportunities, it also suggests frequent repositioning and may raise questions about the consistency of the investment approach.

* Uneven AUM growth

The new AMCs remain small collectively, but asset gathering is concentrated among fund houses backed by established financial brands or digital platforms.

The 14 new AMCs together managed assets worth ₹1.03 lakh crore as of June 30, 2026, accounting for only 1.2 per cent of the mutual fund industry’s ₹83-lakh crore AUM.

Growth has been uneven. Fund houses backed by strong parent groups or established financial platforms have scaled up rapidly. Bajaj Finserv MF (₹32,470 crore), Jio BlackRock MF (₹16,614 crore) and Zerodha MF (₹16,379 crore) have emerged as the largest among the new entrants. Independent players such as Samco MF and Old Bridge MF continue to remain relatively small as they build scale without similar institutional backing.

The aggregate results conceal substantial differences across fund categories. A closer look shows where the newer AMCs have established an early edge and where performance remains weak.

Category-wise performance

Large-cap: Large-cap funds faced a subdued return environment. Bajaj Finserv Large Cap Fund managed a modest positive return, while Samco Large Cap Fund declined sharply, as several stock-specific bets disappointed. Bajaj Finserv’s overweight positions in SBI, Tata Steel, Larsen & Toubro and Adani Ports were among the important contributors to outperformance. Samco Large Cap Fund declined 9.7 per cent, with some stock-specific bets such as Bosch, Divi’s Laboratories and Larsen & Toubro weighing on returns.

Mid-cap: As the only eligible scheme in the category, Helios Mid Cap Fund delivered an impressive 13.3 per cent return, comfortably outperforming both the category average (8 per cent) and the benchmark (8.3 per cent). It ranks among the top three performers in the category. Key contributors to its performance included Apar Industries, Ather Energy and Syrma SGS Technology.

Large & Mid-cap: Helios Large & Mid Cap Fund returned 5.8 per cent, outperforming both the category average (3.7 per cent) and the benchmark (4.2 per cent). Bajaj Finserv Large & Mid Cap Fund generated 1.4 per cent, while Samco Large & Mid Cap Fund declined 10.2 per cent. Helios benefited from meaningful exposure to infrastructure, financial services, defence, capital goods and companies such as Apar Industries, Hitachi Energy and Shriram Finance. Samco’s exposure to stocks including HDFC Bank, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals and Coromandel International weighed on performance.

Flexi-cap: The flexi-cap category showcased significant return dispersion, underscoring the importance of portfolio flexibility and stock selection. Bajaj Finserv Flexi Cap and Helios Flexi Cap emerged as the category’s top performers, comfortably outperforming the category average, while Unifi Flexi Cap delivered returns broadly in line with peers. In contrast, NJ Flexi Cap and Samco Flexi Cap lagged significantly. Given the flexibility to invest across market capitalisations and sectors, fund managers had ample scope to position portfolios based on evolving opportunities. The wide performance divergence reflects varying success in identifying emerging growth themes, allocating across market segments and managing exposure to underperforming sectors and stocks.

Small-cap: Bajaj Finserv Small Cap Fund, the only eligible scheme in the category, delivered 9.1 per cent, outperforming both the category average and the benchmark. A key differentiator has been its pure small-cap orientation. Unlike many peers that maintain meaningful exposure to large-cap stocks, the fund follows a highly focused strategy with virtually no large-cap allocation. As of June, the portfolio was predominantly invested in small-cap companies, with around 87 per cent allocated to small-caps and about 11 per cent to mid-caps, while the balance was held in cash.

Dynamic asset allocation: Unifi Dynamic Asset Allocation Fund emerged as the best performer in the category with a return of 7.4 per cent against the category average of 2 per cent. Bajaj Finserv Balanced Advantage Fund followed with 3.6 per cent.

The category’s performance was largely driven by the interplay of debt quality and equity selection. Unifi benefitted from its higher-yield debt allocation and selected equity holdings. However, the sizeable exposure to non-AAA securities also meant taking greater credit risk than a predominantly high-grade portfolio.

Bajaj Finserv benefited from higher allocations to banks, industrials and stocks such as SBI, Larsen & Toubro and Tata Steel. Samco’s weak performance reflected both poor equity selection and ineffective asset allocation.

Multi-asset allocation: The multi-asset allocation category also produced contrasting outcomes. Bajaj Finserv Multi Asset Allocation Fund returned 10.4 per cent, broadly in line with the category average of 10.5 per cent. In contrast, Samco Multi Asset Allocation Fund generated only 1.7 per cent. The category illustrates the importance of asset allocation, with diversification across equities, fixed income and commodities helping improve risk-adjusted returns.

Bajaj Finserv’s performance was supported by its diversified asset allocation strategy. Notably, it was among the few funds in the category to maintain a relatively-high allocation of 20-25 per cent to gold over the past year, which helped cushion volatility and supported returns.

Published on August 1, 2026