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Top mutual fund rankings: September 2026

Our September 2026 category-wise mutual fund rankings, with 3M, 1Y, 3Y, 5Y, Sharpe 3Y and a final score for every top-5 fund. Quant and LIC MF dominate the movers.

Top mutual fund rankings: September 2026

Welcome to the September 2026 edition. Below are our category-wise mutual fund rankings for Regular plans, computed from the AMFI NAV file and the AMC factsheets we track. The methodology, the score, and the inputs are all on the page. Read the methodology first, scan the categories that match your portfolio, then look at the live /rankings page for the full ranked list with movement and filters.

This is a snapshot. Rankings change every month. A fund at #1 in September can be at #3 in October. Use these lists to start research, not to lock in a decision.

One note before the tables: the August cycle was skipped in the data pipeline, so movement in this edition is measured against July. The September dataset is also the largest we have published, with 158 funds across 37 categories, up from 89 funds in July.

How the score is built

We score funds on four inputs:

  • Annualised returns at 3M, 1Y, 3Y and 5Y, normalised 0 to 100 within each SEBI category and plan type. The 3M window is new this edition and is included so recent momentum is visible, but it carries the smallest weight.
  • Sharpe ratio over 3Y, normalised 0 to 100. This is the risk-adjusted return. It penalises funds that got lucky on a single year.
  • Maximum drawdown over 3Y, normalised 0 to 100 (inverted, so smaller drawdowns score higher). This is the worst peak-to-trough fall the fund has had. A fund with a 30% drawdown is not a comfortable core holding, even if its 5Y number is the best in the category.
  • AUM and AMC continuity. We quietly downgrade funds that have had a sudden AUM shock, a fund-manager change, or a benchmark change in the last 6 months.

Each input gets a weight; we blend the windows with a bias towards long-term performance. The final score is 0 to 100. The top fund in each category sits at the top of its table; the rest follow.

The score is not a buy signal. It is a sorting signal. A fund that scores 90 in Mid Cap is not twice as good as one that scores 45. The 90 is a "look at this first", the 45 is a "skip unless you have a reason".

Regular plan rankings, category by category

Below: top 5 Regular plans in each SEBI category we track, for the period ending 31 Aug 2026. 3M, 1Y, 3Y and 5Y are annualised. Score is the final blended score from the methodology.

Aggressive Hybrid

RankSchemeFund House3M1Y3Y5YScore
1Quant Aggressive Hybrid Fundquant Mutual Fund1.52%11.43%11.95%11.59%79.88
2Edelweiss Aggressive Hybrid FundEdelweiss Mutual Fund5.02%3.60%12.26%11.82%59.60
3LIC MF Aggressive Hybrid FundLIC Mutual Fund6.70%3.97%10.47%7.93%51.09
4UTI Aggressive Hybrid FundUTI Mutual Fund4.17%2.18%10.58%10.74%45.28
5Baroda BNP Paribas Aggressive Hybrid FundBaroda BNP Paribas Mutual Fund4.03%1.95%10.20%28.83

Arbitrage

RankSchemeFund House3M1Y3Y5YScore
1Kotak Arbitrage FundKotak Mahindra Mutual Fund1.34%5.84%6.86%6.26%87.04
2HDFC Arbitrage FundHDFC Mutual Fund1.26%5.75%6.73%6.04%66.21
3Aditya Birla Sun Life Arbitrage FundAditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund1.31%5.71%6.68%6.00%59.63
4Nippon India Arbitrage FundNippon India Mutual Fund1.29%5.73%6.59%5.98%55.46
5Bandhan Arbitrage FundBandhan Mutual Fund1.21%5.45%6.55%5.93%29.98

Balanced Advantage

RankSchemeFund House3M1Y3Y5YScore
1ICICI Prudential Balanced Advantage FundICICI Prudential Mutual Fund5.87%5.81%11.19%10.49%65.68
2Edelweiss Balanced Advantage FundEdelweiss Mutual Fund5.30%5.97%9.86%8.40%53.94
3HDFC Balanced Advantage FundHDFC Mutual Fund4.04%2.05%11.55%14.40%53.56
4quant Dynamic Asset Allocation Fundquant Mutual Fund-0.16%0.51%12.25%38.23
5UTI - Unit Linked Insurance PlanUTI Mutual Fund5.81%2.47%7.47%5.93%18.49

Conservative Hybrid

RankSchemeFund House3M1Y3Y5YScore
1Nippon India Conservative Hybrid FundNippon India Mutual Fund2.50%6.88%8.06%7.56%70.70
2SBI Conservative Hybrid FundSBI Mutual Fund2.26%5.63%8.13%8.24%68.19
3Bandhan Conservative Hybrid FundBandhan Mutual Fund3.06%3.37%6.52%4.91%54.61
4Franklin India Conservative Hybrid FundFranklin Templeton Mutual Fund2.52%2.53%7.32%6.55%51.29
5Baroda BNP Paribas Conservative Hybrid FundBaroda BNP Paribas Mutual Fund2.08%4.43%7.12%41.87

Contra Fund

RankSchemeFund House3M1Y3Y5YScore
1Kotak Contra FundKotak Mahindra Mutual Fund5.56%3.14%14.62%13.28%85.00
2SBI Contra FundSBI Mutual Fund3.49%-0.37%10.70%14.96%15.00

Dividend Yield

RankSchemeFund House3M1Y3Y5YScore
1LIC MF Dividend Yield FundLIC Mutual Fund7.21%8.16%17.84%78.11
2Aditya Birla Sun Life Dividend Yield FundAditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund3.50%4.99%12.30%12.98%58.93
3SBI Dividend Yield FundSBI Mutual Fund6.29%5.10%11.00%37.72
4Franklin India Dividend Yield FundFranklin Templeton Mutual Fund1.13%0.50%10.95%12.03%20.45
5Sundaram Dividend Yield FundSundaram Mutual Fund1.69%-2.00%9.10%8.14

ELSS

RankSchemeFund House3M1Y3Y5YScore
1Quant ELSS Tax Saver Fundquant Mutual Fund5.07%15.20%13.92%14.19%77.80
2Baroda BNP Paribas ELSS Tax Saver FundBaroda BNP Paribas Mutual Fund7.36%6.32%14.60%48.72
3SBI ELSS Tax Saver FundSBI Mutual Fund2.75%-0.77%14.02%14.46%48.31
4Kotak ELSS Tax Saver FundKotak Mahindra Mutual Fund7.44%2.84%10.45%10.79%45.10
5Union ELSS Tax Saver FundUnion Mutual Fund7.49%1.69%10.23%9.85%40.79

Equity Savings

RankSchemeFund House3M1Y3Y5YScore
1HDFC Equity Savings FundHDFC Mutual Fund2.78%3.14%7.65%7.59%71.21
2LIC MF Equity Savings FundLIC Mutual Fund2.88%2.99%7.84%50.30
3Bandhan Equity Savings FundBandhan Mutual Fund2.00%3.49%6.31%5.72%30.21

Flexi Cap

RankSchemeFund House3M1Y3Y5YScore
1Quant Flexi Cap Fundquant Mutual Fund2.35%15.02%14.34%13.64%68.85
2ITI Flexi Cap FundITI Mutual Fund11.46%14.12%16.85%63.75
3Aditya Birla Sun Life Flexi Cap FundAditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund8.50%10.69%14.75%11.32%59.27
4LIC MF Flexi Cap FundLIC Mutual Fund13.28%8.21%11.30%9.89%57.77
5HDFC Flexi Cap FundHDFC Mutual Fund7.84%3.56%15.65%17.12%53.97

Focused Fund

RankSchemeFund House3M1Y3Y5YScore
1Quant Focused Fundquant Mutual Fund4.85%11.36%11.99%11.97%62.48
2SBI Focused FundSBI Mutual Fund7.00%13.68%15.57%11.63%61.73
3ITI Focused FundITI Mutual Fund5.90%11.96%17.30%57.14
4HDFC Focused FundHDFC Mutual Fund7.19%1.03%14.98%17.35%53.19
5Bandhan Focused FundBandhan Mutual Fund6.62%5.00%14.46%11.14%50.69

Large & Mid Cap

RankSchemeFund House3M1Y3Y5YScore
1Quant Large & Mid Cap Fundquant Mutual Fund3.59%12.60%13.67%14.42%71.94
2Sundaram Large and Midcap FundSundaram Mutual Fund12.99%10.77%14.16%11.41%66.31
3Bandhan Large & Mid Cap FundBandhan Mutual Fund5.37%6.35%17.31%15.84%65.19
4Bank of India Large & Mid Cap FundBank of India Mutual Fund7.67%9.68%13.95%11.92%59.53
5ICICI Prudential Large & Mid Cap FundICICI Prudential Mutual Fund7.51%4.71%15.41%16.14%58.54

Large Cap

RankSchemeFund House3M1Y3Y5YScore
1Taurus Large Cap FundTaurus Mutual Fund12.33%8.93%13.37%10.45%78.80
2Bandhan Large Cap FundBandhan Mutual Fund7.20%2.85%12.49%9.67%62.38
3quant Large Cap Fundquant Mutual Fund3.32%7.68%12.14%60.89
4Tata Large Cap FundTata Mutual Fund4.67%2.44%10.11%9.00%45.24
5HDFC Large Cap FundHDFC Mutual Fund6.34%0.09%9.64%11.04%42.34

Mid Cap

RankSchemeFund House3M1Y3Y5YScore
1HDFC Mid Cap FundHDFC Mutual Fund7.46%10.03%17.36%18.90%66.40
2Sundaram Mid Cap FundSundaram Mutual Fund7.22%9.08%18.19%16.43%62.07
3Aditya Birla Sun Life Midcap FundAditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund8.36%10.44%14.88%13.84%56.24
4Baroda BNP Paribas Mid Cap FundBaroda BNP Paribas Mutual Fund6.04%11.57%15.94%51.23
5LIC MF Mid Cap FundLIC Mutual Fund8.65%9.50%15.73%47.74

Multi Cap

RankSchemeFund House3M1Y3Y5YScore
1LIC MF Multi Cap FundLIC Mutual Fund9.90%11.05%16.60%61.73
2Bank of India Multi Cap FundBank of India Mutual Fund8.63%14.16%16.84%60.02
3Union Multicap FundUnion Mutual Fund10.01%12.26%14.11%52.02
4Baroda BNP Paribas Multi Cap FundBaroda BNP Paribas Mutual Fund6.26%4.24%13.98%12.55%40.98
5Quant Multi Cap Fundquant Mutual Fund5.07%8.97%8.68%10.69%40.69

Sectoral/Thematic

RankSchemeFund House3M1Y3Y5YScore
1LIC MF Infrastructure FundLIC Mutual Fund5.45%13.56%22.53%20.69%66.95
2Bank of India Manufacturing & Infrastructure FundBank of India Mutual Fund7.26%19.23%20.48%19.68%65.22
3Franklin Asian Equity FundFranklin Templeton Mutual Fund4.20%42.04%21.72%8.05%65.21
4Quant Infrastructure Fundquant Mutual Fund4.55%15.16%16.55%17.40%63.82
5SBI Healthcare Opportunities FundSBI Mutual Fund11.56%20.07%23.02%17.10%62.91

Small Cap

RankSchemeFund House3M1Y3Y5YScore
1LIC MF Small Cap FundLIC Mutual Fund15.02%18.70%17.62%74.98
2Quant Small Cap Fundquant Mutual Fund11.41%17.00%16.69%18.77%73.84
3DSP Small Cap FundDSP Mutual Fund13.42%18.64%16.47%18.09%66.68
4Aditya Birla Sun Life Small Cap FundAditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund12.94%20.72%14.66%13.46%63.96
5Sundaram Small Cap FundSundaram Mutual Fund10.48%17.02%16.22%16.39%63.02

Value Fund

RankSchemeFund House3M1Y3Y5YScore
1Aditya Birla Sun Life Value FundAditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund7.78%15.82%14.27%13.97%72.89
2LIC MF Value FundLIC Mutual Fund11.82%22.40%16.32%68.30
3HDFC Value FundHDFC Mutual Fund8.68%9.05%15.73%13.42%68.21
4Tata Value FundTata Mutual Fund6.78%4.15%12.65%12.92%53.07
5Nippon India Value FundNippon India Mutual Fund3.84%0.45%14.07%13.42%51.96

What moved since July

Two stories dominate this edition, and they are both AMC-level stories rather than single-fund stories.

The Quant sweep. Quant AMC holds the #1 spot in five categories: Flexi Cap (up 2 places to #1, score 68.85), ELSS (77.80), Focused Fund (up 3 to #1, 62.48), Aggressive Hybrid (79.88) and Large & Mid Cap (up 3 to #1, 71.94). That is not five independent fund managers getting lucky in the same month. It is a single investment style, momentum-tilted and concentrated, working across the book at once. The same style that lifts all five tables in a strong month can drag all five down in a rotation, which is exactly the AMC-concentration question every investor holding two or more Quant funds should ask. The FinvestR agent's AMC-exposure check flags this in your own portfolio.

The LIC MF comeback. LIC Mutual Fund leads four categories: Small Cap (74.98, a new #1), Multi Cap (up 4 places to #1, 61.73), Dividend Yield (78.11) and Infrastructure (66.95, up 1). It also sits #2 in Value and Equity Savings. The caveat is visible in the tables: most of these leaders have no 5Y column, so their scores are built on 3M, 1Y and 3Y alone. A strong recent record is not a proven long-cycle record. Watchlist, not conclusion.

Other notable moves:

  • Large Cap: Taurus Large Cap took #1 (78.80), with Bandhan Large Cap up 2 and quant Large Cap down 1. The 16-point gap between #1 and #2 is the widest in any category this month.
  • Value Fund: Aditya Birla Sun Life Value moved up 2 to #1 (72.89), displacing LIC MF Value to #2.
  • Arbitrage: Kotak Arbitrage took #1 (87.04) from HDFC, the highest score in the entire September dataset.
  • Contra Fund: Kotak Contra holds #1 (85.00) with SBI Contra up 1. The category has only two funds with clean data this period.
  • Balanced Advantage: ICICI Prudential holds #1 (65.68) with Edelweiss up 2. One data quirk: a UTI unit-linked insurance plan appears at #5 in the raw feed; we have kept it in the table for transparency but it is not a mutual fund and should be ignored for selection purposes.
  • Mid Cap: HDFC Mid Cap took #1 (66.40) with Sundaram close behind at 62.07.

The full movement deltas (up/down arrows with rank change) are on the live /rankings page, category by category.

How to use this list

The first question most readers ask is "which fund should I buy". The honest answer is: this list is a starting point, not a finishing point. A few rules of thumb that we use ourselves when looking at a fresh list:

  • Start with your goals, not with the ranking. If you are building a 20-year retirement SIP, the categories that matter are Flexi Cap, Mid Cap, Index funds, and a small-cap allocation. If you are looking at a 3-year ELSS allocation for Section 80C, the ELSS table is the table. The ranking helps you choose within the category, not the category itself.
  • Watch the AMC concentration. This month is the clearest example yet: five Quant funds at #1 means a portfolio holding several of them is one style bet, not five diversified bets. The FinvestR agent reads your CAS and flags AMC-level exposure in plain English.
  • Look past the headline number. A 1Y return of 42% in Sectoral/Thematic (Franklin Asian Equity) is exciting; a 3Y of 21.72% and a 5Y of 8.05% is the real story. The score is built to reward that. If a fund's 1Y is much higher than its 3Y, the fund has had a single good year. It is a yellow flag, not a red one.
  • Size matters at the category level. A category leader with ₹500 Cr AUM is not the same as a category leader with ₹50,000 Cr AUM. Small funds can move faster; large funds are more stable. Both are fine in their place.

Methodology notes and caveats

Past performance is not indicative of future returns. The score is a research tool, not investment advice. We do not have a SEBI-registered investment advisor licence (we are a Mutual Fund Distributor, ARN-142502). For personalised advice, talk to a SEBI-registered investment advisor.

  • Data source: AMFI NAV file and the AMC factsheets that the FinvestR data pipeline ingests nightly. The cut-off is the last business day of the previous month.
  • Direct vs Regular: Tables in this post are Regular plans. The /rankings page supports Direct plans for users with that flag enabled on their account.
  • Score window: 3M, 1Y, 3Y, 5Y, with weights biased to long-term. Sharpe 3Y and max-drawdown 3Y are blended in. The 3M window is new this edition and carries the smallest weight.
  • August skip: the August cycle was skipped in the data pipeline, so movement is measured against July. The methodology is unchanged.
  • Categories that don't fit the data window: Some categories have fewer than 5 funds with a clean 5Y record. Those rows show "—" rather than an extrapolated number. The Contra Fund category has only two funds with clean data this period.
  • Updates: We refresh the score monthly. The post title is the month the data covers; the post date is the publish date. The live /rankings page always shows the most recent month.

What's next on the agent

If you have a CAS PDF, the FinvestR agent reads it, scores your existing funds against this same methodology, and tells you in your numbers which of your holdings sit near the top of their category, which are drifting, and which overlap each other. This month, the agent's AMC-exposure check is the one to run first: if you hold two or more Quant funds, or two or more LIC MF funds, the September tables are telling you exactly why that matters. The agent is free for Indian investors. Try the 1-min Goal Check to start, or open the live rankings to filter by category and period.

The rankings are a starting point, not a finishing point. The full beginner's flow, KYC, AMC account, first SIP, is in How to start investing in mutual funds in India. The retirement goal the rankings eventually feed is sized in How much you actually need to retire in India. And before you buy a single fund, see ELSS vs PPF for the 80C trade-off. If you are unsure whether your existing portfolio is too spread out, check Is your mutual fund portfolio over-diversified?.

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FinvestR is an AMFI-registered Mutual Fund Distributor (ARN-142502). The platform provides research and educational tools and does not provide personalised investment advice. Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks. Please read all scheme-related documents carefully before investing. Past performance is not indicative of future returns.

rankingsmutual-fund-rankingstop-mutual-fundsseptember-2026quantlic-mfflexi-capmid-capsmall-capelsslarge-capvalue-fundcontra-funddividend-yieldequity-savingsmulti-assetmulti-capfocused-fundlarge-mid-capconservative-hybridaggressive-hybridbalanced-advantagearbitragesectoral-thematic

Parth

Founder, FinvestR · CFA Level 2

Founder of FinvestR. Builds the ranking engine, the agent, and the data pipelines that turn AMFI feeds into something an Indian investor can actually act on. AMFI-registered Mutual Fund Distributor (ARN-142502) and NISM-Series-V-A certified. CFA Level 2 cleared, with a research bent for data-based insights, and works hands-on with clients on their investments. Writes the monthly rankings post.

See all articles by Parth

Frequently asked questions

How is the FinvestR mutual fund ranking score calculated?

A weighted blend of 3M, 1Y, 3Y and 5Y returns, normalised 0 to 100 within each SEBI category and plan type. Long-term periods carry more weight. Sharpe 3Y and max-drawdown 3Y are blended in to penalise funds that look good on returns alone.

Why was there no August 2026 rankings post?

The August cycle was skipped in the data pipeline, so the September edition measures movement against July instead of August. The live /rankings page always shows the most recent period with full data, and the score methodology is unchanged.

Are these Direct or Regular plan rankings?

The tables in this post are Regular plans. We are a SEBI-registered Mutual Fund Distributor (ARN-142502), and our active book is Regular. If you want Direct plans, the live /rankings page surfaces them for users who have Direct funds enabled on their account.

Why do several LIC MF funds top their categories without a 5Y record?

The score blends 3M, 1Y and 3Y when 5Y data does not exist yet, which lets newer funds rank on the windows they have. A leader without a 5Y column is a newer fund with a strong recent record, not a proven long-cycle winner. Treat those as watchlist entries, not conclusions.

Should I just buy the #1 fund in each category?

Not necessarily. A single category of funds is not a portfolio. Use the rankings as a starting list, then check overlap, AUM, expense ratio and the AMC. The FinvestR agent reads your CAS and flags if you already hold a top-ranked fund, or if two top-ranked funds overlap heavily.

See your portfolio the way it should be seen.

Try the 1-min Goal Check