Key Points
Small-cap funds top performance with 79.31% benchmark beating
Large-cap funds struggle with only 21.88% outperformance
Total mutual fund AUM reaches Rs 23.12 lakh crore
Diverse fund categories show mixed market results
According to the report by PL Wealth Management, the wealth management arm of PL Capital, 54.08 per cent of the 294 open-ended equity diversified funds analysed performed better than their benchmarks during the month.
In total, 159 funds recorded outperformance as of February 28, 2025. Among different categories, small-cap funds emerged as the best performers.
Nearly 79.31 per cent of small-cap schemes outperformed the Nifty Smallcap 250 benchmark, making them the top category in February.
Focused funds also showed strong performance, with 67.86 per cent of them beating their benchmark, the report said.
Large and mid-cap funds followed closely, with 65.63 per cent of schemes delivering higher returns than the Nifty LargeMidcap 250 benchmark.
On the other hand, large-cap funds were the least performing category, with only 21.88 per cent of the funds outperforming the Nifty 50 benchmark.
Other fund categories such as flexi-cap, mid-cap, and equity-linked savings schemes (ELSS) also delivered mixed results, with outperformance rates ranging between 44 per cent and 58 per cent.
The report suggests that small-cap and focused funds continue to attract interest due to their strong growth potential, while large-cap funds have struggled to keep pace with their benchmarks.
The total assets under management (AUM) in February this year stood at Rs 23,12,570.67 crore.
The strong performance of several equity mutual funds indicates that fund managers have been able to generate higher returns for investors in a volatile market, the report concluded.
Meanwhile, in January this year, over 26 per cent of equity mutual funds in the country outperformed their respective benchmarks, the4 another the report by PL Wealth Management said.
The report, based on analysis of 291 open-ended equity diversified funds, found that 76 mutual fund schemes managed to deliver better returns than their respective indices during January.
