On 19 March 2026, SBI Funds Management Ltd, the company operating SBI Mutual Fund, filed papers with the capital markets regulator for its first public share offering. According to reports from howindialives.com, if the IPO proceeds as expected in the second half of 2026, all four mutual funds in India by assets under management will be listed on stock exchanges. SBI Mutual Fund currently holds the top position among India's largest fund houses, a position it has achieved over the past decade through strategic growth and market positioning.
As reported by howindialives.com, SBI Mutual Fund has undergone a remarkable transformation since 2015. The fund house, established in 1987 as India's second-oldest mutual fund, was ranked fourth by assets in 2015 but trailed HDFC and ICICI by 40-45% in AUMs. During 2015-2020, its AUMs grew at twice the rate of ICICI and HDFC, enabling it to leapfrog both competitors along with Nippon to secure the top spot. In the October to December 2025 quarter, SBI's average AUMs reached ₹12.5 trillion, compared to ₹10.8 trillion for ICICI and ₹9.2 trillion for HDFC*. The fund house's total AUMs currently stand at ₹12.64 lakh crore as of December 31, 2025, demonstrating its continued growth trajectory.
According to the analysis by howindialives.com, SBI Mutual Fund faces a unique challenge in its asset mix composition. In the top 10 schemes, SBI Nifty 50 ETF and SBI BSE Sensex ETF are the only ETFs, while all other schemes are actively managed funds. The fund house's passive fund share in AUMs has decreased from 36% to 32% between March 2023 and December 2025, though this remains twice that of ICICI and four times that of HDFC. As of February 2026, SBI BSE Sensex ETF maintains a low expense ratio of 0.04%, while the SBI Equity Hybrid Fund ranges from 0.7% to 1.4% depending on investment plans.
As reported by howindialives.com, despite SBI Mutual Fund's significant AUM advantage, it faces challenges in converting assets into financial performance. Among leading mutual fund houses, SBI maintains the lowest-to-income ratio due to its high presence of passives and government lineage. While ICICI trailed SBI by 14% in AUMs, it reported higher revenues and profits in 2024-25. Similarly, HDFC showed a similar pattern with 26% lower AUM but nearly matching SBI's revenues and net profit. The fund house's AUMs amounted to about 22% of its parent bank's deposits as of December 2025, compared to 65% for ICICI, 32% for HDFC, and 108% for Kotak.
According to the analysis by howindialives.com, SBI Mutual Fund's performance in equity funds shows mixed results over the past five years. Of its 18 equity funds, 11 beat their respective benchmarks while 7 did not, placing it in the middle among the top 10 biggest fund houses. The fund house has significant growth potential, with 22% of its parent bank's deposits as AUMs compared to higher ratios at competitors. The company's prospectus shows substantial room for cross-selling opportunities, positioning it well for future growth and market valuations based on its strategic positioning and parental connections.
