Three multi-asset allocation funds delivered over 14% returns in the past year, according to reports from Mint. 360 ONE Multi Asset Allocation Fund topped the category with a 19.91% return, followed by Quant Multi Asset Allocation Fund at 16.29% and Kotak Multi Asset Allocation Fund at 14.68%. The remaining top performers included DSP Multi Asset Allocation Fund and Mahindra Manulife Multi Asset Allocation Fund both delivering 12.65%, while Bandhan Multi Asset Allocation Fund returned 12.47% and Invesco India Multi Asset Allocation Fund posted 11.73%.
Despite managing significant assets, several category leaders delivered more moderate returns. As reported by Mint, ICICI Prudential Multi Asset Allocation Fund, the largest fund by net assets at ₹87,833 crore, returned only 3.54% over one year. SBI Multi Asset Allocation Fund was the second-largest with ₹20,935 crore in net assets and delivered 10.17%. Nippon India Multi Asset Allocation Fund had ₹17,984 crore in assets and returned 11.50%, while Kotak's ₹15,283 crore scheme posted 14.68%. DSP Multi Asset Allocation Fund managed ₹10,990 crore and returned 12.65%.
The category showed a broad range of returns beyond the top performers, according to Mint data. Aditya Birla Sun Life Multi Asset Allocation Fund delivered 11.65%, while HSBC and Nippon India posted 11.54% and 11.50% respectively. WhiteOak Capital Multi Asset Allocation Fund returned 11.45%, followed by Bank of India at 11.15%. Mirae Asset, Union, and SBI delivered 10.55%, 10.43%, and 10.17% respectively, with Canara Robeco just above the 10% mark at 10.04%.
Several funds delivered returns between 6% and 10%, as reported by Mint. Bajaj Finserv returned 9.98%, while Axis posted 9.09%. Franklin India delivered 8.79% and Motilal Oswal Asset Allocation Passive FoF - Conservative returned 8.20%. At the lower end, Shriram returned 7.31%, Tata posted 6.84%, LIC MF delivered 6.63%, Edelweiss returned 6.59%, Baroda BNP Paribas posted 6.44%, and Sundaram returned 6.25%. Samco Multi Asset Allocation Fund returned 5.35%, while ICICI Prudential, UTI, HDFC, and Quantum posted 3.54%, 3.19%, 2.51%, and 1.33% respectively.
ICICI Prudential Multi Asset Allocation Fund has demonstrated significant improvement under new management, with Lalit Kumar taking over in September 2025 and delivering 12.5% returns against the benchmark's 6.7% in his first year. According to Kumar's recent insights, the fund has rebuilt around a business cycle approach, replacing most of the inherited portfolio from the 111 stocks he inherited to just 41 stocks today, representing about 25% of the fund's weight. The fund, which manages approximately ₹18,800 crore and follows the 25%-25%-25% multi-cap mandate, has shown strong performance through Kumar's sector-focused strategy, with steel being overweight and FMCG nearly eliminated due to structural challenges from D2C brands and e-commerce competition. Kumar explains his approach as finding sectors before finding stocks, focusing on global cyclicals like steel where Chinese producers' EBITDA per tonne is below mid-cycle, while avoiding FMCG due to competition from D2C brands and e-commerce disruption affecting volume growth and margins.
