According to reports from Mint, five multi-cap funds have emerged as leaders in delivering strong returns while maintaining low expense ratios. Mahindra Manulife Multicap Fund leads with the lowest expense ratio of 0.46% compared to the category average of 0.71%, while achieving 3-year returns of 22.95% against the benchmark of 19.85%. LIC MF Multicap Fund follows with an expense ratio of 0.58% and 3-year returns of 20.30%, while HSBC Multi Cap Fund offers an expense ratio of 0.60% with 20.10% returns. Axis Multicap Fund and Quant Multi Cap Fund round out the top five with expense ratios of 0.62% and 0.63% respectively, delivering 23.35% and 22.11% returns respectively. As per ET Money, Quant Multi Cap Fund has an expense ratio of 0.68% and has delivered 18.3% average annual returns since inception over its 13 years 5 months existence.
As reported by Mint, multi-cap funds are equity mutual funds that allocate at least 75% of their total accumulated funds to equity and equity-related instruments. According to regulations, these funds must invest at least 25% each in large-, mid- and small-cap stocks, ensuring investors gain exposure across different market capitalizations. However, these funds maintain a 50% exposure to mid-cap and small-cap stocks at all times, which can make them risky in the short term and limit fund manager flexibility. These funds are ideal for investors with a long-term investment horizon of more than five years. As per ET Money, the Quant Multi Cap Fund has invested primarily in Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. (7.99%) and Nifty MidCap Select Index (7.64%) among its top holdings.
According to the data from Value Research and 1 Finance as reported by Mint, the top-performing funds demonstrate strong alpha performance relative to their benchmark index. Mahindra Manulife Multicap Fund shows an alpha of 23.36% compared to the benchmark, while Axis Multicap Fund achieves 23.35% returns with a positive alpha. The funds' performance is measured against the Nifty 500 Multicap 50:25:25 benchmark, with data as of May 29, 2026. As per ET Money, Quant Multi Cap Fund has delivered 18.3% average annual returns since inception, with 1-year returns of 1.78%, 3-year returns of 13.73%, and 5-year returns of 13.63%. The analysis includes rolling returns and 5-year returns where available, providing comprehensive performance evaluation across different investment periods.
As reported by Mint, investors should focus on three key factors when selecting multi-cap funds. Expense ratio is crucial as it directly impacts the fund's net asset value and total returns, with lower ratios generally leading to higher returns. Past returns should be evaluated over multiple periods including three and five years to assess consistency and benchmark outperformance. Alpha helps analyze risk-adjusted returns relative to the benchmark, with positive alpha indicating better performance than similar funds. Beta measures volatility relative to the benchmark, with lower beta indicating relatively lower risk compared to category averages. As per ET Money, Quant Multi Cap Fund has a Beta of 1.02 and Sharpe Ratio of 0.50, indicating moderate risk-adjusted performance relative to the category.
