Best Small Cap Mutual Funds

What is a Small Cap Fund?

Small cap funds are equity funds, which invest at least 65% of their assets in equity and equity related investments of small cap companies. According to the SEBI regulations, small cap companies are those ranked below top 250^th companies in terms of market capitalization.

Why Invest in Small Cap Funds?

• As small cap companies usually outperform large caps over the long term, investing in small cap funds offer higher growth potential than large cap funds, mid cap funds or flexi cap funds
• Large institution investors usually avoid small cap stocks, which allows these stocks to register higher organic price rise than large and mid cap stocks
• As small cap stocks are spread across wider variety of sectors and segments, small cap funds offer higher diversification than large cap and mid cap funds
• Small cap stocks are usually less correlated to the index stocks, which makes small cap funds a better diversification choice for investors
• Many small cap companies have exposure to new and emerging businesses, which may allow them to outperform bigger companies over the long term
• Small cap stocks are less covered by analysts and investors, which allows the scope of discovering many undervalued gems. Small cap funds investing in these stocks can yield significant gains as and when the value of these stocks are recognised by the broader market.
• Merger and acquisition activities in the small cap space may provide attractive opportunity for the investors to unlock value
• Small cap funds allow investors to participate from market rallies in the small cap segment during bull market phases

Table of Top 10 Small Cap Funds (Regular Plans):

Fund Name	Returns (% p.a.)
	1 year	3 year	5 year	10 year
Bandhan Small Cap Fund	-5.69	28.37	26.41	–
ITI Small Cap Fund	-8.97	23.50	19.91	–
Invesco India Smallcap Fund	-5.59	23.28	26.44	–
Quant Small Cap Fund	-8.61	20.14	29.15	18.97
Nippon India Small Cap Fund	-9.58	19.95	27.75	20.13
HDFC Small Cap Fund	-5.05	19.42	25.35	18.15
Sundaram Small Cap Fund	-3.97	19.22	22.99	13.82
DSP Small Cap Fund	-5.63	19.07	22.71	16.77
Franklin India Small Cap Fund	-11.63	18.64	23.54	15.54
Edelweiss Small Cap Fund	-7.64	18.18	24.31	–

Data as on December 9, 2025

Risk of Investing in Small Cap Funds

• Small cap stocks tend to be more volatile than large and midcap stocks over the short- to medium term
• Liquidity risk of small cap stocks is higher than those of large and midcap stocks
• Small cap companies tend to be more adversely affected than large and midcap companies during bearish market conditions

Who Should Invest in Small Cap funds?

• Investors aiming to benefit from the higher growth potential and re-rating scope of small cap companies
• Mature long term investors with slightly higher risk appetite and past experience in market volatility
• Those who are able to absorb short term volatility and patiently wait with a time horizon of at least 5 years
• Investors should ideally stay invested in small cap funds for at least 7 years to derive maximum benefit from an entire economic cycle

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Best Large and Mid Cap Funds
Best Multicap Funds
Best Tax Saver Funds (ELSS)