Top 10 Best and Worst Performing Equity Mutual Funds of 2024

On a year-to-date basis, the BSE Sensex gained 11.1%, while the BSE 500 gained 16.3%. Mid and small-cap stocks outperformed large caps for the second year in a row, the BSE Mid-cap index rose by 24.8% while the BSE Small-cap gained 27.9% YTD.

The broad-based rally in the equity market has resulted in significant gains for a majority of equity mutual funds across sub-categories. Out of the 396 equity mutual funds considered, around 275 schemes generated absolute returns of 20% or more.

In this article find out the top-performing and bottom-performing schemes of 2024 so far.

Top-performing equity mutual funds of 2024

Motilal Oswal Midcap Fund dominated the returns chart, gaining a whopping 51% absolute returns in 2024 so far. Bandhan Small Cap offered 43.5% during this period while Invesco India Focused Fund gave 42.6%. Three other diversified schemes of Motilal Oswal Fund - Motilal Oswal Small Cap Fund, Motilal Oswal Flexi Cap Fund, and Motilal Oswal Large & Midcap Fund - also stood among the top performers having gained 42.1%, 41.5%, and 40.2%, respectively.

Some of the other top-performing schemes included Invesco India Midcap Fund, Edelweiss Mid Cap Fund, LIC MF Small Cap Fund, HSBC Large & Midcap Fund, Invesco India Smallcap Fund, Invesco India Large & Mid Cap Fund, and HSBC Midcap Fund with absolute returns in the range of 35-40%. Clearly, Mid Cap Funds, Small Cap Funds, and Large & Midcap Funds outshined most other sub-categories of diversified equity mutual funds on the back of a robust rally in the mid and small-cap segment.

Certain Sector & Thematic Funds also turned out to be top performers. It is noteworthy that the Sector & Thematic Fund category received the highest inflows among equity mutual funds in 2024 as investors were willing to take high risk in anticipation of strong returns. Among Thematic & Sector-oriented schemes, LIC MF Infra Fund, HDFC Defence Fund, HDFC Pharma and Healthcare Fund, ICICI Pru Pharma Healthcare & Diagnostics Fund, and Bandhan Infrastructure Fund posted high gains of 48%, 44.5%, 44.4%, 40.9%, and 40.4%.

Bottom-performing equity mutual funds of 2024

One should remember that high risk does not always translate into high returns. As we can see in the table below, several schemes from high-risk categories delivered returns that were significantly lower than the market. This includes ICICI Pru FMCG Fund, SBI Magnum Global Fund, SBI Equity Minimum Variance Fund, and HDFC MNC Fund.

Banking & Finance Mutual Funds such as LIC MF Banking & Financial Services Fund, ITI Banking & Financial Services Fund, and Sundaram Fin Serv Opp Fund too underperformed as banking stocks have been under pressure due to intense selling by FIIs. The loan-to-deposit ratio of banks is high, putting pressure on their profits.

A few international mutual funds such as Nippon India Japan Equity Fund, and Aditya Birla SL International Equity Fund also underperformed, offering single-digit returns.

Samco Flexi Cap Fund is the only scheme from the diversified equity mutual fund category that registered a low single-digit return of 4.1%, the lowest among equity funds in 2024.

Final thoughts

Mutual Funds displayed sharp variance in performance with some schemes delivering stellar returns while others failed to keep pace with the market returns.

Mutual Fund returns are cyclical in nature and no scheme can turn out to be an outperformer year after year. Similarly, a poor-performing scheme may bounce back with strong returns if the strategy pays off. Thus, one should refrain from making investment or redemption decisions based solely on recent performance.

Investment decisions should always be made after carefully considering one's financial goals, risk appetite, and investment horizon. This exercise will help you select the most suitable schemes that align with your needs, thereby helping you sail through the ups and downs of the market.

To select the best schemes within each sub-category, it is important to evaluate them on various quantitative and qualitative factors, which will ensure that they perform well across diverse market conditions.

Watch this video to find out how you can pick the best mutual funds:

Note: This write up is for information purpose and does not constitute any kind of investment advice or a recommendation to Buy / Hold / Sell a fund. Returns mentioned herein are in no way a guarantee or promise of future returns. As an investor, you need to pick the right fund to meet your financial goals. If you are not sure about your risk appetite, do consult your investment consultant/advisor. Mutual Fund Investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully. Registration granted by SEBI, Membership of BASL and certification from NISM no way guarantee performance of the intermediary or provide any assurance of returns to investors.

The securities quoted are for illustration only and are not recommendatory.

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DIVYA GROVER is the co-editor for FundSelect, the flagship research service of PersonalFN. She is also the co-editor of DebtSelect. Divya is an avid reader which helps her in analysing industry trends and producing insightful articles for PersonalFN’s popular newsletter – Daily Wealth letter, read by over 1.5 lakh subscribers.
Divya joined PersonalFN in 2019 and has since then used stringent quantitative and qualitative parameters to analyse funds to provide honest and unbiased research to investors. She endeavours to enable investors to make an informed investment decision and thereby safeguard their wealth.

Disclaimer: Investment in securities market are subject to market risks, read all the related documents carefully before investing.
This article is for information purposes only and is not meant to influence your investment decisions. It should not be treated as a mutual fund recommendation or advice to make an investment decision in the above-mentioned schemes.