Mutual funds have become an important part of India’s investment landscape, with investors using different fund categories to gain exposure to equities, debt, commodities and other asset classes. Within equity mutual funds, five-year returns are often used as one way to study how a scheme has performed across a relatively long market cycle.
This article looks at 10 equity mutual fund schemes that currently appear among the highest five-year annualised return performers based on the latest mutual-fund screener data. The ranking is based on historical five-year CAGR and is intended for educational comparison rather than as an investment recommendation. Mutual-fund rankings can change as market prices, NAVs and the five-year measurement period change.
Top 10 Mutual Funds by 5-Year Returns
| Rank | Mutual Fund | Category | 5-Year CAGR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SBI PSU Fund – Direct Plan – Growth | Thematic – PSU | 23.34% |
| 2 | Aditya Birla Sun Life PSU Equity Fund – Direct Plan – Growth | Thematic – PSU | 22.99% |
| 3 | LIC MF Infrastructure Fund – Direct Plan – Growth | Thematic – Infrastructure | 21.91% |
| 4 | DSP India T.I.G.E.R. Fund – Direct Plan – Growth | Thematic – Infrastructure | 21.19% |
| 5 | Quant Small Cap Fund – Direct Plan – Growth | Small Cap | 19.19% |
| 6 | Canara Robeco Infrastructure Fund – Direct Plan – Growth | Thematic – Infrastructure | 19.11% |
| 7 | ICICI Prudential Manufacturing Fund – Direct Plan – Growth | Thematic – Manufacturing | 18.96% |
| 8 | SBI Healthcare Opportunities Fund – Direct Plan – Growth | Sectoral – Healthcare | 18.71% |
| 9 | Motilal Oswal Large and Midcap Fund – Direct Plan – Growth | Large & Mid Cap | 18.69% |
| 10 | Nippon India Small Cap Fund – Direct Plan – Growth | Small Cap | 18.64% |
Five-year CAGR figures are based on the latest available screener data and can change with market movements and the rolling return period.
What Does 5-Year CAGR Mean?
CAGR, or Compound Annual Growth Rate, represents the annualised rate at which an investment would have grown over a particular period if the growth had compounded at a constant rate. In mutual-fund comparisons, a five-year CAGR provides a way to compare historical performance over a longer period rather than focusing only on one-year returns.
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For example, a fund showing a 20% five-year CAGR does not mean it generated exactly 20% every year. Actual annual returns can be significantly higher or lower. The CAGR simply represents the annualised rate that connects the starting value with the ending value over the five-year period.
This distinction is important because equity markets do not move in a straight line. A fund can experience strong years, weak years and periods of significant volatility while still producing a particular five-year CAGR.
SBI PSU Fund
SBI PSU Fund currently ranks first in the screener based on five-year CAGR, at around 23.34%. The scheme focuses on companies associated with the public-sector theme, giving it exposure to businesses operating across areas such as financial services, energy, industrials and other sectors where government-linked companies have a significant presence.
The fund’s historical performance has benefited from a period in which several PSU-related stocks experienced substantial market re-rating. However, thematic concentration also means its performance can be influenced heavily by the fortunes and valuations of companies within the PSU universe.
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Aditya Birla Sun Life PSU Equity Fund
Aditya Birla Sun Life PSU Equity Fund ranks second with a five-year CAGR of approximately 22.99%. Like SBI PSU Fund, it provides exposure to the public-sector theme, although the underlying portfolio construction and stock selection can differ.
The presence of two PSU-focused schemes near the top of the five-year ranking highlights how strongly the broader PSU segment performed during the measured period. It also shows why historical rankings should be considered alongside the category and investment strategy of each fund.
LIC MF Infrastructure Fund
LIC MF Infrastructure Fund has generated a five-year CAGR of about 21.91% in the latest screener data. The fund belongs to the infrastructure-oriented thematic segment, giving it exposure to businesses that can benefit from investment in areas such as construction, capital goods, industrial activity and infrastructure development.
Infrastructure funds can behave differently from diversified equity funds because their portfolios are influenced by investment cycles, government spending, interest rates, commodity prices and corporate capital expenditure.
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DSP India T.I.G.E.R. Fund
DSP India T.I.G.E.R. Fund ranks fourth with a five-year CAGR of approximately 21.19%. The scheme follows an infrastructure and economic-reform-oriented investment approach.
Its position in the ranking reflects the strong performance of several infrastructure-related businesses during the five-year period. However, thematic funds can experience periods of significant outperformance as well as underperformance because their portfolios are concentrated around specific economic themes.
Quant Small Cap Fund
Quant Small Cap Fund appears among the top five with a five-year CAGR of approximately 19.19%. Small-cap funds invest primarily in smaller companies, which can provide exposure to businesses at different stages of their growth cycle.
At the same time, small-cap stocks can experience larger price fluctuations and liquidity-related risks compared with larger companies. The fund’s historical five-year return therefore needs to be considered alongside the volatility associated with its category.
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Canara Robeco Infrastructure Fund
Canara Robeco Infrastructure Fund has recorded a five-year CAGR of around 19.11%. Its portfolio is focused on infrastructure-related opportunities, making the fund sensitive to the broader investment and economic cycle.
The fund’s historical performance illustrates how infrastructure-focused schemes have benefited during periods of strong performance from companies linked to capital expenditure and economic development.
ICICI Prudential Manufacturing Fund
ICICI Prudential Manufacturing Fund ranks seventh with a five-year CAGR of approximately 18.96%. The scheme focuses on the manufacturing theme and provides exposure to businesses connected to India’s industrial and manufacturing ecosystem.
Manufacturing-oriented funds can be influenced by domestic demand, capital expenditure, exports, supply chains, commodity costs and government policy. These factors can create both growth opportunities and periods of volatility.
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SBI Healthcare Opportunities Fund
SBI Healthcare Opportunities Fund has generated a five-year CAGR of around 18.71%. The fund belongs to the healthcare sector and provides exposure to companies operating across areas such as pharmaceuticals, healthcare services and related businesses.
Healthcare can have different performance drivers from sectors such as infrastructure, banking or manufacturing. However, sector-specific funds also carry concentration risk because their performance depends significantly on a particular industry.
Motilal Oswal Large and Midcap Fund
Motilal Oswal Large and Midcap Fund ranks ninth with a five-year CAGR of approximately 18.69%. Large and mid-cap funds invest across established large companies as well as mid-sized businesses, creating a combination of different market-cap segments.
Compared with highly concentrated thematic funds, the category provides a broader equity universe. Nevertheless, historical five-year performance remains only one measure for evaluating a mutual-fund scheme.
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Nippon India Small Cap Fund
Nippon India Small Cap Fund completes the list with a five-year CAGR of approximately 18.64%. The scheme is one of the larger small-cap funds by assets under management and provides exposure to a broad range of smaller companies.
Small-cap funds can benefit from strong earnings growth and business expansion among emerging companies, but they can also experience higher volatility during market corrections. The fund’s historical five-year return therefore needs to be viewed in the context of its underlying category and risk characteristics.
Why High 5-Year Returns Should Not Be the Only Factor
A five-year return ranking provides a useful starting point for understanding historical performance, but it does not provide a complete picture of a mutual fund. Two funds with similar five-year CAGR can have very different levels of volatility, portfolio concentration and downside performance.
The category is particularly important. A PSU fund, infrastructure fund, healthcare fund and small-cap fund are exposed to very different market drivers. Comparing them only on their five-year CAGR can therefore hide important differences in risk and portfolio construction.
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Investors and researchers can also examine expense ratios, assets under management, portfolio concentration, fund-manager changes, benchmark performance, consistency across different periods and the fund’s investment mandate. These factors can provide additional context when studying historical performance.
Another important point is that past returns are not guaranteed to continue. A fund that ranks near the top today may move down the table as market conditions change and a new five-year period is incorporated into the calculation.
Understanding the Current Ranking
The current ranking is notable because several of the leading positions are occupied by thematic or sector-focused funds. PSU and infrastructure funds make up a significant portion of the list, while small-cap, healthcare, manufacturing and large-and-mid-cap funds provide additional representation.
This makes the ranking useful not only for comparing individual schemes but also for understanding which segments of India’s equity mutual-fund universe generated strong historical returns during the period measured.
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The list should therefore be viewed as a snapshot of historical performance rather than a prediction of future returns. Mutual-fund NAVs change every market day, and five-year rankings will continue to evolve as older performance data drops out of the calculation and newer data is added.
Conclusion
The current five-year return ranking shows a diverse group of equity mutual funds, led by PSU and infrastructure-focused schemes, followed by small-cap, manufacturing, healthcare and large-and-mid-cap funds.
SBI PSU Fund and Aditya Birla Sun Life PSU Equity Fund currently occupy the top two positions in the screener, while LIC MF Infrastructure Fund, DSP India T.I.G.E.R. Fund and Quant Small Cap Fund also feature prominently. The ranking demonstrates how different market segments can lead performance over a particular period.
For anyone studying mutual funds, five-year CAGR is a useful historical metric, but it should be considered together with category, volatility, portfolio structure, costs and consistency. Historical performance alone does not determine future results.
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Financial Disclaimer: This article is for educational and informational purposes only. Historical mutual-fund returns do not guarantee future performance. Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks. Readers should review scheme documents, risk factors, portfolio details and other relevant information before making any investment decision.
