No single category stays on top. Step through thirteen years of category returns and watch the leaders change.
Mutual Fund Category Rotation
How 28 fund categories ranked by return, year by year, from 2014 to 2026.
See every figure as a table
| Category | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Cap | ▲ 76.99 | ▲ 10.26 | ▲ 6.20 | ▲ 53.34 | ▼ (19.33) | ▼ (2.21) | ▲ 30.86 | ▲ 62.49 | ▼ (0.95) | ▲ 43.72 | ▲ 26.38 | ▼ (5.46) | ▲ 5.51 |
| Mid Cap | ▲ 71.50 | ▲ 8.67 | ▲ 4.14 | ▲ 42.80 | ▼ (12.04) | ▲ 2.80 | ▲ 24.61 | ▲ 44.30 | ▲ 2.26 | ▲ 38.38 | ▲ 26.71 | ▲ 2.44 | ▼ (2.70) |
| MNC | ▲ 66.80 | ▲ 12.72 | ▼ (2.98) | ▲ 39.16 | ▼ (4.97) | ▲ 2.38 | ▲ 18.42 | ▲ 28.69 | ▼ (2.16) | ▲ 21.86 | ▲ 14.38 | ▲ 3.48 | ▼ (3.77) |
| Infrastructure | ▲ 63.54 | ▼ (0.36) | ▲ 3.61 | ▲ 47.98 | ▼ (18.49) | ▲ 1.75 | ▲ 9.33 | ▲ 51.31 | ▲ 9.29 | ▲ 44.44 | ▲ 26.23 | ▲ 1.25 | ▼ (2.44) |
| Banking / Financial Services | ▲ 62.01 | ▼ (6.79) | ▲ 13.06 | ▲ 39.49 | ▼ (1.52) | ▲ 14.55 | ▼ (4.22) | ▲ 15.66 | ▲ 20.11 | ▲ 19.59 | ▲ 9.00 | ▲ 19.57 | ▼ (5.59) |
| Focused | ▲ 52.54 | ▲ 2.76 | ▲ 5.63 | ▲ 36.75 | ▼ (6.74) | ▲ 11.96 | ▲ 15.85 | ▲ 31.79 | ▲ 0.95 | ▲ 26.44 | ▲ 19.36 | ▲ 4.78 | ▼ (4.44) |
| Flexi Cap | ▲ 51.39 | ▲ 1.77 | ▲ 4.19 | ▲ 36.53 | ▼ (5.19) | ▲ 9.65 | ▲ 15.62 | ▲ 32.02 | ▲ 0.64 | ▲ 26.57 | ▲ 19.01 | ▲ 3.33 | ▼ (4.63) |
| ELSS | ▲ 50.85 | ▲ 3.18 | ▲ 4.55 | ▲ 38.38 | ▼ (6.28) | ▲ 8.32 | ▲ 16.20 | ▲ 31.77 | ▲ 2.02 | ▲ 27.85 | ▲ 19.26 | ▲ 3.57 | ▼ (6.85) |
| Pharma | ▲ 50.02 | ▲ 19.60 | ▼ (4.41) | ▲ 5.20 | ▼ (4.84) | ▲ 3.80 | ▲ 66.36 | ▲ 19.55 | ▼ (9.75) | ▲ 33.90 | ▲ 40.50 | ▼ (2.93) | ▲ 8.24 |
| Large & MidCap | ▲ 49.85 | ▲ 4.68 | ▲ 6.29 | ▲ 39.65 | ▼ (7.73) | ▲ 8.02 | ▲ 16.33 | ▲ 37.34 | ▲ 1.36 | ▲ 28.31 | ▲ 23.38 | ▲ 1.88 | ▼ (6.03) |
| Energy | ▲ 48.81 | ▼ (0.68) | ▲ 21.50 | ▲ 40.69 | ▼ (15.16) | ▲ 5.58 | ▲ 23.64 | ▲ 44.87 | ▲ 7.42 | ▲ 28.56 | ▲ 12.65 | ▲ 8.55 | ▼ (2.22) |
| Dividend Yield | ▲ 45.12 | ▼ (4.16) | ▲ 7.01 | ▲ 36.57 | ▼ (8.04) | ▲ 2.95 | ▲ 19.44 | ▲ 37.69 | ▲ 2.78 | ▲ 34.90 | ▲ 19.18 | ▲ 5.44 | ▼ (6.59) |
| Consumption | ▲ 41.82 | ▲ 4.52 | ▲ 4.48 | ▲ 44.11 | ▼ (1.64) | ▲ 5.96 | ▲ 19.17 | ▲ 29.86 | ▲ 7.11 | ▲ 27.25 | ▲ 20.70 | ▲ 1.53 | ▼ (8.20) |
| Large Cap | ▲ 41.16 | ▲ 0.77 | ▲ 3.18 | ▲ 30.92 | ▲ 0.78 | ▲ 10.45 | ▲ 15.11 | ▲ 25.57 | ▲ 3.48 | ▲ 24.44 | ▲ 14.96 | ▲ 8.71 | ▼ (8.41) |
| Technology | ▲ 23.36 | ▲ 5.32 | ▼ (3.86) | ▲ 18.84 | ▲ 17.73 | ▲ 8.81 | ▲ 58.28 | ▲ 64.37 | ▼ (23.11) | ▲ 28.46 | ▲ 26.86 | ▼ (7.04) | ▼ (10.70) |
| Multi Cap | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | ▲ 3.54 | ▲ 33.35 | ▲ 24.19 | ▲ 1.78 | ▼ (1.80) |
| Value Oriented | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | ▲ 38.27 | ▼ (5.19) | ▲ 3.27 | ▲ 17.96 | ▲ 35.49 | ▲ 6.38 | ▲ 34.10 | ▲ 19.82 | ▲ 6.98 | ▼ (6.99) |
| Auto / Transportation | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | ▲ 16.40 | ▲ 42.92 | ▲ 22.17 | ▲ 16.16 | ▼ (4.93) |
| Sectoral Other | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | ▲ 16.52 | ▲ 19.10 | ▲ 25.62 | ▲ 7.52 | ▲ 5.37 | ▼ (1.08) |
| Business Cycle | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | ▲ 30.15 | ▲ 6.73 | ▲ 30.82 | ▲ 24.42 | ▲ 1.89 | ▼ (3.91) |
| ESG | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not available | Not available | Not available | ▲ 22.73 | ▲ 31.49 | ▼ (3.05) | ▲ 22.23 | ▲ 16.26 | ▲ 5.11 | ▼ (8.24) |
| Innovation | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not available | Not available | Not available | ▲ 32.67 | ▲ 34.90 | ▼ (10.82) | ▲ 31.65 | ▲ 30.03 | ▲ 1.85 | ▲ 1.99 |
| Manufacturing | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not available | ▼ (14.29) | ▼ (1.24) | ▲ 19.93 | ▲ 33.24 | ▲ 3.97 | ▲ 35.24 | ▲ 28.03 | ▲ 5.08 | ▲ 1.44 |
| PSU | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | ▲ 21.95 | ▼ (19.70) | ▲ 4.11 | ▼ (4.81) | ▲ 36.72 | ▲ 26.54 | ▲ 58.84 | ▲ 22.03 | ▲ 5.63 | ▼ (8.81) |
| Quant | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | Not available | Not available | ▲ 9.99 | ▲ 19.81 | ▲ 32.21 | ▲ 4.25 | ▲ 33.30 | ▲ 16.83 | ▲ 4.77 | ▼ (8.63) |
| Factor Based | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | ▲ 23.44 | ▲ 5.70 | ▲ 5.15 | ▲ 22.68 | ▲ 13.74 | ▼ (2.61) | ▲ 34.26 | ▲ 18.81 | ▼ (1.35) | ▼ (5.36) |
| Thematic Other | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | ▲ 34.28 | ▼ (6.86) | ▲ 4.65 | ▲ 19.17 | ▲ 30.73 | ▲ 3.30 | ▲ 31.76 | ▲ 21.27 | ▲ 5.68 | ▼ (1.95) |
| International | Not verified | Not verified | Not verified | ▲ 16.03 | ▼ (5.16) | ▲ 28.52 | ▲ 22.89 | ▲ 15.72 | ▼ (13.24) | ▲ 24.99 | ▲ 18.59 | ▲ 33.28 | ▲ 17.78 |
Category average returns for each calendar year. 2026 is year to date as of 21 October 2026.
2014, 2015 and 2016 use an older set of category figures. From 2017 the categories follow Value Research's current classification, so newer categories have no figure in earlier years.
Not available: the source has no return for that year. Not verified: a comparable figure for that year could not be verified.
Source: Value Research, Mutual Fund Monitor.
Past performance may or may not be sustained in future and is not a guarantee of future returns. Category averages are shown for education only and are not a recommendation to invest in any category or scheme. Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.
Small caps led in 2014 and again in 2017, then fell close to the bottom in 2018. Technology topped the table in 2018 and 2021, yet sits last in 2026 so far. Pharma went from last place in 2016 to first in 2020 and again in 2024.
Last year's winner is rarely next year's. That is why we build portfolios across categories, matched to your goals, instead of chasing whichever theme topped the table most recently.
Figures are category average returns from Value Research, Mutual Fund Monitor; 2026 is year to date as of 21 October 2026. Be WealthSet Financial Services LLP is an AMFI registered Mutual Fund Distributor and not the manufacturer of any scheme. This is for general investor education only and is not investment advice or an offer for any specific scheme or category.