Bandhan Small Cap Fund leads small-cap mutual funds in three-year CAGR returns; delivers 25.5% gain
Bandhan Small Cap Fund delivered 25.5% CAGR returns over three years and 13.1% CAGR over the last one year, according to ACE MF data on August 12.
Moneycontrol Desk
August 13, 2026 / 14:53 IST
The three-year CAGR return chart for the small-cap mutual fund category is led by Bandhan Small Cap Fund, which delivered 25.5 percent. ITI Small Cap Fund and Invesco India Smallcap Fund occupy the next two positions with returns of 24.6 percent and 23.2 percent, respectively, according to ACE MF data on August 12.
The ranking considers only schemes with assets under management of at least Rs 1,500 crore. Among the top five funds that meet this criterion, Bandhan Small Cap Fund has the largest corpus at Rs 31,103.0 crore.
The benchmark comparison is also important. Bandhan Small Cap Fund was ahead of its benchmark by 16.3 percentage points on a three-year basis, with the benchmark returning 9.2%. It was also ahead of its benchmark by 12.1 percentage points on a one-year basis, with the benchmark returning 0.9%.
The leadership shifts in the one-month comparison, where Bank of India Small Cap Fund tops the list with 5.1 percent.
The leadership shifts in the three-month comparison, where Bank of India Small Cap Fund tops the list with 17.2 percent.
The order changes on a one-year basis. Bank of India Small Cap Fund delivered the strongest return among these five schemes at 27.6 percent.
Looking at more than one return period gives investors a fuller picture. The top performer in a recent window may differ from the fund that has delivered stronger longer-term returns.
Table: Top 5 small-cap funds by three-year CAGR return
| Fund name | 3-year return (%) | AUM (Rs crore) | 1-month return (%) | 3-month return (%) | 6-month return (%) | 1-year return (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bandhan Small Cap Fund | 25.5 | 31,103.0 | 1.8 | 8.7 | 11.0 | 13.1 |
| ITI Small Cap Fund | 24.6 | 3,454.0 | 2.9 | 14.9 | 21.8 | 20.8 |
| Invesco India Smallcap Fund | 23.2 | 14,474.8 | 1.9 | 14.8 | 14.9 | 17.3 |
| Bank of India Small Cap Fund | 22.3 | 2,819.5 | 5.1 | 17.2 | 29.0 | 27.6 |
| Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund | 20.3 | 5,086.6 | 3.0 | 12.5 | 17.1 | 18.1 |
Note: The ranking considers only schemes with minimum assets under management of Rs 1,500 crore. Returns and AUM are according to ACE MF data on August 12. One-year and three-year returns are CAGR; one-month, three-month and six-month returns are absolute returns. AUM is in Rs crore.
What is a small-cap fund?
Small-cap funds must invest at least 65 percent of their assets in small-cap companies. These are companies ranked 251st onwards by full market capitalisation under SEBI’s classification.