Four small-cap funds returned over 30% in three months, but three are too young to have a three-year track record. Bank of India Small Cap Fund is the only one with a longer history.
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Four small-cap mutual funds delivered returns above 30% over the past three months, riding the broader market's rebound. The category average came in at 22.41%, according to Value Research data. The Nifty Smallcap 250 TRI returned 20.73% over the same stretch.
JM Small Cap Fund, managed by Asit Bhandarkar, led the pack with a 36.37% gain. Trust MF Small Cap Fund, run by Mihir Vora, followed at 32.10%. Bank of India Small Cap Fund, managed by Alok Singh, returned 31.49%. Motilal Oswal Small Cap Fund, under Ajay Khandelwal, rounded out the top four at 30.33%.
Why the Three-Month Leaderboard Misleads
The short-term rankings shift when you extend the window to one year. JM Small Cap Fund's one-year return stands at 13.43%, placing it sixth among small-cap funds tracked by Value Research. Trust MF Small Cap Fund leads the one-year ranking with 26.31%. Bank of India Small Cap Fund ranks second at 18.28%, and Motilal Oswal Small Cap Fund sits fourth at 16.58%.
The bigger caveat is fund age. Three of the four top performers are recent launches. Trust MF Small Cap Fund is 1 year and 7 months old. JM Small Cap Fund has completed two years. Motilal Oswal Small Cap Fund is 2 years and 6 months old. None have a three-year track record yet.
Bank of India Small Cap Fund is the exception. It has been around for 7 years and 6 months. Over three years, it delivered a 23.88% CAGR, ranking 8th among 33 small-cap funds. Over five years, its 20.72% CAGR placed it 5th among 25 schemes.
Fund size also varies widely. JM Small Cap Fund, despite the highest three-month return, manages only ₹730 crore in assets. Trust MF Small Cap Fund runs ₹1,891 crore. Bank of India Small Cap Fund has ₹2,318 crore. Motilal Oswal Small Cap Fund is the largest at ₹6,515 crore.
For investors, the three-month leaderboard is a starting point, not a conclusion. The real test is whether these funds can sustain performance across market cycles. Three of the four have not yet faced a full downturn. Their performance over the next few years will determine how they stack up against established small-cap funds that have weathered multiple cycles.
Prepared with AlphaScala research tooling and grounded in primary market data: live prices, fundamentals, SEC filings, hedge-fund holdings, and insider activity. Each story is checked against AlphaScala publishing rules before release. Educational coverage, not personalized advice.