Mutual Fund Negative Returns Triple in FY26, SEBI Data Shows

Schemes with returns of -10% or worse more than tripled to 93 from 30. The -10% to -5% bucket rose to 146 from 41. The biggest jump came in the -5% to 0% range, which climbed to 492 from 172.

On the positive side, 373 schemes generated returns between 0% and 5%, compared with 218 in FY25. The 5% to 10% band shrank to 539 from 852. Only 198 schemes managed returns exceeding 10%, down from 304.

New scheme launches stayed flat at 246, nearly identical to 247 a year earlier. Debt-oriented open-ended fund launches rose to 16 from 10, while equity-oriented launches fell to 63 from 70. Hybrid fund launches increased to 15 from 12. Domestic fund of funds launches jumped to 49 from 14.

The investor base expanded. The number of unique mutual fund investors rose 13.2% to 6.1 crore from 5.4 crore, SEBI said.