Top Index/ETF Regular Plan Mutual Funds

How are the Index/ETF regular fund returns on this page calculated?

All return figures are derived from official NAV data published by AMFI India, fetched and updated every trading day. The 1-year return is a simple point-to-point percentage change comparing the latest NAV with the NAV from exactly one year ago. The 3-year and 5-year figures are expressed as CAGR — Compound Annual Growth Rate — which accounts for compounding and gives a more accurate picture of how a fund has grown wealth annually over those periods.

The table is sorted by 1-year return by default, showing the Index/ETF regular plan funds that have performed best over the past twelve months. You can switch to 3Y or 5Y CAGR using the sort buttons above the table to see which funds have delivered the most consistent long-term performance. Funds with insufficient history for a given period show a dash rather than an estimate.

All data on this page is for the Regular Plan, Growth option of each scheme. Regular plans carry a distributor commission within their expense ratio, which is deducted from the NAV daily. See the full list of all active regular plans on the mutual fund returns page.

What should you look for when comparing Index/ETF regular funds?

A high 1-year return alone is not sufficient reason to choose a fund. The Index/ETF category can see significant variation in short-term performance depending on which sectors or stocks a fund is concentrated in at any given time. A fund that topped the 1-year rankings may have done so because of a temporary sector tailwind rather than consistent fund management quality.

The more reliable signals are the 3-year and 5-year CAGR columns, which smooth out short-term noise and show how a fund has compounded wealth through different market phases — including corrections, sideways markets, and strong rallies. A fund that ranks consistently in the upper half of its category across both the 3Y and 5Y columns is demonstrating durable performance that is less likely to be a one-time event.

The "Since" column shows the fund's launch year. Newer funds — those launched in the last two to three years — will have fewer historical data points and their long-term CAGR columns will show dashes. This does not mean they are poor funds, only that there is insufficient history to evaluate them on longer horizons yet.

Why does CRN India track regular plans instead of direct plans?

Direct plans and regular plans invest in the same underlying portfolio. The only difference is the expense ratio. Regular plans include a trail commission paid to the mutual fund distributor, while direct plans do not. This makes regular plans slightly more expensive — typically by 0.5% to 1% per year — but most retail investors in India invest through a mutual fund distributor and hold the regular plan of their chosen scheme.

CRN India focuses on regular plans because that is how the majority of Indian investors actually invest. According to AMFI data, over 70% of retail mutual fund assets in India are held in regular plans. Tracking regular plan NAVs and returns gives a more accurate picture of what real investors are actually earning, rather than a theoretical benchmark that most investors cannot access without a direct plan account on a registered platform.

Clicking any fund name in the table above opens the individual fund detail page, which shows the full return history from 1 day to 10 years, 52-week high and low, all-time high and low, best and worst rolling returns, calendar year returns from 2016 onwards, and a peer comparison within the same category.