10 pharma mutual funds delivered over 20% in one year: HDFC Pharma leads with 28.66% return
Ten pharma and healthcare mutual funds delivered more than 20% returns in the past year, with HDFC Pharma And Healthcare Fund leading at 28.66%. Kotak Healthcare, PGIM India Healthcare and Quant Healthcare were among the other top performers.
Pharma and healthcare mutual funds have had a strong run over the past year, with 10 schemes delivering returns of more than 20%, according to Value Research data. The top performers crossed 25%, while the gap between the best and worst-performing funds in the category was substantial.
HDFC Pharma And Healthcare Fund led the pack with a 28.66% one-year return, followed by Kotak Healthcare Fund at 28.47%.
The broader Pharma category is classified as very high risk by Value Research. The fund research firm also notes that pharma funds are generally suited to investors looking for a small, supporting allocation to the sector and who can tolerate sharper swings associated with concentrated portfolios.
10 schemes delivered more than 20% in one year
The top 10 funds were led by HDFC Pharma And Healthcare Fund and Kotak Healthcare Fund, with returns of 28.66% and 28.47%, respectively. PGIM India Healthcare Fund followed at 27.17%, while Quant Healthcare Fund and Bajaj Finserv Healthcare Fund delivered 25.64% and 25.28%.
WhiteOak Capital Pharma and Healthcare Fund also crossed 24%, while SBI Healthcare Opportunities Fund and Mirae Asset Healthcare Fund returned 23.03% and 22.39%, respectively.
The final two schemes to cross the 20% mark were Aditya Birla Sun Life Pharma & Healthcare Fund at 20.18% and UTI Healthcare Fund at 20.05%.
Fund | 1-year return |
| HDFC Pharma And Healthcare Fund | 28.66% |
| Kotak Healthcare Fund | 28.47% |
| PGIM India Healthcare Fund | 27.17% |
| Quant Healthcare Fund | 25.64% |
| Bajaj Finserv Healthcare Fund | 25.28% |
| WhiteOak Capital Pharma and Healthcare Fund | 24.59% |
| SBI Healthcare Opportunities Fund | 23.03% |
| Mirae Asset Healthcare Fund | 22.39% |
| Aditya Birla Sun Life Pharma & Healthcare Fund | 20.18% |
| UTI Healthcare Fund | 20.05% |
| Source: Value Research. Data as of 1st September 2026. | |
The 20% threshold was not crossed by the remaining seven funds in the list. LIC MF Healthcare Fund came closest at 19.70%, followed by DSP Healthcare Fund at 19.25%.
How did the largest pharma funds perform?
The largest funds by assets produced a mixed performance over the same period. Nippon India Pharma Fund, the biggest scheme in the list with ₹9,279 crore in net assets, delivered a 14.06% one-year return. ICICI Prudential Healthcare Fund, with ₹6,803 crore in assets, returned 10.94%.
SBI Healthcare Opportunities Fund was the notable exception among the largest schemes, delivering 23.03% on ₹5,400 crore in net assets. Mirae Asset Healthcare Fund, with ₹3,442 crore, returned 22.39%, while DSP Healthcare Fund delivered 19.25% with ₹3,639 crore in assets.
This means the largest funds by assets were not necessarily the top performers over the past year. The difference is particularly visible between Nippon India Pharma Fund and the leading schemes, with a gap of more than 14 percentage points between its 14.06% return and HDFC Pharma And Healthcare Fund's 28.66%.
For investors, the one-year performance highlights the strong showing from the pharma and healthcare segment, but sectoral concentration remains important.
About the Author
Kirti Jha is a Senior Content Producer at Mint, where she writes on mutual funds, taxation, personal finance and macroeconomic developments. Her reporting focuses on helping readers understand complex financial developments through data-driven, research-backed stories that explain how policy changes, market trends and regulatory decisions affect investors and households. <br><br> Before joining Mint, Kirti worked at ET Money, where she specialised in mutual fund research and investment analysis. She tracked portfolio disclosures, fund manager strategies, sectoral allocation shifts and investment trends, distilling large datasets into investor-focused insights. Her work combined quantitative analysis with consumer-centric storytelling, enabling readers to better understand fund positioning, portfolio changes and long-term investment opportunities.<br><br> Kirti holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi, and a Master's in Finance from the Jindal School of Banking & Finance at O.P. Jindal Global University. Her academic training emphasised analytical thinking, quantitative research and financial decision-making, providing a strong foundation in understanding capital markets, financial systems and economic policy. With a combined experience in investment research and financial journalism, she is committed to producing accurate, accessible and insightful journalism that empowers readers to make well-informed financial decisions.
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