Top 5 mutual funds in India by AUM: Returns comparison over 1, 3 and 5 years

India's biggest mutual fund schemes manage several lakh crores of investors' money. The country's biggest scheme by assets under management (AUM), Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund, manages over ₹1.41 lakh crore, followed by HDFC Balanced Advantage Fund.

But does the biggest fund also deliver the best returns? Here’s a look at how the top five mutual funds by AUM have performed over the past one, three, and five years.

Which are India's 5 biggest mutual funds by AUM?

Assets Under Management (AUM) refers to the total market value of the investments managed by a mutual fund scheme. A higher AUM generally reflects a larger investor base and the fund's popularity.

Here is the list of the top 5 funds by AUM.

Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund is the country's largest mutual fund scheme, with an AUM of ₹1.41 lakh crore, making it the only scheme on this list to cross ₹1.4 lakh crore.

It is followed by HDFC Balanced Advantage Fund with an AUM of ₹1.04 lakh crore, while HDFC Flexi Cap Fund ranks third at ₹1.02 lakh crore.

HDFC Mid Cap Fund occupies the fourth spot with assets of ₹97,350 crore, and ICICI Prudential Multi Asset Fund comes last with an AUM of ₹84,165 crore.

How these top 5 funds have performed over the years?

If you had invested ₹1 lakh in Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund one year ago, your investment would have fallen to around ₹96,700. On the other hand, ICICI Prudential Multi Asset Fund delivered the highest one-year return among these five funds, taking your ₹1 lakh investment to ₹1,05,840.

Over the last three years, Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund delivered the lowest CAGR among the five at 14.62%. In comparison, HDFC Mid Cap Fund posted the highest three-year CAGR of 20.62%.

Over the last five years, Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund again had the lowest CAGR at 14.65%. The highest five-year return came from HDFC Mid Cap Fund, which generated a 20.69% CAGR.

Among the five, ICICI Prudential Multi Asset Fund delivered the highest return over the last year, while HDFC Mid Cap Fund gave the highest returns over the last 3 and 5 years.

A higher AUM generally indicates strong investor participation and sustained inflows, but it should not be the sole factor while selecting a mutual fund.

Investors can also evaluate the fund's long-term performance, investment strategy, risk profile, and expense ratio, and check whether it aligns with their financial goals before making an investment decision.

Disclaimer: This is purely for educational/ informational purposes and should not be taken as any sort of investment advice. Always consult a SEBI-registered advisor before making any investment decisions.