Which stocks dominate the top holdings of India’s popular small-cap mutual funds?
Mutual fund holdings are a useful window into fund manager conviction and sectoral preference. Small-cap funds often show higher churn and concentration versus large-cap peers — making a look-through of top five holdings essential before allocation. Below are standardised top-five lists (fund → 1 to 5) for each fund.
Top 5 holdings — fund snapshot
- Nippon India Small Cap Fund: Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd; HDFC Bank; State Bank of India; Karur Vysya Bank; Kirloskar Brothers.
- Quant Small Cap Fund: Reliance Industries; Jio Financial Services; RBL Bank; Aegis Logistics; Adani Power.
- Axis Small Cap Fund: Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences; Brigade Enterprises; Multi Commodity Exchange of India; CCL Products; Kaynes Technology India.
- Bandhan Small Cap Fund: Sobha; REC; South Indian Bank; LT Foods; Cholamandalam Financial Holdings.
- HDFC Small Cap Fund: Firstsource Solutions; eClerx Services; Aster DM Healthcare; Bank of Baroda; Gabriel India.
- Canara Robeco Small Cap Fund: Multi Commodity Exchange of India; KEI Industries; Karur Vysya Bank; GE Vernova T&D India; City Union Bank.
- Edelweiss Small Cap Fund: City Union Bank; Karur Vysya Bank; Uno Minda; Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences; Gabriel India.
- Franklin India Small Cap Fund: Brigade Enterprises; Aster DM Healthcare; Syrma SGS Technology; ERIS Lifesciences; CCL Products.
Quick take: repeated names (e.g., MCX, Karur Vysya Bank, City Union Bank, Brigade, Aster DM) indicate concentration pockets and common small-cap themes: financials (regional/private banks), specialised industrials, healthcare & export-oriented manufacturing/consumer plays. Overlap can amplify sector risk during cyclical stress.
Peer comparison — what to watch
| Fund | Top Sector Bias | Overlap / Note |
|---|---|---|
| Nippon India Small Cap | Financials / Industrial | MCX & banks overlap across funds |
| Quant Small Cap | Large conglomerates + financials | High weighting to Reliance group names |
| Axis Small Cap | Healthcare / Industrials | Brigade & KIMS common with Franklin |
How to read this: a fund with top-holdings concentrated in cyclical names (e.g., commodity-related or regional banks) will show higher sensitivity to macro cycles. A diversified small-cap portfolio ideally spreads conviction across sectors to reduce idiosyncratic shocks.
Strengths
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Weaknesses
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Investors should weigh conviction against concentration: a high-performing small-cap fund may still be riskier if positions are narrowly clustered.
Opportunities
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Threats
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Practical rule: check a fund’s top-10 overlap with your existing equity holdings and measure active share versus a small-cap benchmark before adding exposure.
Valuation & investment view
Small-cap funds can be a performance engine in a multi-asset portfolio, but they require higher conviction and tolerance for volatility. Consider staggered SIP entry, review top-10 overlap quarterly and prefer funds with clear stock-selection stories. For intraday/short-term directional cues refer to BankNifty Tip when aligning tactical exposure.
Investor Takeaway
Gulshan Khera, CFP®, recommends that small-cap allocations should be sized to risk tolerance and rebalanced based on manager conviction and overlap. Use the top-holdings review as a primary filter — avoid duplicative exposure and prefer staggered SIPs to reduce entry-timing risk.
Related Queries on small-cap funds and holdings
- How to read mutual fund top holdings
- What is concentration risk in small-cap funds
- How much allocation to small-cap funds is right
- How to check overlap between two funds
- When to switch small-cap funds — performance vs process
