5 top flexi-cap funds in September with over 15% CAGR; how they compare on SIP, volatility measures

Flexi-cap funds are free to move across large-, mid- and small-cap stocks. ACE MF data as on September 11, 2026 place HDFC Flexi Cap Fund, Bank of India Flexi Cap Fund, JM Flexi Cap Fund, ICICI Prudential Flexi Cap Fund and Quant Flexi Cap Fund at the top of the category’s five-year table, with four of them compounding at over 15% year.

HDFC Flexi Cap Fund leads with a five-year return of 17.47%, ranked first among 27 schemes over five years. Bank of India Flexi Cap Fund is following HDFC at 16.79% (rank 2 of 27) against the BSE 500 TRI’s 7.39%. JM Flexi Cap Fund is at rank 3 with 15.74% returns, ICICI Prudential flexi-cap at rank 4 with 15.21% and Quant flexi-cap at rank 5 with 14.99%.

Top 5 Flexi-Cap Funds in Five Years

Recent form of these schemes, however, turns the table upside down. Over the past year, Quant flexi-cap leads the entire category with 13.72% (rank 1 among 41 schemes), with Bank of India flexi-cap close behind at 13.32% (rank 3). ICICI Prudential flexi-cap managed just 5.29% (rank 15) and JM flexi-cap 2.62% (rank 22), while HDFC flexi-cap, the five-year champion, returned just 1.86% in 1 year and ranks 23 of 41 schemes.

The June quarter was kinder for these funds. Quant flexi-cap recorded 24.07%, Bank of India flexi-cap 17.23%, JM flexi-cap 16.95%, ICICI flexi-cap 15.34% and HDFC flexi-cap 10.28%, after a 2025-26 in which all but JM flexi-cap beat the NIFTY 50 returns, according to ACE MF.

Assets Under Management (₹ crore)

HDFC Flexi Cap, with AUM of ₹1,13,606.47 crore as on August 31, 2026, is more than four times the size of ICICI flexi-cap. Quant, JM, and Bank of India flexi-caps trail the top two schemes. Quant flexi-cap’s net assets have multiplied from ₹ 198.02 crore in March 2022 to ₹ 5,687.36 crore in March 2026, a 28-fold rise.

Value of a ₹ 5,000 Monthly SIP (Direct Plans, ₹)

For SIP investors, a monthly ₹5,000 over five years is worth ₹4,66,250 in Bank of India’s fund. The others range from JM’s ₹4,31,650 to HDFC’s ₹4,36,850. Over one year, HDFC flexi-cap’s SIP investors have barely moved, ₹60,943 on a ₹60,000 investment, while over 10 years Quant flexi-cap’s SIP is worth ₹17,44,369.

Volatility measures

One year volatility measures data shows Quant flexi-cap fund is the most volatile of the five in one year, with a standard deviation of 1.00 and a beta of 1.01. However, it has the best of the five Sharpe ratio (0.05), indicating its swings have been rewarded. HDFC flexi-cap has the calmest portfolio in this group of five, with a standard deviation of 0.78 and the lowest beta at 0.86, but a Sharpe of zero, indicating the scheme's steadiness didn't help with returns over the past year. Bank of India flexi-cap has the best of both worlds: a below-market beta of 0.89 with a Sharpe of 0.05.

Quant flexi-cap fund, managed by Sandeep Tandon has a highly concentrated book with 27 stocks across 17 sectors, as of August 2026. SamvardhanaMotherson alone constitutes 9.63% and four Adani group companies add up to over 22% of assets. HDFC flexi-cap, managed by Amit Ganatra holds 78 stocks with 28.60% in banks, led by ICICI Bank at 9.19%. ICICI Pru’s fund, has 25.95% riding on automobile stocks.

Scheme portfolio

Three takeaways

First, data above shows that the five-year and one-year leader boards share no common name at the top. While HDFC flexi-cap fund rules the long game, Quant is at the top in one year, indicating fund selection matters as much as the category.

Second, the biggest fund has also been the steadiest, while the most concentrated book has lately been the most rewarding.

Third, volatility ranges widely among these schemes, with standard deviations ranging from 0.78 to 1.00. But only some of that risk has been paid for. This means the Sharpe column deserves a closer look than the returns column.