5 top large-cap funds in October 2026 by 10-year SIP returns: How they compare on returns, size and volatility

Large-cap funds invest mostly into India’s biggest and best-known companies that make up the Sensex and the Nifty. They are usually steadier than mid-cap and small-cap funds. The direct plans of five large-cap schemes below have made that steadiness count over 10 years. Ace MF data shows that a monthly SIP of ₹5,000 over the past 10 years in these funds would today be worth between ₹11.41 lakh and ₹12.24 lakh. Every one of them did better than the same SIP would have done in its benchmark index.

Nippon India Large Cap Fund leads the group, turning that ₹5000 a month SIP into ₹12,24,081. Invesco India Largecap Fund is second at ₹12,09,283, followed by Bandhan Large Cap Fund (₹11,49,907), ICICI Prudential Large Cap Fund (₹11,49,061) and Canara Robeco Large Cap Fund (₹11,41,679). By comparison, the same SIP in the BSE 100 index would have grown to about ₹10.04 lakh, and in the Nifty 100 to about ₹10.32 lakh.

What a ₹5,000 monthly SIP is worth after 10 years (₹)

Of these five schemes, Nippon India, Bandhan and Canara Robeco large-cap funds are benchmarked to the BSE 100 index, while Invesco and ICICI Prudential to the Nifty 100.

The ranking order of these schemes changes when the period shrinks. For instance, over five years, Nippon India again comes first with an average annual return of 11.65%, which is also the highest among 28 large-cap funds, followed by Invesco (10.37%), ICICI Prudential (9.99%), Bandhan (9.52%) and Canara Robeco (7.97%).

Over three years, Invesco is the strongest of the five at 12.89%. Since their launch in January 2013, all five schemes have compounded at 12.5 to 14.6% a year.

Returns over different periods and 5-year ranking

The past year, though, has been forgettable for these five schemes. All five funds lost money, with Invesco the least hurt (down 0.68%) and ICICI Prudential the worst (down 7.80%).

Large-cap indices peaked in early January 2026 and bottomed in late March, and the funds’ 52-week high and low dates fall on exactly those days, as per data till October 7, 2027. Their three-month returns range from minus 4% to minus 6.7%.

How do they compare on volatility?

The following table shows how these funds compare on various risk measures over the past year:

Note: How much a fund’s value bounces around is measured by standard deviation. A higher standard deviation means a bumpier ride. Beta shows how strongly a fund moves with the market. A figure above 1 means it swings more than the index. The Sharpe ratio shows whether a fund was paid for the risk it took. A negative Sharpe ratio means it was not, during that period.

On these measures, ICICI Prudential is the calmest of the five, with the lowest standard deviation (0.81) and a beta of 0.92, meaning it moves less than the market. Invesco sits at the other end, the most volatile (0.94) and the only one with a beta above 1 (1.04). All five Sharpe ratios are negative, which means that the past year rewarded nobody in this category. However, please note that these are one-year readings, not permanent labels.

The five funds also differ greatly in size. ICICI Prudential Large Cap Fund is the biggest of the five, managing ₹80,206 crore, followed by Nippon India at ₹54,134 crore and Canara Robeco at ₹15,963 crore. Bandhan (₹2,180 crore) and Invesco (₹2,021 crore) are far smaller.

Size, fund manager and portfolio (as on the latest available date)

Banks are the biggest sector in every one of the five scheme, from 18% of Invesco’s portfolio to 26% of Canara Robeco’s. ICICI Bank is the single largest holding in four of the five funds. For Nippon India, it is HDFC Bank.

HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, Infosys and Larsen & Toubro also appear in most of them. This means an investor holding two or three of these funds may end up owning much the same set of companies.

However, where these schemes differ is valuation and style.

ICICI Prudential holds the cheapest portfolio, at 29.3 times earnings, and the largest companies on average. Invesco’s portfolio is the most expensive, at 42.4 times earnings, and holds smaller companies, making it the most volatile of the five.

Three takeaways for investors

First, over 10 years, the five funds are bunched closely together. The gap between the best and worst SIP outcome is about ₹82,000 on a ₹6 lakh investment. This indicates that staying invested matters more than finding the single best fund.

Second, all five schemes lost money in the past year. This shows that even large-cap funds can go through long bad patches.

Third, the differences that matter most are size and risk. The largest fund is also the steadiest, while the smallest and most expensive one swings the most.