Launched at the Covid bottom, now no. 1 since inception: Union Midcap Fund’s 31% ride explained

Launched on March 23, 2020, within days of the Covid-led market bottom, Union Midcap Fund's direct plan has delivered a compounded annual growth rate of 31%, the best in its category since inception, according to ACE MF data as of September 11, 2026.

Scheme performance vis-a-vis benchmark and category

Though the scheme’s since-inception number is impressive, it needs context for understanding.

The fund has delivered 15.66% annualised returns over five years and ranks 14 among 25 schemes with that history, against the benchmark BSE 150 MidCap TRI’s 14.63%. Over three years it returned 16.22% (rank 19 of 29) versus the benchmark’s 13.43%, and over one year 10.27% (rank 11 of 31) against 4.67%.

The gap between the since-inception rank and other periods is largely a gift of the launch date. A fund born at the market’s bottom compounds its early gains for years.

The annual return data shows the same fund delivering varying fortunes for investors year-on-year: 27.65% in FY 2021-22 against the NIFTY’s 17.47%, exactly zero in 2022-23 against NIFTY’s -1.76%, 47.52% in 2023-24, 9.85% in 2024-25 and just 5.65% in 2025-26, a year in which the NIFTY delivered - 3.60% return.

However, the current financial year has begun strongly for the scheme, with an 18.10% gain in the June quarter, and the scheme’s NAV has ranged between a 52-week low of ₹47.16 and a high of ₹58.86.

Union Midcap Fund’s assets have grown rapidly, from ₹410.20 crore in March 2022 to ₹1,497.77 crore in March 2026, and ₹2,005.31 crore as on August 31, 2026. The scheme is managed by Gaurav Chopra of Union AMC.

_ Source: ACE MF_

For SIP investors, a monthly SIP of ₹5,000 in this scheme has grown to ₹4,56,609 over five years. Over three years the same SIP is worth ₹2,18,759 against ₹1,80,000 invested, and over one year ₹64,852 against ₹60,000.

Risk ratios

The scheme’s standard deviation, computed over one year of daily returns, stands at 0.99. A beta of 0.97 means the fund moves almost in lockstep with the market, and a Sharpe ratio of 0.03 is positive but modest, indicating the fund has been paid for its risk over the past year, without much to spare.

Scheme portfolio

Union Midcap Fund’s portfolio till August 31, 2026, was unusually with 73 stocks spread across 21 sectors. The scheme’s largest holding, Federal Bank, accounts for just 3.33%. Finance (13.93%), automobiles & ancillaries (13.81%), IT (11.82%) and healthcare (10.37%) lead the sector weights.

The average market capitalisation of holdings as of August 31, 2026 was Rs 84,461 crore, and the portfolio traded at 58.67 times earnings and 9.05 times book.

Takeaways

There are three takeaways for investors.

First, since-inception CAGRs may flatter funds launched at market bottoms. Union Midcap’s 31% says as much about March 2020 as about stock-picking.

Second, the fund has beaten its benchmark over one, three and five years even as its category rank in these durations is in the mid-range.

Third, with a standard deviation close to 1 and a portfolio at nearly 59 times earnings, this scheme may suit long horizons and SIP discipline rather than lumpsum timing. But investors should be cautious as past returns do not guarantee anything about the future.