Motilal Oswal Focused Fund topped the focused mutual fund category with a 13.9% return over the past year, outperforming peers like SBI and Kotak Focused Funds. Investors should note that while short-term returns are high, the fund's performance relative to its benchmark has fluctuated significantly over three-year periods.
Motilal Oswal Focused Fund has emerged as the top-performing scheme in the focused mutual fund category, recording a one-year Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 13.9% as of July 6, 2026. This performance places it ahead of notable peers such as the SBI Focused Fund and the Kotak Focused Fund, which reported returns of 10.4% and 8.5%, respectively, over the same one-year timeframe.
Performance Trends and Benchmark Comparisons
While the one-year figures highlight strong recent momentum, context regarding benchmark performance is essential for investors. Data indicates that the Motilal Oswal Focused Fund outperformed its specific benchmark by 9.5 percentage points during the past year, as the benchmark itself returned 4.4%. However, historical data shows that performance is not uniform across all time horizons. Over a three-year period, the fund trailed its benchmark by 5.4 percentage points, with the benchmark delivering a 16.8% return.
Market data further illustrates that fund rankings are highly dynamic. For example, while Motilal Oswal leads in the one-year and three-month periods, other schemes like the ICICI Pru Focused Equity Fund have shown different strengths, such as delivering the highest one-month return of 8.2% among top-tier schemes. Additionally, the ICICI Pru Focused Equity Fund currently leads the three-year performance category with a return of 18.8%.
Factors for Investor Consideration
Investors evaluating these funds should look beyond single-period returns. Focused funds generally maintain a concentrated portfolio, which can lead to higher volatility compared to diversified equity schemes. The performance gap between short-term spikes and three-year averages highlights why tracking consistent long-term performance is often more reliable than chasing short-term leaders.
Asset size also remains a key metric for institutional and retail investors. Among the top five funds in this category, the SBI Focused Fund manages the largest corpus, with assets under management totaling Rs 46,623.4 crore. Large asset bases can sometimes impact a fund manager’s ability to enter or exit positions quickly, which is a factor to consider alongside return data. The most important monitorables for investors moving forward will be the fund’s ability to narrow the performance gap against its benchmark over longer durations and how individual portfolio managers adjust strategies during sector-specific volatility.