How we rate mutual funds, and how well it has worked
Every rating on this site is computed from public data with rules we publish here, including where they fall short. Equity, hybrid and debt funds do different jobs, so each family is measured on what matters for its job.
The rules for every fund
- Like with like. Each fund is compared only with funds of the same SEBI category and plan type: Regular with Regular, Direct with Direct.
- The right yardstick. Equity funds against their category's total-return index (which includes dividends); hybrid funds against a blend of equity and bond yardsticks; debt funds against the median fund of their category.
- After costs. Every return is taken from the NAV, which is already net of the fund's expenses.
- Enough history. Three years to be rated (one year for index, overnight, liquid and money-market funds). Younger funds show as unrated.
- Portfolio checks. A fund whose portfolio breaks its SEBI category rules in two consecutive months moves one rating lower, and its page says why.
What is measured
Equity funds use a model chosen for each category from about 40 tested: mostly recent return over the index (1 to 12 months), how much of the market's rises a fund captures, and its lean towards the part of the market its category allows. Focused funds add conviction (how far they stray from the index); multi-cap funds average three views including defence in falls. When a category's index is below its 200-day average, half the score switches to the traits of funds that rebound first after a fall.
Hybrid funds are rated on return over their composite yardstick, protection in falls and consistency. Debt funds on return over their category median, consistency and how they behaved on bad days. Arbitrage funds must also beat the median liquid fund after tax to be rated A or A+.
Ratings
| Rating | Equity funds | Hybrid, debt and index funds |
|---|---|---|
| A+ | Score of 75 or more out of 100 | Top 10%, score 70+, ahead of its yardstick over 3 years and in its median 3-year window |
| A | Score of 65 or more | Top 30%, score 55+, ahead on at least one of the two |
| B | The middle of the group | The middle of the group |
| C | The bottom 30% (below 65) | The bottom 30%, or held back by a red flag |
A qualitative flag, such as a fund manager leaving, a merger or SEBI action, turns A and A+ into Watch.
Did it work?
For every month from 2012 to October 2025 we rated each category using only what was known on that date, with the same code that rates funds today, including funds that later closed or merged, and then looked at what happened next. Since COVID (Apr 2020 - Oct 2025), on average 68% of A+ funds beat their index over the following year, against 53% of all funds.
| Category | A+ | A | B | C | All |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Large Capcore model | 64% | 56% | 53% | 44% | 52% |
| Large & Mid Capall-rounder model | 68% | 54% | 43% | 47% | 47% |
| Mid Capmid-cap model | 60% | 56% | 42% | 28% | 41% |
| Small Capsmall-cap model | 68% | 69% | 53% | 47% | 55% |
| Flexi Capcore model | 67% | 54% | 51% | 38% | 49% |
| Multi Capmomentum and defence model | 71% | 70% | 56% | 64% | 62% |
| Focusedconviction model | 68% | 63% | 49% | 39% | 50% |
| ELSScore model | 72% | 62% | 52% | 43% | 53% |
| Value / Contracore model | 83% | 67% | 62% | 56% | 64% |
| Sectoral/Thematiccore model | 61% | 64% | 58% | 50% | 57% |
Share of funds ahead of their index over the next year, by rating, Apr 2020 - Oct 2025; Regular and Direct plans. The models were chosen after seeing this history, so these figures flatter them a little. In years when large caps led the market, A+ funds in several categories trailed their index. These are odds from past data, not promises.
When ratings change
Ratings are revised on the 11th of each month, once fund houses have published the previous month's portfolios (due by the 10th), and again on the 16th for late portfolios. Between those dates the site updates every weekday morning with the latest NAVs, returns and period rankings, while ratings stay as last set.
Data and limits
Data comes from AMFI (NAVs, expense ratios, AUM, market-cap lists), NSE Indices (total-return indices) and fund houses' monthly portfolio disclosures. Fund manager changes are not yet tracked automatically; debt funds are rated on their NAVs, not yet on the credit quality of the bonds they hold.
Ratings describe a fund's past record and are not a forecast or a recommendation to buy or sell. Disclosures