Over the last 15 years, Indian and global markets have experienced major shifts – from the aftermath of the global financial crisis, to emerging market rallies, to COVID-19-related volatility, and a tech-driven bull market. Despite this, several mutual funds have failed to deliver even 9% annualised returns. These include international, sectoral, and thematic mutual funds which often carry higher volatility and concentration risk. In this article, we bring you the 10 Worst Performing Mutual Funds in the Last 15 Years (as of 5-June-2025) which delivered between 4.4% to 9.0% CAGR.
There are 11 Mutual Funds that lost 10% to 22% in 2025.
How We Identified These Worst Performing Mutual Funds?
- Considered equity mutual funds including sectoral, thematic and international funds.
- Excluded ETFs and index funds.
- Sorted funds based on their 15-year CAGR returns.
- Only regular plan considered as direct plans of mutual funds were not existing 15 years back.
- We filtered 10 mutual funds that delivered low returns of 4.4% to 9.0% CAGR returns in the last 15 years.
- The data is as of 5th June, 2025 and data source is from ValueResearch and MoneyControl.
List of 10 Worst Performing Mutual Funds in the Last 15 Years
| Mutual Fund Scheme | 15 Yr CAGR |
|---|---|
| DSP World Mining Fund of Fund | 4.4% |
| DSP Global Clean Energy FoF | 4.7% |
| DSP World Gold FoF | 4.8% |
| PGIM India Emerging Markets Equity Fund | 5.2% |
| HSBC Global Emerging Markets Fund | 6.0% |
| Aditya Birla SL Global Emerging Opp. Fund | 6.1% |
| Kotak Global Emerging Market Fund | 7.3% |
| Franklin Asian Equity Fund | 7.6% |
| LIC MF Children’s Fund | 7.9% |
| Sundaram Global Brand Theme FoF | 9.0% |
Deep Dive into These Worst Performing Mutual Funds in the Last 15 Years
#1 – DSP World Mining Fund of Fund – 15-Year CAGR: 4.4%
- Objective: Invests in BlackRock Global Funds – World Mining Fund.
- Annualised returns:
- 3 Year: 1.5%
- 5 year: 14.3%
- 10 year: 10.4%
- 15 year: 4.4%
- Expense Ratio: 1.51%
- Beta: 0.65
- Alpha: -9.12
- Benefits: Exposure to global mining and metal stocks, potential hedge during commodity rallies.
- Risks: Highly cyclical, subject to global commodity demand and price fluctuations.
- Our View: This fund is highly sensitive to global commodity cycles and has seen large drawdowns. Its low long-term return despite higher volatility makes it a poor fit for long-term investors.
This fund was analysed by us in our earlier article in 10 Worst Performing Mutual Funds in 1 Year.
#2 – DSP Global Clean Energy Fund of Fund – 15-Year CAGR: 4.7%
- Objective: Invests in overseas clean energy ETFs/funds.
- Annualised returns:
- 3 Year: 6.1%
- 5 year: 8.5%
- 10 year: 3.4%
- 15 year: 4.7%
- Expense Ratio: 1.54%
- Beta: 0.52
- Alpha: -3.94
- Benefits: Invests in the rising clean and renewable energy sector.
- Risks: High valuation risk, regulatory dependence, and market cycles.
- Our View: The global clean energy story remains promising, but this fund’s inability to deliver sustainable returns raises concerns. Better options exist for global diversification.
This fund is part of our earlier article on 10 Worst Performing Mutual Funds in last 10 years.
#3 – DSP World Gold FoF – 15-Year CAGR: 4.8%
- Objective: Provides exposure to global gold mining companies.
- Annualised returns:
- 3 Year: 23.5%
- 5 year: 13.4%
- 10 year: 12.9%
- 15 year: 4.8%
- Expense Ratio: 1.69%
- Beta: 0.51
- Alpha: 12.4
- Benefits: Acts as a hedge against inflation and geopolitical risk.
- Risks: Highly volatile, cyclical, and linked to gold prices.
- Our View: Extremely cyclical and volatile. Suitable only for short-term allocations and not for long-term wealth building.
#4 – PGIM India Emerging Markets Equity Fund – 15-Year CAGR: 5.2%
- Objective: Invests in emerging market companies excluding India.
- Annualised returns:
- 3 Year: 11.0%
- 5 year: 2.8%
- 10 year: 3.3%
- 15 year: 5.2%
- Expense Ratio: 1.39%
- Beta: 0.48
- Alpha: -0.05
- Benefits: Diversified exposure to global EMs with long-term growth potential.
- Risks: Political instability, currency risk, and poor fund performance.
- Our View: Global EM allocation makes sense, but this fund’s poor track record makes it a questionable choice for long-term portfolios.
#5 – Aditya Birla SL Global Emerging Opportunities Fund – 15-Year CAGR: 6.1%
- Objective: Targets long-term capital growth through global EM stocks.
- Annualised returns:
- 3 Year: 11.2%
- 5 year: 12.8%
- 10 year: 8.5%
- 15 year: 6.1%
- Expense Ratio: 0.61%
- Beta: 4.32
- Alpha: 1.69
- Benefits: Access to global companies across sectors and geographies.
- Risks: Performance volatility and emerging market instability.
- Our View: Generated inline with a bank FD returns. Investors should think whether they can take risk and invest in such funds or invest in a simple FD with zero or low risk.
#6 – HSBC Global Emerging Markets Fund – 15-Year CAGR: 5.9%
- Objective: Exposure to global EM equity opportunities.
- Annualised returns:
- 3 Year: 5.6%
- 5 year: 7.2%
- 10 year: 6.5%
- 15 year: 5.9%
- Expense Ratio: 0.79%
- Beta: 0.52
- Alpha: -5.7
- Benefits: International diversification, potential EM growth.
- Risks: Currency and political risks in EM countries, underperformance.
- Our View: Negative Alpha and inconsistent performance. Better to opt for broader global or US-focused funds.
#7 – Kotak Global Emerging Market Fund – 15-Year CAGR: 7.3%
- Objective: Invests in emerging markets globally.
- Annualised returns:
- 3 Year: 7.7%
- 5 year: 8.2%
- 10 year: 5.5%
- 15 year: 7.3%
- Expense Ratio: 1.25%
- Beta: NA
- Alpha: NA
- Benefits: Global EM exposure with potential upside.
- Risks: Market volatility, currency depreciation, lower-than-benchmark returns.
Our View: Suitable for investors wanting limited EM exposure. Performance doesn’t justify long holding period.
This fund is part our earlier article we wrote on 10 Worst Performing Mutual Funds in last 5 years.
#8 – Franklin Asian Equity Fund – 15-Year CAGR: 7.6%
- Objective: Invests in Asian companies (ex-Japan).
- Annualised returns:
- 3 Year: 6.4%
- 5 year: 5.4%
- 10 year: 6.7%
- 15 year: 7.6%
- Expense Ratio: 1.57%
- Beta: 0.62
- Alpha: -6.01
- Benefits: Focused exposure to high-growth Asian economies.
- Risks: Region-specific risks like trade wars, political instability.
- Our View: Despite access to high-growth Asian markets, the fund has not created significant long-term wealth.
#9 – LIC MF Children’s Fund – 15-Year CAGR: 7.9%
- Objective: Aimed at long-term wealth creation for children’s future needs.
- Annualised returns:
- 3 Year: 13.6%
- 5 year: 15.6%
- 10 year: 9.4%
- 15 year: 7.9%
- Expense Ratio: 1.68%
- Beta: 1.35
- Alpha: -4.42
- Benefits: Goal-based investing with equity-debt mix.
- Risks: Conservative allocation may result in lower long-term returns.
- Our View: Not attractive compared to peers in child-oriented funds. May suit for conservative investors only.
#10 – Sundaram Global Brand Theme FoF – 15-Year CAGR: 9.0%
- Objective: Invests in global companies with strong brand equity.
- Annualised returns:
- 3 Year: 15.6%
- 5 year: 13.1%
- 10 year: 9.5%
- 15 year: 9.0%
- Expense Ratio: 1.42%
- Beta: NA
- Alpha: NA
- Benefits: Exposure to globally established consumer brands.
- Risks: Concentrated bets, global valuation risks.
- Our View: Global brand investing can work in certain cycles. However, high volatility and valuation risks may limit long-term compounding.
Final Thoughts
If you are currently invested in any of these mutual funds, it’s important to assess:
- Does this fund align with your financial goals and risk profile?
- Is the fund’s poor performance due to market cycles or poor fund management?
- Are there better alternatives in similar categories?
Review short-, medium- and long-term performance before making an exit. Always consult an advisor before making portfolio-level changes.
Founder at Myinvestmentideas.com
Suresh KP is a seasoned financial expert with over 20 years of experience. He is NISM Certified Investment Adviser and Research Analyst. For more about his expertise and certifications, visit About Suresh KP
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Good info, thanks, can you please write an article explaining how to select a mutual fund based on their risk parameters (alpha, beta, SD, etc etc), when to exit the fund based on their performance results.
sure Sathish