Nifty is still below its peak, and even the midcap and smallcap indices remain 15% to 20% lower than their respective highs. However, several mutual funds have their NAVs at 52-week highs. At first glance, this may seem attractive, but there could be many underlying factors to consider. In this article, we will provide a list of 20 equity mutual funds currently trading at their 52-week high NAVs. We’ll also discuss their categories, the criteria used to filter these funds, their performance, and key points investors should keep in mind before investing.
What is NAV in Mutual Funds?
NAV (Net Asset Value) in mutual funds refers to the per-unit value of the fund’s assets minus its liabilities. It is calculated as:
NAV = (Total Assets – Total Liabilities) / Total Number of Units Outstanding
It indicates the market value of one mutual fund unit and is updated daily based on the closing market prices of the underlying securities. In our earlier article we have provided 20 Equity Funds that has generated positive returns every year in the last 10 years, means the NAV was higher at the end of the year compared to the year beginning which is a positive sign for the mutual fund scheme.
How We Filtered These Mutual Funds?
- We considered all open-ended equity mutual funds across categories including thematic mutual funds, sector funds and global funds.
- Then, we filtered out the funds where the current NAV is equal to the 52-week high NAV, indicating that these funds have reached their peak in the last one year.
- This exercise gave us a list of 20 equity mutual funds across various themes and categories.
- The data is as of 28-May-25 from Value Research Online.
List of 20 Mutual Fund Schemes at 52 Week High NAVs
|
Fund Name |
Latest NAV | 52-Week High NAV |
|---|---|---|
| Edelweiss ASEAN Equity Off-shore Fund | 32.97 | 32.97 |
| HDFC Defence Fund | 25.60 | 25.60 |
| Kotak Nifty Financial Services Ex-Bank Index Fund | 15.12 | 15.12 |
| DSP Banking & Financial Services Fund | 13.45 | 13.45 |
| Groww Nifty India Defence ETF FoF | 12.90 | 12.90 |
| Aditya Birla SL Nifty India Defence Index Fund | 12.49 | 12.49 |
| Motilal Oswal Innovation Opportunities Fund | 11.77 | 11.77 |
| Mirae Asset BSE Select IPO ETF FoF | 11.76 | 11.76 |
| Groww Banking & Financial Services Fund | 11.73 | 11.73 |
| Navi Nifty Smallcap250 Momentum Quality 100 Index Fund | 11.47 | 11.47 |
| Nippon India Active Momentum Fund | 11.45 | 11.45 |
| Motilal Oswal Nifty India Defence Index Fund | 11.43 | 11.43 |
| Baroda BNP Paribas Energy Opportunities Fund | 11.37 | 11.37 |
| Helios Mid Cap Fund | 11.33 | 11.33 |
| SBI BSE PSU Bank Index Fund | 11.02 | 11.02 |
| Nippon India Nifty 500 Quality 50 Index Fund | 10.91 | 10.91 |
| Kotak Nifty Smallcap 250 Index Fund | 10.83 | 10.83 |
| Kotak Nifty Midcap 150 Index Fund | 10.80 | 10.80 |
| Motilal Oswal Active Momentum Fund | 10.57 | 10.57 |
| Motilal Oswal Nifty Capital Market Index Fund | 9.78 | 9.78 |
20 Mutual Fund Schemes at 52 Week High NAVs – Grouping by MF Category
The returns more than 1 year are annualised returns. Wherever it is indicated as NA means the fund is not existing at that time. Lets get into more details about each category, benefits of investing in such funds and risks in such schemes.
#1 – Defence Sector Funds
Mutual Fund Performance:
|
Fund Name |
3 Mth | 6 Mth | 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HDFC Defence Fund | 55.1% | 14.0% | 16.8% | NA | NA | NA |
| Groww Nifty India Defence ETF FoF | 67.6% | 29.9% | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Aditya Birla SL Nifty India Defence Index Fund | 69.8% | 29.9% | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Motilal Oswal Nifty India Defence Index Fund | 70.2% | 30.4% | NA | NA | NA | NA |
Benefits:
- Exposure to India’s growing defence sector.
- Sector backed by strong government policies and increasing defence budgets.
- High return potential in bullish markets.
Risks:
- Highly concentrated in one sector.
- Vulnerable to changes in government policy and defence budgets.
- Can be volatile compared to diversified funds. You can invest in some of the Top Flexicap Mutual Funds if you want to avoid such volatility.
#2 – Banking & Financial Services Funds
Mutual Fund Performance:
|
Fund Name |
3 Mth | 6 Mth | 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DSP Banking & Financial Services Fund | 16.3% | 11.8% | 25.9% | NA | NA | NA |
| Kotak Nifty Financial Services Ex-Bank Index Fund | 19.7% | 14.9% | 23.9% | NA | NA | NA |
| Groww Banking & Financial Services Fund | 18.8% | 4.7% | 12.1% | NA | NA | NA |
| SBI BSE PSU Bank Index Fund | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Motilal Oswal Nifty Capital Market Index Fund | 33.5% | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
Benefits:
- Exposure to a key driver of the Indian economy.
- Strong long-term growth prospects with digital banking trends.
- Suitable for investors bullish on BFSI sector.
Risks:
- Sensitive to interest rate movements and economic cycles. There are good debt mutual fund schemes to invest now in 2025 where interest rates are falling.
- NPAs and policy changes can impact returns.
- May underperform during financial market downturns.
#3 – Momentum & Quality Strategies
Mutual Fund Performance:
|
Fund Name |
3 Mth | 6 Mth | 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nippon India Active Momentum Fund | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Navi Nifty Smallcap250 Momentum Quality 100 Index Fund | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Motilal Oswal Active Momentum Fund | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Nippon India Nifty 500 Quality 50 Index Fund | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
Benefits:
- Focuses on high-performing stocks with strong recent momentum or fundamentals.
- May outperform during trending markets.
- Smart beta and factor-based strategy. You can check about 20 Equity Mutual Funds with Low Beta and High Alpha funds too.
Risks:
- May underperform during sideways or corrective markets.
- Smart beta strategies may not always deliver consistent alpha.
- Often higher volatility due to concentrated bets.
#4 – Mid & Small Cap Oriented Funds
Mutual Fund Performance:
|
Fund Name |
3 Mth | 6 Mth | 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helios Mid Cap Fund | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Kotak Nifty Midcap 150 Index Fund | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Kotak Nifty Smallcap 250 Index Fund | 20.5% | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
Benefits:
- Potential for higher returns compared to large-cap funds. You can refer to Top Bluechip Mutual Funds for 2025 too.
- Exposure to emerging companies with growth potential.
- Suitable for long-term investors with high risk tolerance.
Risks:
- Higher volatility compared to large-cap counterparts.
- Liquidity risks in smallcap segment.
- Can underperform during market corrections.
#5 – Thematic/International/Innovation Funds
Mutual Fund Performance:
|
Fund Name |
3 Mth | 6 Mth | 1 Year | 3 Years | 5 Years | 10 Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edelweiss ASEAN Equity Off-shore Fund | 8.1% | 5.8% | 22.1% | 9.1% | 11.4% | 6.9% |
| Motilal Oswal Innovation Opportunities Fund | 17.7% | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Mirae Asset BSE Select IPO ETF FoF | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Baroda BNP Paribas Energy Opportunities Fund | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
Benefits:
- Exposure to international markets and innovative sectors.
- Diversification beyond Indian equities.
- Captures global trends in innovation and technology.
Risks:
- Currency risk and geopolitical issues.
- Innovation themes may face regulatory hurdles or delays.
- International exposure can increase volatility. Check 10 Worst Performing Mutual Funds in last 10 years which majorly have global funds.
Conclusion
These 20 mutual funds at their 52-week highs reflect the strong momentum and sentiment in equity markets. However, investing just because a fund is at a record NAV may not always be wise.
Mutual Funds suitable to an investor can be worst to another investor which we discussed in one of our earlier article on Best Mutual Funds to invest ₹ 10 Lakhs in 2025.
Investors should carefully assess their risk appetite, investment horizon, and financial goals before selecting funds. Consider investing in a mix of categories – for instance, one fund each from defence, banking, and innovation – to build a diversified portfolio.
Discover more from Myinvestmentideas.com
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.