DSP Mutual Fund is one of the prominent players in the Indian mutual fund industry that was established in 1996.
It is backed by the DSP Group that has a legacy spanning more than a century in the Indian capital markets.
For several years, the fund house operated as a joint venture with the global investment firm BlackRock and was known as DSP BlackRock Mutual Fund. In 2018, DSP acquired BlackRock’s stake and the fund house was rebranded as DSP Mutual Fund.
DSP Mutual Fund’s investment philosophy revolves around long-term investing, disciplined process even during market volatility, and a focus on quality businesses to mitigate downside risk.
As of 28 February, 2026, the fund managed assets worth Rs 2,322 billion (bn) diversified across categories such as equity, debt, hybrid, commodity, and international.
In this editorial, we will look at the top 3 equity schemes from DSP Mutual Fund.
We have shortlisted these schemes based on a combined quantitative score which includes 6-month, 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year rolling returns along with risk-reward ratios such as standard deviation, sharpe, sortino, and up/down capture ratio.
#1 DSP Value Fund
Launched in December 2020, DSP Value Fund invests in a mix of Indian and international companies (up to 35% of its assets), available at reasonable prices.
The fund uses quant filters along with the involvement of fund managers to screen stocks for the crafting of the portfolio.
At times the fund maintains high cash positions to reduce downside risk and to reinvest when the prices turn reasonable again.
It carries a portfolio turnover ratio of around 120%, signifying some preference for tactical play.
In the last 5 years, DSP Value Fund grew at a CAGR of 16.1% on a point-to-point return basis compared to 12.8% in the NIFTY 500 – TRI index.
In terms of risk-adjusted returns the fund has registered lower volatility than the benchmark and has also outpaced the index on risk-adjusted returns, as denoted by its Sharpe and Sortino ratios.
Performance Snapshot – DSP Value Fund
| Scheme Name | 1 Yr (%) | 2 Yr (%) | 3 Yr (%) | 5 Yr (%) | Std Dev | Sharpe | Sortino |
| DSP Value Fund | 15.09 | 11.72 | 20.24 | 16.12 | 9.43 | 0.472 | 1.049 |
| NIFTY 500 – TRI | 9.08 | 5.19 | 15.31 | 12.83 | 12.43 | 0.254 | 0.498 |
As of 28 February 2026, the fund invested 43.7% of its assets in largecaps, 9.9% in midcaps, and 11.8% in smallcaps. It also invested 13.3% in overseas equities and ADRs & GDRs.
The fund’s top stocks are HDFC Bank (3.6%), Bharti Airtel (3.2%), and L&T (3%). Among overseas equities it had higher exposure in SK Hynix Inc, SONY Corp, Microsoft Corp, and Amazon.com.
Apart from this it has invested 7.6% of its assets in overseas mutual fund units such as Harding Loevner Global Equity Fund and WCM Global Equity Fund.
Its top sectors are auto & ancillaries (11.8%), infotech (7%), and banks (6.2%).
The fund spreads its portfolio across a range of stocks, sectors, and market caps and blends it with international exposure that has low correlation with Indian markets to ensure optimal diversification.
This strategy has worked in the fund’s favour helping it register strong growth since inception and outpacing the benchmark and many of its peers.
#2 DSP Large & Mid Cap Fund
Launched in May 2000, DSP Large & Mid Cap Funds aims to invest primarily in steady compounders (around 70% of its assets) along with some exposure to high growth bets (around 30% of its assets).
It emphasises margin of safety and aims for diversification at the stock and sector level to mitigate concentration risk.
The fund prefers companies with strong balance sheets and sustainable competitive advantages that can weather market volatility, and holds them with a long-term view.
In the last 5 years, DSP Large & Mid Cap Fund grew at a CAGR of 15.9% on a point-to-point return basis compared to 15% in the NIFTY LargeMidcap 250 – TRI index.
In addition, it has outpaced the benchmark in terms of risk-adjusted returns.
Performance Snapshot – DSP Large & Mid Cap Fund
| Scheme Name | 1 Yr (%) | 2 Yr (%) | 3 Yr (%) | 5 Yr (%) | Std Dev | Sharpe | Sortino |
| DSP Large & Mid Cap Fund | 9.23 | 9.28 | 19.67 | 15.90 | 12.77 | 0.351 | 0.724 |
| NIFTY LargeMidcap 250 – TRI | 11.75 | 6.83 | 17.87 | 15.01 | 13.06 | 0.297 | 0.580 |
As of 28 February 2026, the fund invested 51.5% of its assets in largecaps, 35.4% in midcaps, and 10% in smallcaps.
The fund’s top stocks are ICICI Bank (6.6%), HDFC Bank (6.6%), and Axis Bank (4.7%).
Its top sectors are banks (26.6%), auto & ancillaries (10.3%), and finance (8.6%).
The fund has managed to outpace the benchmark and the category average on various occasions in the past.
Despite bouts of underperformance in the short run, the fund has rewarded investors reasonably well over the long run. Its strategy of maintaining a diversified portfolio of stocks across sectors and market cap, and focusing on the growth potential with an eye valuation has resulted in notable long-term growth.
#3 DSP Large Cap Fund
Launched in March 2003, DSP Large Cap Fund is a benchmark-agnostic scheme in the Large Cap Fund category.
The fund follows a blend of growth and value style of investing to pick high potential stocks across sectors and usually maintains a focused portfolio, limiting the number of stocks to around 30.
Its primary focus is on stocks having long-term growth potential, limited downside to the quality of the business, and are trading at lower price than their intrinsic worth.
In the last 5 years, DSP Large Cap Fund grew at a CAGR of 12.8% on a point-to-point return basis, outpacing the 11.2% CAGR generated by the benchmark NIFTY 100 – TRI index.
The fund has displayed lower volatility compared to the benchmark, and has scored high in terms of risk-adjusted returns.
Performance Snapshot – DSP Large Cap Fund
| Scheme Name | 1 Yr (%) | 2 Yr (%) | 3 Yr (%) | 5 Yr (%) | Std Dev | Sharpe | Sortino |
| DSP Large Cap Fund | 5.71 | 8.55 | 16.84 | 12.76 | 10.49 | 0.330 | 0.715 |
| NIFTY 100 – TRI | 7.50 | 4.44 | 13.41 | 11.21 | 11.53 | 0.228 | 0.451 |
Source: ACE MF
As of 28 February 2026, the fund invested 79.7% of its assets in largecaps, 5% in midcaps, and 4.7% in smallcaps.
The fund’s top stocks are HDFC Bank (9.4%), ICICI Bank (8.3%), and ITC (6.7%).
Its top sectors are bank (30.9%), auto & ancillaries (10.1%), and insurance (7.9%).
In the past, the fund struggled to make a mark for itself amid a relatively high turnover in the fund management team over the years.
Despite this, the fund managed to capitalise the recent market rally, outpacing the benchmark and many of its peers. It has achieved this by adopting a high-conviction strategy without compromising on the risk aspects.
Conclusion
The equity schemes of DSP Mutual Fund have shown robust historical performance having outperformed the benchmarks over the long run. It has achieved this while maintaining reasonable level of risk.
It focuses on diversification in quality businesses and a disciplined investment process through market ups and downs.
However, it is important to note that past performance is not an indicator for future returns.
In addition, it is crucial that you ensure the suitability of scheme/s to your risk profile and investment objectives before you consider adding them to your portfolio.
Be a thoughtful investor.
Happy investing.
#Table Note: Data as of March 12, 2026
The securities quoted are for illustration only and are not recommendatory
Past performance is not an indicator for future returns.
Returns are point-to-point and in %. Direct Plan-Growth option.
Those depicted over 1-Yr are compounded annualised.
Risk ratios are calculated over a 3-year period assuming a risk-free rate of 6% p.a.
Happy investing.
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