Over half of equity MFs beat benchmarks in Feb: Here’s a category-wise performance breakdown

PL Wealth Management reported that 54.08% of equity mutual funds outperformed their respective benchmarks in February 2025. The study analysed 294 open-ended equity diversified funds and found that 159 funds recorded outperformance.

The report noted that equity mutual fund assets under management (AUM), excluding sectoral and thematic funds, declined by 6.97% to ₹23.12 lakh crore in February from ₹24.85 lakh crore in January.

Small Cap Funds had the highest outperformance, with 79.31% of schemes beating the benchmark.

Focused Funds followed with a 67.86% outperformance rate, while 65.63% of Large & Mid Cap Funds outperformed.

Large Cap Funds had the lowest outperformance rate at 21.88%.

Category-wise fund performance:

Category	Benchmark	No. of Schemes	Outperformed (%)
Large Cap	NIFTY 50 TRI	32	21.88%
Large & Mid Cap	NIFTY LargeMidcap 250 TRI	32	65.63%
Multi Cap	Nifty 500 Multicap 50:25:25 TRI	29	44.83%
Flexi Cap	NIFTY 500 TRI	39	48.72%
Mid Cap	Nifty Midcap 150 TRI	29	58.62%
Small Cap	Nifty Smallcap 250 TRI	29	79.31%
Focused	NIFTY 500 TRI	28	67.86%
Value Contra Div. Yield	NIFTY 500 TRI	33	48.48%
ELSS	NIFTY 500 TRI	43	55.81%

(Source: Ace MF)

Among the 29 Small Cap Funds analysed, 23 delivered better returns than the Nifty Smallcap 250 TRI.

Focused Funds followed, with 67.86% of schemes outperforming. Of the 28 funds in this category, 19 surpassed the NIFTY 500 TRI benchmark. Large & Mid Cap Funds ranked third, with 65.63% of schemes outperforming the NIFTY LargeMidcap 250 TRI.

Mid Cap Funds saw 58.62% of schemes outperforming the Nifty Midcap 150 TRI, while ELSS (Equity Linked Savings Schemes) had 55.81% of funds surpassing the NIFTY 500 TRI.