Best Performing Mid Cap Mutual Funds in July 2026

Last Reviewed and Updated: 17 Aug 2026

A data driven ranking of 33 direct growth mid cap schemes, based on fund data last updated 19 July 2026

Note: this ranking uses fund data from July 2026, close to the time of this review but still subject to change. Fund rankings by trailing return can shift meaningfully over even a few weeks; treat the specific ranks and figures below as a snapshot rather than a current leaderboard, and check a live screener for up to date numbers before acting.

Mid cap mutual funds invest predominantly in companies ranked between 101st and 250th by market capitalisation on Indian exchanges. SEBI mandates a minimum 65% allocation to these mid cap stocks, with the remaining 35% available for large cap or small cap exposure at the fund manager's discretion. This structure places mid cap funds in a distinct risk and return band: historically higher growth potential than large cap funds, alongside meaningfully higher volatility.

For investors with a long time horizon and the ability to tolerate interim drawdowns, mid cap funds have been among the strongest wealth creators within the Indian equity universe over multi year periods.

This article analyses 33 direct growth mid cap schemes using data as of 19 July 2026. One additional fund in the source data set was excluded from this analysis: a money market debt scheme that appears to have been misfiled under the mid cap category and does not belong in an equity comparison of this kind. Of the 33 schemes analysed, 29 have a 3 year return and 25 have a 5 year return, with 4 funds too recently launched to have either.

All figures are drawn directly from the fund data set. The 3 year category benchmark return is 19.48% and the 5 year category benchmark return is 17.76%, both of which set a demanding standard given the strong performance of the broader mid cap index over this period.

How These Funds Were Ranked

Rankings are presented separately for 3 year and 5 year annualised returns. This is especially important in the mid cap category, because the two leaderboards look quite different: Motilal Oswal Midcap Fund, which places fourth on the 5 year table, ranks only 15th on the 3 year table. Showing both horizons side by side avoids the distortion of picking one window and lets investors match the ranking to their own holding period. Expense ratio, AUM, and 3 year Sharpe ratio are included throughout for additional context.

Top 10 Mid Cap Funds: 3 Year vs 5 Year Rankings

Seven funds appear in the top 10 of both tables, suggesting broad and sustained outperformance. However, the divergence between the two lists is also instructive, with several strong 5 year performers having given back relative ground more recently.

Ranked by 3 Year Annualised Return

Rank	Fund	3Y Return	5Y Return	Expense Ratio	AUM	Sharpe
1	Invesco India Mid Cap Fund Direct Plan Growth Option	26.09%	20.96%	0.49%	₹13,766.86 Cr	0.99
2	HSBC Midcap Fund Direct Plan Growth	25.89%	19.23%	0.55%	₹15,351.91 Cr	1.02
3	WhiteOak Capital Mid Cap Fund Direct Growth	24.32%	N/A*	0.49%	₹6,171.27 Cr	1.03
4	ICICI Prudential MidCap Fund Direct Plan Growth	23.70%	18.11%	0.89%	₹7,845.63 Cr	0.95
5	Edelweiss Mid Cap Fund Direct Plan Growth Option	23.68%	19.60%	0.48%	₹17,748.32 Cr	0.96
6	ITI Mid Cap Fund Direct Growth	22.83%	17.04%	0.57%	₹1,445.60 Cr	0.88
7	JM Midcap Fund Direct Growth	22.65%	N/A*	0.56%	₹1,274.52 Cr	0.89
8	Mahindra Manulife Mid Cap Fund Direct Growth	22.46%	19.14%	0.42%	₹5,075.66 Cr	0.95
9	Nippon India Growth Mid Cap Fund Direct Plan Growth Plan	22.11%	20.02%	0.62%	₹49,169.10 Cr	0.89
10	Sundaram Mid Cap Direct Plan Growth Option	21.75%	18.68%	0.88%	₹14,026.07 Cr	0.89

*N/A indicates the fund's inception date doesn't yet allow for a 5 year track record. 29 of the 33 funds analysed have a 3 year return.

Ranked by 5 Year Annualised Return

Rank	Fund	5Y Return	3Y Return	Expense Ratio	AUM	Sharpe
1	Motilal Oswal Midcap Direct Growth	23.17%	19.83%	0.98%	₹37,473.87 Cr	0.63
2	Invesco India Mid Cap Fund Direct Plan Growth Option	20.96%	26.09%	0.49%	₹13,766.86 Cr	0.99
3	HDFC Mid Cap Fund Direct Plan Growth Option	20.22%	20.07%	0.74%	₹100,858.31 Cr	0.89
4	Nippon India Growth Mid Cap Fund Direct Plan Growth Plan	20.02%	22.11%	0.62%	₹49,169.10 Cr	0.89
5	Edelweiss Mid Cap Fund Direct Plan Growth Option	19.60%	23.68%	0.48%	₹17,748.32 Cr	0.96
6	HSBC Midcap Fund Direct Plan Growth	19.23%	25.89%	0.55%	₹15,351.91 Cr	1.02
7	Mahindra Manulife Mid Cap Fund Direct Growth	19.14%	22.46%	0.42%	₹5,075.66 Cr	0.95
8	Sundaram Mid Cap Direct Plan Growth Option	18.68%	21.75%	0.88%	₹14,026.07 Cr	0.89
9	Kotak Midcap Fund Direct Growth	18.49%	20.88%	0.38%	₹67,611.00 Cr	0.81
10	ICICI Prudential MidCap Fund Direct Plan Growth	18.11%	23.70%	0.89%	₹7,845.63 Cr	0.95

25 of the 33 funds analysed have a 5 year track record; the rest were launched too recently.

Seven funds place in the top 10 of both lists: Invesco India Mid Cap, HSBC Midcap, ICICI Prudential MidCap, Edelweiss Mid Cap, Mahindra Manulife Mid Cap, Nippon India Growth Mid Cap, and Sundaram Mid Cap. Motilal Oswal Midcap is the standout divergence, leading the 5 year table at 23.17% while sitting well outside the 3 year top 10, a reminder that recent performance and long run performance can tell quite different stories in this category.

All returns are direct plan, growth option figures, measured against the Nifty Midcap 150 TRI (the 3 year category benchmark return is 19.48% and the 5 year benchmark return is 17.76%).

A Closer Look at the Top Performers

1. Invesco India Mid Cap Fund: Leads the 3 Year Table with a Top Tier Sharpe Ratio

Invesco India Mid Cap Fund, managed by Aditya Khemani, tops the 3 year list at 26.09% while also placing second on the 5 year table (20.96%) and posting the third best Sharpe ratio in the category (0.99). Its top 10 holdings sit at 47.29%, led by Prestige Estates Projects (7.09%) and The Federal Bank (5.58%), with meaningful weight in newer names like Meesho (4.47%) alongside more familiar mid cap financials.

2. HSBC Midcap Fund: Best 1 Year Return Among the Leaders

HSBC Midcap Fund, managed by Cheenu Gupta, delivered the strongest 1 year return among the category's top performers at 16.94%, alongside a 25.89% 3 year return and the second best Sharpe ratio in the category (1.02). Its portfolio leans into newer economy names, including FSN E-Commerce Ventures (4.67%), Lenskart Solutions (3.84%), and PB Fintech (3.76%), a distinctly different mix from the more traditional industrial and financial tilts common elsewhere in this list.

3. WhiteOak Capital Mid Cap Fund: Highest Sharpe Ratio in the Category

WhiteOak Capital Mid Cap Fund, managed by Ramesh Mantri, posts the best 3 year Sharpe ratio in the entire category at 1.03, alongside a strong 24.32% 3 year return, achieved with the lowest top 10 concentration (24.61%) among the funds profiled here. It does not yet have a 5 year track record, but its risk adjusted showing over 3 years is the standout figure in this data set.

4. Motilal Oswal Midcap Fund: Leads the 5 Year Table, Trails More Recently

Motilal Oswal Midcap Fund, managed by Ajay Khandelwal, leads the 5 year table at 23.17% and manages the largest asset base among the category's stronger performers at ₹37,473.87 Cr, but its 1 year return has turned sharply negative at -3.38%, and its 3 year Sharpe ratio (0.63) trails most of the other funds profiled here. Its top 10 holdings, at 53.32%, are concentrated in names like One97 Communications (7.34%) and Kalyan Jewellers (6.34%), a portfolio that has clearly been through a rougher recent stretch after a strong longer run.

5. ICICI Prudential MidCap Fund and Edelweiss Mid Cap Fund: Consistent Across Both Horizons

ICICI Prudential MidCap Fund (managed by Lalit Kumar) and Edelweiss Mid Cap Fund (managed by Trideep Bhattacharya) both place in the top 10 on both the 3 year and 5 year tables, at 23.70%/18.11% and 23.68%/19.60% respectively. Edelweiss stands out for running the least concentrated portfolio of the two, with top 10 holdings at just 22.44%, led by The Federal Bank (3.87%) and BSE (2.61%), spreading its bets more broadly than most peers in this list.

Best Risk Adjusted Returns: Highest Sharpe Ratio

The Sharpe ratio measures how much return a fund generated per unit of risk taken, where a higher number means the fund's gains came with comparatively less volatility.

Fund	3Y Sharpe Ratio	3Y Return
WhiteOak Capital Mid Cap Fund	1.03	24.32%
HSBC Midcap Fund	1.02	25.89%
Invesco India Mid Cap Fund	0.99	26.09%
Edelweiss Mid Cap Fund	0.96	23.68%
ICICI Prudential MidCap Fund / Mahindra Manulife Mid Cap Fund	0.95	22 to 24%

Unusually for this category, the funds with the very best risk adjusted returns are also among the top raw return performers, WhiteOak Capital, HSBC, and Invesco India all place in the top 3 of both measures, a genuinely rare combination that suggests these three delivered their outperformance without taking on disproportionate volatility to get there.

Lowest Cost Mid Cap Funds

Expense ratio compounds over time, so it's worth weighing alongside returns:

Fund	Expense Ratio	3Y Return
Kotak Midcap Fund Direct Growth	0.38%	20.88%
Mahindra Manulife Mid Cap Fund Direct Growth	0.42%	22.46%
Baroda BNP Paribas Mid Cap Fund Direct Plan Growth Option	0.48%	20.19%
Edelweiss Mid Cap Fund Direct Plan Growth Option	0.48%	23.68%
Invesco India Mid Cap Fund Direct Plan Growth Option	0.49%	26.09%

Kotak Midcap Fund stands out here for combining the lowest expense ratio in the category with a top tier ₹67,611.00 Cr in assets and a solid 20.88% 3 year return, a difficult combination of scale, cost, and performance to find together.

The Largest Mid Cap Funds by AUM

Size doesn't guarantee better returns, but the largest funds tend to attract assets for a reason, including long track records, brand trust, or consistent past performance:

Fund	AUM	3Y Return	5Y Return
HDFC Mid Cap Fund Direct Plan Growth Option	₹100,858.31 Cr	20.07%	20.22%
Kotak Midcap Fund Direct Growth	₹67,611.00 Cr	20.88%	18.49%
Nippon India Growth Mid Cap Fund Direct Plan Growth Plan	₹49,169.10 Cr	22.11%	20.02%
Motilal Oswal Midcap Direct Growth	₹37,473.87 Cr	19.83%	23.17%
Axis Midcap Fund Direct Plan Growth	₹33,803.00 Cr	18.10%	15.14%

HDFC Mid Cap Fund and Nippon India Growth Mid Cap Fund are worth flagging separately, since both combine the largest asset bases in the category with returns that still rank among its better performers on both horizons, a combination that is not a given at this scale.

What These Funds Actually Hold

Across the data set, mid cap portfolios average 96.7% in equity, with the remainder mostly in cash. The Federal Bank appears among the top five holdings in the large majority of funds reviewed, a far more dominant single name than in the large cap or flexi cap categories, followed by GE Vernova T&D India, Fortis Healthcare, BSE, and Multi Commodity Exchange as recurring names, reflecting a broader tilt toward financials, healthcare, and capital markets infrastructure than the private bank heavy composition seen in large cap portfolios.

Concentration varies widely, from ITI Mid Cap Fund's top 10 holdings at just 18.92% to Quant Mid Cap Fund's 63.28%, with the more concentrated funds generally also showing the highest tracking error in the category.

Things to Consider Before Investing

· Mid cap funds carry meaningfully more volatility than large cap or flexi cap funds. Tracking error in this data set runs as high as 11.07, and the category benchmark itself returned 19.48% over 3 years, a demanding bar that only some funds have managed to clear by a wide margin.

· The 3 year and 5 year leaderboards genuinely disagree in this category more than in others reviewed in this series. Motilal Oswal Midcap's position, first on 5 year return but well outside the 3 year top 10, illustrates how much a single rough year can move a fund's short term ranking without erasing its longer term record.

· One fund in the original 34 fund data set for this category, a money market debt scheme, was excluded from this analysis as clearly misfiled; readers relying on other listings of this data set should be aware such entries can slip through.

· Expense ratio compounds. The gap between the cheapest fund in this category (0.38%) and the priciest (LIC MF Midcap Fund at 1.39%, Quant Mid Cap at 1.10%) is large enough to meaningfully affect long term net returns.

· Concentration is a double edged sword. Quant Mid Cap Fund's 63.28% top 10 concentration has not translated into a top 10 return in this cycle, a useful counterpoint to the idea that higher concentration always means higher returns.

Full Fund Universe: Quick Reference

Fund	3Y Return	5Y Return	Expense Ratio	AUM
Invesco India Mid Cap Fund Direct Plan Growth Option	26.09%	20.96%	0.49%	₹13,766.86 Cr
HSBC Midcap Fund Direct Plan Growth	25.89%	19.23%	0.55%	₹15,351.91 Cr
WhiteOak Capital Mid Cap Fund Direct Growth	24.32%	N/A*	0.49%	₹6,171.27 Cr
ICICI Prudential MidCap Fund Direct Plan Growth	23.70%	18.11%	0.89%	₹7,845.63 Cr
Edelweiss Mid Cap Fund Direct Plan Growth Option	23.68%	19.60%	0.48%	₹17,748.32 Cr
ITI Mid Cap Fund Direct Growth	22.83%	17.04%	0.57%	₹1,445.60 Cr
JM Midcap Fund Direct Growth	22.65%	N/A*	0.56%	₹1,274.52 Cr
Mahindra Manulife Mid Cap Fund Direct Growth	22.46%	19.14%	0.42%	₹5,075.66 Cr
Nippon India Growth Mid Cap Fund Direct Plan Growth Plan	22.11%	20.02%	0.62%	₹49,169.10 Cr
Sundaram Mid Cap Direct Plan Growth Option	21.75%	18.68%	0.88%	₹14,026.07 Cr
Kotak Midcap Fund Direct Growth	20.88%	18.49%	0.38%	₹67,611.00 Cr
Baroda BNP Paribas Mid Cap Fund Direct Plan Growth Option	20.19%	16.91%	0.48%	₹2,513.23 Cr
HDFC Mid Cap Fund Direct Plan Growth Option	20.07%	20.22%	0.74%	₹100,858.31 Cr
Bandhan Midcap Fund Direct Growth	19.86%	N/A*	0.51%	₹2,324.64 Cr
Motilal Oswal Midcap Direct Growth	19.83%	23.17%	0.98%	₹37,473.87 Cr
Canara Robeco Mid Cap Fund Direct Growth	19.82%	N/A*	0.50%	₹4,835.69 Cr
Mirae Asset Midcap Fund Direct Growth	19.32%	17.10%	0.51%	₹19,542.56 Cr
Union Midcap Fund Direct Growth	19.19%	16.74%	0.68%	₹1,846.92 Cr
Tata Mid Cap Fund Direct Plan Growth	19.16%	17.09%	0.57%	₹5,868.39 Cr
Franklin India Mid Cap Fund Direct Growth	18.64%	15.43%	0.81%	₹12,489.74 Cr
Aditya Birla Sun Life Mid Cap Fund Direct Plan Growth	18.43%	15.93%	0.87%	₹6,624.16 Cr
LIC MF Midcap Fund Direct Growth	18.37%	14.19%	1.39%	₹368.57 Cr
Axis Midcap Fund Direct Plan Growth	18.10%	15.14%	0.57%	₹33,803.00 Cr
DSP Midcap Fund Direct Plan Growth	18.03%	12.93%	0.60%	₹20,170.28 Cr
Quant Mid Cap Fund Growth	15.92%	17.22%	1.10%	₹8,138.18 Cr
UTI Mid Cap Fund Growth Option Direct	13.85%	13.43%	1.05%	₹12,122.33 Cr
SBI Midcap Fund Direct Growth	13.40%	15.25%	0.85%	₹24,126.69 Cr
PGIM India Midcap Fund Direct Growth	12.65%	12.92%	0.56%	₹10,981.47 Cr
Taurus Discovery (Midcap) Fund Direct Plan Growth Option	11.59%	11.70%	1.69%	₹124.78 Cr
TRUSTMF Mid Cap Fund Direct Growth	N/A*	N/A*	0.59%	₹312.27 Cr
Samco Mid Cap Fund Direct Growth	N/A*	N/A*	1.74%	₹78.64 Cr
Helios Mid Cap Fund Direct Growth	N/A*	N/A*	0.78%	₹1,490.41 Cr
Bank of India Mid Cap Fund Direct Growth	N/A*	N/A*	1.07%	₹725.07 Cr

*N/A indicates insufficient track record for this metric, typically funds launched between 2025 and 2026. Excludes one money market debt scheme misfiled in the source data.

This article is based on fund data as of 19 July 2026 and is intended for informational purposes only and is not investment advice. Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks; past performance does not guarantee future returns. Investors should read scheme related documents carefully and consult a SEBI registered financial advisor before investing.

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