These are the worst mutual funds over the last six years!

Published on / By M. Pattabiraman Twitter: @pattufreefincal / 7 Comments

Published: October 16, 2019 at 9:59 am

Last Updated on December 29, 2021

These are the worst mutual fund performers in 2019 based on their performance over the last five years against a category benchmark. The Oct 2019 Equity Mutual Fund Performance Screener can be used to identify the best mutual fund performers in under a minute! If we define “the best” as the most consistent performers in terms of both returns (higher than benchmark) and risk (lower than benchmark), then “the worst” also gets automatically defined as the very opposite.

We label them as the worst as they have a poor record of beating the category benchmark over every possible five, four, three and two year periods since Jan 1st 2013 (since the inception of direct plans).

Some caveats: (1)The category benchmark used is admittedly tough and may not always be appropriate for individual funds. However, tough standards are to be set for a mutual fund industry that has high expenses – one of the highest in the world according to a Morningstar study

(2) A fund labelled as the worst here does not warrant outright rejection. Closer inspection of its performance (with its benchmark) and category peers, taking into account its investment mandate history is necessary before an investment decision is made.

Get free money management solutions delivered to your mailbox! Subscribe to get posts via email!


    🔥Enjoy massive discounts on our robo-advisory tool & courses! 🔥

    (3) All the fund in this list has a star rating at Value Research. This means, their investment mandate history has not been affected too drastically by the SEBI categorisation rules. In other words, studying its past is justified.

    (4) Categories like ELSS, Div Yield, Value-oriented, sectoral, thematic and Agg-Hybrid were not considered as that might be a touch harsh.

    (5) We have considered funds with a minimum of 400 five year return periods. This means the funds were stated on or before mid-2013

    List of fund categories considered for “worst” ranking

    CategoryBenchmark
    Focussed FundNifty Largemidcap 250 TRI
    Large & Mid Cap FundNifty Largemidcap 250 TRI
    Large Cap FundNifty 100 TRI
    Mid Cap FundNiftyMidcap150TRI
    Multi-Cap FundNifty Largemidcap 250 TRI
    Small Cap FundNiftyMidcap150TRI

    Definition of a worst mutual fund

    Subject to the caveats mentioned above, a fund that fails to beat the category benchmark more than half the all possible 5 and 4 and 3 and 2-year returns is labelled as worst.

    Let us consider an example. HDFC Equity Fund benchmarked against Nifty Largemidcap 250 TRI. Notice how poorly the fund has fared. Detailed review is here: HDFC Equity Fund Review: Is this still good or should I avoid?

    HDFC Equity Fund Rolling Return Performance

    For some durations, there is a considerable spread in performance, but this has not been factored in. You can use the screener to dig deeper if you wish. For example, over five year periods, a fund that has beaten the category benchmark 44% of the time and a fund that has never outperformed are both labelled as the worst. As an analyst, this is perhaps harsh, but we must think as investors here.

    Let us now list the worst performers classified by category. Note: Reliance AMC is now Nippon India AMC. 

    Focussed Funds (7/17)

    Here 7/17 refers to 7 funds labelled as worst out of a total of 17 funds.

    1. DSP Focus Fund
    2. Aditya Birla Sun Life Focused Equity Fund
    3. HDFC Focused 30 Fund
    4. ICICI Prudential Focused Equity Fund
    5. IDFC Focused Equity Fund
    6. Principal Focused Multicap Fund
    7. Sundaram Select Focus

    Large and Midcap Funds (7/22)

    1. Tata Large & Mid Cap Fund
    2. L&T Large and Midcap Fund
    3. Franklin India Equity Advantage Fund
    4. BOI AXA Large & Mid Cap Equity Fund
    5. ICICI Prudential Large & Mid Cap Fund
    6. Reliance (Nippon India) Vision Fund Plan
    7. UTI Core Equity Fund

    Large Cap Funds (6/28)

    1. Baroda Large cap Fund Plan B
    2. LIC MF Large Cap Fund
    3. JM Large Cap Fund
    4. DSP Top 100 Equity Fund
    5. IDFC Large Cap Fund
    6. Taurus Largecap Equity Fund

    Midcap Funds (5/21)

    1. SBI Magnum MIDCAP FUND
    2. BNP Paribas Mid Cap Fund
    3. Taurus Discovery (Midcap) Fund
    4. Aditya Birla Sun Life Midcap Fund
    5. Reliance (Nippon India) Growth Fund

    Multicap Funds (12/34)

    1. HSBC Multicap Equity Fund
    2. DSP Equity Fund
    3. HDFC Equity Fund
    4. Reliance Multi Cap Fund Plan
    5. BARODA MULTI CAP FUND Plan B
    6. Canara Robeco Equity Diversified Fund
    7. L&T Equity Fund
    8. LIC MF Multicap Fund
    9. SBI Magnum Multicap Fund
    10. Taurus Starshare (Multi Cap) Fund
    11. Union Multicap Fund
    12. UTI Equity Fund

    Smallcap Funds

    1. ICICI Prudential Smallcap Fund

    This was earlier an Indo-Asia fund but had a good correlation with the smallcap index (hence rated by VR). So do dig deeper if you are invested or interested.

    Find the best performers using the Oct 2019 Equity Mutual Fund Performance Screener

    What to do if you are invested in these funds?

    The above listing of worst mutual fund performers should be treated as a reminder to dig deeper. These funds may have delivered a satisfactory performance to some/many investors (depending on when they started). Please evaluate the performance of the fund with its benchmark over the last few years. If it did not beat the benchmark over the previous 3,4,5 years, ditch the fund in full and invest elsewhere. Here, ditch in full means, stop investing and redeem all units and move on. This may be of help: Review your mutual funds in three simple steps! This is the video version.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5WHKx1MgvM
    Do share this article with your friends using the buttons below.
    🔥Enjoy massive discounts on our courses and robo-advisory tool! 🔥
    Use our Robo-advisory Excel Tool for a start-to-finish financial plan! ⇐ More than 1000 investors and advisors use this!
    New Tool! => Track your mutual funds and stocks investments with this Google Sheet!
    • Follow us on Google News.
    • Do you have a comment about the above article? Reach out to us on Twitter: @freefincal or @pattufreefincal
    • Join our YouTube Community and explore more than 1000 videos!
    • Have a question? Subscribe to our newsletter with this form.
    • Hit 'reply' to any email from us! We do not offer personalized investment advice. We can write a detailed article without mentioning your name if you have a generic question.
    Get free money management solutions delivered to your mailbox! Subscribe to get posts via email!


      Explore the site! Search among our 2000+ articles for information and insight!

      About The Author

      Pattabiraman editor freefincalDr M. Pattabiraman(PhD) is the founder, managing editor and primary author of freefincal. He is an associate professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. He has over nine years of experience publishing news analysis, research and financial product development. Connect with him via Twitter or Linkedin, or YouTube. Pattabiraman has co-authored three print books: (1) You can be rich too with goal-based investing (CNBC TV18) for DIY investors. (2) Gamechanger for young earners. (3) Chinchu Gets a Superpower! for kids. He has also written seven other free e-books on various money management topics. He is a patron and co-founder of “Fee-only India,” an organisation promoting unbiased, commission-free investment advice.
      Our flagship course! Learn to manage your portfolio like a pro to achieve your goals regardless of market conditions! ⇐ More than 3000 investors and advisors are part of our exclusive community! Get clarity on how to plan for your goals and achieve the necessary corpus no matter what the market condition is!! Watch the first lecture for free!  One-time payment! No recurring fees! Life-long access to videos! Reduce fear, uncertainty and doubt while investing! Learn how to plan for your goals before and after retirement with confidence.
      Our new course!  Increase your income by getting people to pay for your skills! ⇐ More than 700 salaried employees, entrepreneurs and financial advisors are part of our exclusive community! Learn how to get people to pay for your skills! Whether you are a professional or small business owner who wants more clients via online visibility or a salaried person wanting a side income or passive income, we will show you how to achieve this by showcasing your skills and building a community that trusts you and pays you! (watch 1st lecture for free). One-time payment! No recurring fees! Life-long access to videos!   
      Our new book for kids: “Chinchu gets a superpower!” is now available!
      Both boy and girl version covers of Chinchu gets a superpower
      Both boy and girl version covers of Chinchu gets a superpower.
      Most investor problems can be traced to a lack of informed decision-making. We have all made bad decisions and money mistakes when we started earning and spent years undoing these mistakes. Why should our children go through the same pain? What is this book about? As parents, what would it be if we had to groom one ability in our children that is key not only to money management and investing but to any aspect of life? My answer: Sound Decision Making. So in this book, we meet Chinchu, who is about to turn 10. What he wants for his birthday and how his parents plan for it and teach him several key ideas of decision making and money management is the narrative. What readers say!
      Feedback from a young reader after reading Chinchu gets a Superpower (small version)
      Feedback from a young reader after reading Chinchu gets a Superpower!
      Must-read book even for adults! This is something that every parent should teach their kids right from their young age. The importance of money management and decision making based on their wants and needs. Very nicely written in simple terms. - Arun.
      Buy the book: Chinchu gets a superpower for your child!
      How to profit from content writing: Our new ebook for those interested in getting side income via content writing. It is available at a 50% discount for Rs. 500 only!
      Want to check if the market is overvalued or undervalued? Use our market valuation tool (it will work with any index!), or you buy the new Tactical Buy/Sell timing tool!
      We publish monthly mutual fund screeners and momentum, low volatility stock screeners.
      About freefincal & its content policy Freefincal is a News Media Organization dedicated to providing original analysis, reports, reviews and insights on mutual funds, stocks, investing, retirement and personal finance developments. We do so without conflict of interest and bias. Follow us on Google News. Freefincal serves more than three million readers a year (5 million page views) with articles based only on factual information and detailed analysis by its authors. All statements made will be verified from credible and knowledgeable sources before publication. Freefincal does not publish any paid articles, promotions, PR, satire or opinions without data. All opinions presented will only be inferences backed by verifiable, reproducible evidence/data. Contact information: letters {at} freefincal {dot} com (sponsored posts or paid collaborations will not be entertained)
      Connect with us on social media
      Our publications

      You Can Be Rich Too with Goal-Based Investing

      You can be rich too with goal based investingPublished by CNBC TV18, this book is meant to help you ask the right questions and seek the correct answers, and since it comes with nine online calculators, you can also create custom solutions for your lifestyle! Get it now.
      Gamechanger: Forget Startups, Join Corporate & Still Live the Rich Life You Want Gamechanger: Forget Start-ups, Join Corporate and Still Live the Rich Life you wantThis book is meant for young earners to get their basics right from day one! It will also help you travel to exotic places at a low cost! Get it or gift it to a young earner.

      Your Ultimate Guide to Travel

      Travel-Training-Kit-Cover-new This is an in-depth dive analysis into vacation planning, finding cheap flights, budget accommodation, what to do when travelling, and how travelling slowly is better financially and psychologically with links to the web pages and hand-holding at every step. Get the pdf for Rs 300 (instant download)