Equity Mutual Fund Types

A fast, visual guide to the major equity fund categories in India — what they invest in and the minimum equity allocations they must maintain.

At a Glance

Multi‑Cap Large Mid Small Value Focused Sector/Thematic Tax‑Saving

Percentages below are minimum allocation requirements to equity or specific cap buckets, as provided in your brief.

1) Multi Cap Fund

Live examples

Min equity: Large ≥ 25% + Mid ≥ 25% + Small ≥ 25%

Open‑ended equity scheme investing across large, mid, and small caps.

Multi‑Cap Large 25% Mid 25% Small 25%

2) Large Cap Fund

Live examples

Min equity: Large ≥ 80%

Open‑ended equity scheme investing predominantly in large caps.

Large 80%

3) Large & Mid‑Cap Fund

Live examples

Min equity: Large ≥ 35% + Mid ≥ 35%

Open‑ended equity scheme investing in both large and mid caps.

Large 35% Mid 35%

4) Mid Cap Fund

Live examples

Min equity: Mid ≥ 65%

Open‑ended equity scheme focused on mid caps.

Mid 65%

5) Small Cap Fund

Live examples

Min equity: Small ≥ 65%

Open‑ended equity scheme focused on small caps.

Small 65%

6) Dividend Yield Fund

Live examples

Min equity: ≥ 65% (predominantly dividend‑yielding stocks)

Open‑ended equity scheme investing mainly in dividend‑yielding companies.

Dividend Yield

7) Value Fund / Contra Fund

Live examples

Min equity (Value): ≥ 65%   |   Contra: contrarian strategy

Value: follows a value investing approach. Contra: invests against prevailing sentiment.

Value Contra

8) Focused Fund

Live examples

Max holdings: ≤ 30 stocks   •   Min equity: ≥ 65%

Open‑ended equity scheme with a concentrated portfolio.

Focused

9) Sectoral / Thematic Fund

Live examples

Min exposure to sector/theme: ≥ 80%

Open‑ended equity scheme investing in a specific sector or theme (e.g., banking, power, FMCG).

Sector / Theme 80%

10) ELSS (Tax‑Saving)

Live examples

Statutory lock‑in: 3 years • Min equity: ≥ 80%

Open‑ended equity‑linked savings scheme with tax benefits under applicable sections.

Tax‑Saving

11) Flexi‑cap Fund

Live examples

Min equity: ≥ 65% (across large, mid, small)

Open‑ended equity scheme with flexibility to invest across all market caps.

Across Caps

Bottom Line

Choose categories to match your goals and risk: anchor with Large/Flexi; add Mid/Small for growth; use Sector/Thematic sparingly; Value/Contra/Dividend Yield for style preferences; ELSS for tax.