ICICI Prudential Nifty Smallcap 250 Index Fund - Direct Plan - Growth

ICICI Prudential Nifty Smallcap 250 Index Fund - Direct Plan - Growth holds up reasonably well within the Small Cap category, currently carrying a 2-star rating. TopFund's composite Health Score, which weighs rating, 3-year CAGR, expense ratio and fund size, puts it at 73/100.

Cost: At 0.39%, the expense ratio is meaningfully cheaper — about 52% below the Small Cap category average of 0.81% (based on 173 comparable funds). Lower costs compound in your favour over long holding periods.

Risk-adjusted performance: Over the trailing 1-year period, the fund shows a negative Sharpe ratio of -0.6 — over the past year, returns haven't kept pace with the volatility involved, even before accounting for the risk-free rate. Separately, annualised volatility of 17.67% is fairly typical for actively managed equity funds.

Who should invest: This fund is best suited to investors with a 7-10 year horizon who can stomach 30-40% drawdowns in a bad year in exchange for higher long-term growth potential. Given the Very High risk rating, this fund is not suited to short-term goals or investors who may need to exit within 2-3 years.