LIC MF Small Cap Fund-Direct Plan-IDCW

LIC MF Small Cap Fund-Direct Plan-IDCW holds up reasonably well within the Small Cap category, currently carrying a 3-star rating. It has delivered steady, if unspectacular, returns over a full market cycle. TopFund's composite Health Score, which weighs rating, 3-year CAGR, expense ratio and fund size, puts it at 68/100.

Cost: At 1.43%, the expense ratio runs 77% above the Small Cap category average of 0.81%. That gap is worth weighing against the fund's actual performance versus cheaper peers before committing to a long SIP.

Risk-adjusted performance: Over the trailing 1-year period, the fund shows a modest Sharpe ratio of 0.38 — returns have only marginally compensated for the risk taken. Separately, annualised volatility of 17.87% 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.