Most Popular Mutual Funds Of 2024 - List

As the year 2024 wraps up, here's a look at the mutual fund industry's overall shifts in investor preferences. While certain funds have attracted huge inflows, others have struggled to keep up.

Which funds took the spotlight?

This year, sectoral and thematic funds captured 28% of total inflows, according to the data shared by Value Research. Out of every Rs 100 invested in mutual funds, Rs 28 went into these categories. Sectoral and thematic funds attracted the highest net inflows at Rs 1,38,960 crore. Index funds and ETFs followed closely with Rs 1,26,450 crore.

Other popular fund categories include Multi Cap Funds that attracted Rs 38,770 crore, Flexi Cap Funds brought in Rs 37,980 crore, and Large & MidCap Funds saw Rs 37,250 crore in investments. These categories continue to be favoured by investors looking for a balanced mix of opportunities across different market segments.

Here are the top performers

In 2024, the Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund stood out as the top performer with inflows of Rs 20,020 crore. Following closely behind, the SBI Contra Fund saw Rs 15,630 crore in inflows, while the Nippon India ETF Nifty 50 BeES attracted Rs 14,210 crore.

Other notable funds of the year included the newly launched HDFC Manufacturing Fund. SBI Energy Opportunities Fund and ICICI Prudential Energy Opportunities Fund, both launched this year, also made their mark. Meanwhile, Motilal Oswal Midcap Fund, Nippon India Large Cap Fund, Quant Small Cap Fund, and ICICI Prudential Nifty 50 ETF continued to be solid choices for investors.

The Motilal Oswal Flexi Cap Fund made a comeback in 2024, delivering a 50% return—more than double the benchmark BSE 500 TRI’s 21% growth.  

Which funds struggled in 2024?

In the year 2024, focused funds saw the highest outflows amongst all categories. Additionally, Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS) funds recorded net inflows of just Rs 2,560 crore. Solution-Oriented funds for retirement and children's savings saw even lower inflows at Rs1,530 crore and Rs 80 crore, respectively.

NFO Boom: A year of innovation  

The year saw the launch of 154 new fund offerings (NFOs), with 90 of them being passive funds. These NFOs collectively raised Rs 96,550 crore. Among them, the HDFC Manufacturing Fund led the pack with Rs 9,560 crore in collections, accounting for nearly 10% of the total NFO inflows.  

Axis Mutual Fund struggles continue

Axis Mutual Fund has faced continued challenges, with three of its schemes—Axis Bluechip, Axis ELSS Tax Saver, and Axis Focused 25—remaining amongst the worst performers. These funds have experienced notable outflows, totalling around Rs 11,730 crore. Although their performance has shown improvement, moving out of the bottom quartile they occupied in 2023, it hasn't been enough to regain investor trust.

The concentrated fund category, which is expected to deliver strong returns through a focused selection of stocks by top fund managers, has also underperformed. Funds like Mirae Focused Fund, SBI Focused, and Axis Focused have consistently ranked poorly.

Despite delivering returns of 75% in 2023 and 32% this year, CPSE ETF, a PSU-focused thematic fund, has still seen investors pull their money out of the fund.