+91-22-48913909Top 3 Best Contra Funds to Invest in 2026
Are you the kind of investor who likes taking a little adventure in investments? If yes, then you need to know about contra funds. They are short form of contrarian, where the idea is to invest in shares of companies that are not popular and are not in the favor of the investor at the point in time. In other words, it is defined by its against-the-wind kind of Investing style.
So, let’s know more about contra Mutual Funds.
What are Contra Mutual Funds?
Contra funds are a type of equity fund where the fund manager bets against the prevailing market trends by buying assets that are either depressed or under-performing at that point in time. A contrarian is an investment strategy where the fund manager keeps a strong watch on the market to identify those underperforming stocks which have great potential to grow in the future. It requires a lot of research and analysis to choose a stock in advance that has potential to grow in the future.
The selection of the stock is done with an assumption that the asset will stabilise and come into the real value in the long run after the short-term turbulence. Investors planning to invest in contra funds should know that these funds may not perform in the short-term because of the kind of assets they invest in. Here, the idea is to buy assets at a lower cost than its fundamental value in the long term.
Talk to our investment specialist
Fund Selection Methodology used to find 3 funds
Best Performing Contra Funds to Invest in FY 26 - 27
Fund NAV Net Assets (Cr) 3 MO (%) 6 MO (%) 1 YR (%) 3 YR (%) 5 YR (%) 2024 (%) Kotak India EQ Contra Fund Growth ₹151.246
↑ 0.63 ₹5,136 -2.9 1.7 12 20.4 18.7 7.4 Invesco India Contra Fund Growth ₹131.15
↑ 0.77 ₹20,658 -5.4 -3.6 7.3 19.2 16.9 3.1 SBI Contra Fund Growth ₹385.493
↑ 1.80 ₹49,967 -2 -1.1 4.8 18.4 22 6.1 Note: Returns up to 1 year are on absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR basis. as on 27 Jan 26 Research Highlights & Commentary of 3 Funds showcased
Commentary Kotak India EQ Contra Fund Invesco India Contra Fund SBI Contra Fund Point 1 Bottom quartile AUM (₹5,136 Cr). Lower mid AUM (₹20,658 Cr). Highest AUM (₹49,967 Cr). Point 2 Oldest track record among peers (20 yrs). Established history (18+ yrs). Established history (20+ yrs). Point 3 Rating: 3★ (lower mid). Top rated. Rating: 3★ (bottom quartile). Point 4 Risk profile: Moderately High. Risk profile: Moderately High. Risk profile: Moderately High. Point 5 5Y return: 18.74% (lower mid). 5Y return: 16.91% (bottom quartile). 5Y return: 22.03% (upper mid). Point 6 3Y return: 20.42% (upper mid). 3Y return: 19.17% (lower mid). 3Y return: 18.36% (bottom quartile). Point 7 1Y return: 12.04% (upper mid). 1Y return: 7.28% (lower mid). 1Y return: 4.84% (bottom quartile). Point 8 Alpha: -0.26 (upper mid). Alpha: -4.24 (bottom quartile). Alpha: -3.65 (lower mid). Point 9 Sharpe: 0.16 (upper mid). Sharpe: -0.12 (bottom quartile). Sharpe: 0.06 (lower mid). Point 10 Information ratio: 1.40 (upper mid). Information ratio: 0.97 (bottom quartile). Information ratio: 1.14 (lower mid). Kotak India EQ Contra Fund
Invesco India Contra Fund
SBI Contra Fund
*List of funds based on (Erstwhile Kotak Classic Equity Fund) To generate capital appreciation from a diversified portfolio of equity and equity
related securities. However, there is no assurance that the objective of the scheme will be realized. Research Highlights for Kotak India EQ Contra Fund Below is the key information for Kotak India EQ Contra Fund Returns up to 1 year are on The investment objective of the Scheme is to generate capital appreciation
through investment in equity and equity related instruments. The Scheme will seek to generate capital appreciation through means of contrarian investing. Research Highlights for Invesco India Contra Fund Below is the key information for Invesco India Contra Fund Returns up to 1 year are on To provide the investors maximum growth opportunity through equity
investments in stocks of growth oriented sectors of the economy. Research Highlights for SBI Contra Fund Below is the key information for SBI Contra Fund Returns up to 1 year are on Assets >= 100 Crore & Sorted on 3 year CAGR Returns.
1. Kotak India EQ Contra Fund
Kotak India EQ Contra Fund
Growth Launch Date 27 Jul 05 NAV (27 Jan 26) ₹151.246 ↑ 0.63 (0.42 %) Net Assets (Cr) ₹5,136 on 31 Dec 25 Category Equity - Contra AMC Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Co Ltd Rating ☆☆☆ Risk Moderately High Expense Ratio 1.89 Sharpe Ratio 0.16 Information Ratio 1.4 Alpha Ratio -0.26 Min Investment 5,000 Min SIP Investment 1,000 Exit Load 0-1 Years (1%),1 Years and above(NIL) Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.
Date Value 31 Dec 20 ₹10,000 31 Dec 21 ₹13,017 31 Dec 22 ₹13,976 31 Dec 23 ₹18,870 31 Dec 24 ₹23,040 31 Dec 25 ₹24,753 Returns for Kotak India EQ Contra Fund
absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) basis. as on 27 Jan 26 Duration Returns 1 Month -3% 3 Month -2.9% 6 Month 1.7% 1 Year 12% 3 Year 20.4% 5 Year 18.7% 10 Year 15 Year Since launch 14.2% Historical performance (Yearly) on absolute basis
Year Returns 2024 7.4% 2023 22.1% 2022 35% 2021 7.4% 2020 30.2% 2019 15.2% 2018 10% 2017 2.6% 2016 35.4% 2015 7.1% Fund Manager information for Kotak India EQ Contra Fund
Name Since Tenure Shibani Kurian 9 May 19 6.65 Yr. Data below for Kotak India EQ Contra Fund as on 31 Dec 25
Equity Sector Allocation
Sector Value Financial Services 33.91% Consumer Cyclical 11.38% Technology 10.43% Health Care 9.73% Industrials 9.5% Basic Materials 8.92% Energy 4.86% Consumer Defensive 4.54% Communication Services 2.94% Utility 1.99% Asset Allocation
Asset Class Value Cash 1.79% Equity 98.21% Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
Name Holding Value Quantity HDFC Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 30 Sep 10 | HDFCBANK7% ₹340 Cr 3,426,864 ICICI Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 30 Apr 18 | 5321745% ₹235 Cr 1,748,051 State Bank of India (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 16 | SBIN4% ₹186 Cr 1,897,000 Infosys Ltd (Technology)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 10 | INFY4% ₹183 Cr 1,135,075
↑ 101,771 Tech Mahindra Ltd (Technology)
Equity, Since 30 Jun 23 | 5327553% ₹159 Cr 997,000
↑ 45,000 Reliance Industries Ltd (Energy)
Equity, Since 30 Sep 08 | RELIANCE3% ₹158 Cr 1,006,648 Shriram Finance Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 30 Jun 23 | SHRIRAMFIN3% ₹157 Cr 1,579,305 Hero MotoCorp Ltd (Consumer Cyclical)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 22 | HEROMOTOCO3% ₹153 Cr 264,700 Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (Consumer Cyclical)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 14 | MARUTI3% ₹152 Cr 90,798 Bharti Airtel Ltd (Communication Services)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 17 | BHARTIARTL3% ₹151 Cr 717,149 2. Invesco India Contra Fund
Invesco India Contra Fund
Growth Launch Date 11 Apr 07 NAV (27 Jan 26) ₹131.15 ↑ 0.77 (0.59 %) Net Assets (Cr) ₹20,658 on 31 Dec 25 Category Equity - Contra AMC Invesco Asset Management (India) Private Ltd Rating ☆☆☆☆ Risk Moderately High Expense Ratio 1.65 Sharpe Ratio -0.12 Information Ratio 0.97 Alpha Ratio -4.24 Min Investment 5,000 Min SIP Investment 500 Exit Load 0-1 Years (1%),1 Years and above(NIL) Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.
Date Value 31 Dec 20 ₹10,000 31 Dec 21 ₹12,957 31 Dec 22 ₹13,448 31 Dec 23 ₹17,324 31 Dec 24 ₹22,545 31 Dec 25 ₹23,250 Returns for Invesco India Contra Fund
absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) basis. as on 27 Jan 26 Duration Returns 1 Month -4.7% 3 Month -5.4% 6 Month -3.6% 1 Year 7.3% 3 Year 19.2% 5 Year 16.9% 10 Year 15 Year Since launch 14.7% Historical performance (Yearly) on absolute basis
Year Returns 2024 3.1% 2023 30.1% 2022 28.8% 2021 3.8% 2020 29.6% 2019 21.2% 2018 5.9% 2017 -3.3% 2016 45.6% 2015 6.7% Fund Manager information for Invesco India Contra Fund
Name Since Tenure Amit Ganatra 1 Dec 23 2.09 Yr. Taher Badshah 13 Jan 17 8.97 Yr. Data below for Invesco India Contra Fund as on 31 Dec 25
Equity Sector Allocation
Sector Value Financial Services 31.59% Consumer Cyclical 17.85% Industrials 11.38% Health Care 11.26% Technology 9.99% Energy 4.52% Basic Materials 3.12% Consumer Defensive 2.54% Real Estate 2.38% Communication Services 2.15% Asset Allocation
Asset Class Value Cash 1.1% Equity 98.89% Other 0% Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
Name Holding Value Quantity HDFC Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 30 Apr 14 | HDFCBANK8% ₹1,573 Cr 15,869,516 ICICI Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 May 17 | 5321745% ₹1,124 Cr 8,368,462 Infosys Ltd (Technology)
Equity, Since 30 Sep 13 | INFY5% ₹941 Cr 5,827,803
↓ -513,415 Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (Consumer Cyclical)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 21 | M&M4% ₹824 Cr 2,222,444 Larsen & Toubro Ltd (Industrials)
Equity, Since 30 Sep 20 | LT4% ₹776 Cr 1,900,679 Axis Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 30 Jun 20 | 5322153% ₹660 Cr 5,201,150 Reliance Industries Ltd (Energy)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 25 | RELIANCE3% ₹614 Cr 3,908,727
↑ 547,615 Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Co Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Dec 21 | CHOLAFIN2% ₹496 Cr 2,912,482 Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd (Healthcare)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 24 | APOLLOHOSP2% ₹490 Cr 696,469
↓ -15,392 Swiggy Ltd (Consumer Cyclical)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 25 | SWIGGY2% ₹457 Cr 11,829,404
↑ 10,285,714 3. SBI Contra Fund
SBI Contra Fund
Growth Launch Date 6 May 05 NAV (27 Jan 26) ₹385.493 ↑ 1.80 (0.47 %) Net Assets (Cr) ₹49,967 on 31 Dec 25 Category Equity - Contra AMC SBI Funds Management Private Limited Rating ☆☆☆ Risk Moderately High Expense Ratio 1.53 Sharpe Ratio 0.06 Information Ratio 1.14 Alpha Ratio -3.65 Min Investment 5,000 Min SIP Investment 500 Exit Load 0-1 Years (1%),1 Years and above(NIL) Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.
Date Value 31 Dec 20 ₹10,000 31 Dec 21 ₹14,992 31 Dec 22 ₹16,905 31 Dec 23 ₹23,366 31 Dec 24 ₹27,758 31 Dec 25 ₹29,461 Returns for SBI Contra Fund
absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) basis. as on 27 Jan 26 Duration Returns 1 Month -3.6% 3 Month -2% 6 Month -1.1% 1 Year 4.8% 3 Year 18.4% 5 Year 22% 10 Year 15 Year Since launch 14.7% Historical performance (Yearly) on absolute basis
Year Returns 2024 6.1% 2023 18.8% 2022 38.2% 2021 12.8% 2020 49.9% 2019 30.6% 2018 -1% 2017 -14.3% 2016 40.2% 2015 2.4% Fund Manager information for SBI Contra Fund
Name Since Tenure Dinesh Balachandran 7 May 18 7.66 Yr. Pradeep Kesavan 1 Dec 23 2.09 Yr. Data below for SBI Contra Fund as on 31 Dec 25
Equity Sector Allocation
Sector Value Financial Services 22.54% Energy 9.54% Basic Materials 9.23% Technology 8.4% Consumer Cyclical 8.15% Health Care 7.38% Consumer Defensive 5.34% Utility 4.22% Communication Services 3.45% Industrials 3.3% Real Estate 1.33% Asset Allocation
Asset Class Value Cash 4.16% Equity 92.87% Debt 2.97% Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
Name Holding Value Quantity Nifty Index 27-01-2026
Derivatives, Since 31 Dec 25 | -10% ₹4,994 Cr 1,899,300
↑ 1,899,300 HDFC Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Aug 16 | HDFCBANK8% ₹4,009 Cr 40,449,258 Reliance Industries Ltd (Energy)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 23 | RELIANCE6% ₹3,096 Cr 19,717,567 Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 24 | KOTAKBANK3% ₹1,410 Cr 6,405,768 Punjab National Bank (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 30 Sep 22 | 5324613% ₹1,400 Cr 113,256,586 Tata Steel Ltd (Basic Materials)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 22 | TATASTEEL3% ₹1,334 Cr 74,067,300 ITC Ltd (Consumer Defensive)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 20 | ITC3% ₹1,250 Cr 31,014,741 Biocon Ltd (Healthcare)
Equity, Since 30 Jun 21 | BIOCON2% ₹1,135 Cr 28,807,465 Indus Towers Ltd Ordinary Shares (Communication Services)
Equity, Since 30 Jun 24 | 5348162% ₹1,059 Cr 25,286,692 Dabur India Ltd (Consumer Defensive)
Equity, Since 31 Dec 23 | 5000962% ₹949 Cr 18,846,663
Who Should Invest in Contra Funds?
Ideally, investors who want to diversify their Portfolio should look at this fund. Contra funds can be invested for a diversification opportunity. Investors should always remember that these funds may not perform in the short term, therefore, one who can invest for a longer duration, ideally for more than five years, should only invest in this fund.
Furthermore, contra funds are usually riskier than large-cap Equity Funds, so analyse your risk appetite before investing. You must be able to bear high-risk in this fund as sometimes the fund manager’s call can go completely awry.
Taxation on Contra Funds
As they are a class of equity mutual funds, they are essentially taxed like any other equity fund. Short-term Capital Gains (units realised within a year) are taxed at a rate of 15% irrespective of investors’ income tax slab rate. Long-term capital gains of up to Rs 1 lakh a year are made tax-free (units realised after one year of holding). Any gains exceeding this are taxed at 15%. There is no benefit of indexation provided.
How to Invest in Contra Funds Online?
Open Free Investment Account for Lifetime at Fincash.com.
Complete your Registration and KYC Process
Upload Documents (PAN, Aadhaar, etc.). And, You are Ready to Invest!
All efforts have been made to ensure the information provided here is accurate. However, no guarantees are made regarding correctness of data. Please verify with scheme information document before making any investment.
AMFI Registration No. 112358 | CIN: U74999MH2016PTC282153
Shepard Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (with ARN code 112358) makes no warranties or representations, express or implied, on products offered through the platform. It accepts no liability for any damages or losses, however caused, in connection with the use of, or on the reliance of its product or related services. Terms and conditions of the website are applicable.
©2026 Shepard Technologies Private Limited. All Rights Reserved
I got fairly clear idea about the investment philosophy of the contra fund also the high risk involved as well as unlikely good returns in short or medium duration