HDFC small cap Fund and Aditya Birla Sun Life Small Cap Fund both the schemes belong to the small-cap category of Equity Funds. These funds invest their corpus in shares of companies whose market capitalization is less than INR 500 Crores. These companies are either start-ups or in their early stages of development and have huge growth potentials. In addition, these companies in many situations have performed better as compared to other large and mid-cap companies. However, the investment tenure of small-cap companies is generally high. Though HDFC Small Cap Fund and Aditya Birla Sun Life Small Cap Fund belong to the same category, nevertheless; they differ on account of numerous parameters. So, let’s analyze the differences between these schemes through these parameters.
Aditya Birla Sun Life Small Cap Fund (earlier known as Aditya Birla Sun Life Small & Midcap Fund) is an open-ended scheme offered by Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund under the small-cap category. The investment goal of this scheme is to attain generate growth in capital investment in the long-term tenure by primarily Investing in shares of small and midcap companies. The scheme was incepted on May 30, 2007, and is managed solely by Mr. Jayesh Gandhi. The highlight of ABSL Small Cap Fund is that it invests more than 70% of its accumulated fund money in shares of small-cap companies. As on March 31, 2018, some of the top 10 holdings of this scheme of Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund included Tata Metaliks Limited, Gujrat State Petronet Limited, CG Power & Industrial Solutions Limited, and DCB Bank Limited.
The objective of HDFC Small Cap Fund is to attain appreciation in the capital invested by the investors in the long-term tenure by investing the money mainly in companies forming part of the small-cap category. The risk-appetite of HDFC Small Cap Fund is moderately high and is suitable for investors seeking an investment in small-cap companies thereby attaining capital growth. HDFC Small Cap Fund is managed by HDFC Mutual Fund and was launched in the month of April 2008. The scheme uses Nifty Smallcap 100 Index and NIFTY 50 as its primary and additional benchmark to construct its Portfolio. Mr. Chirag Setalvad and Mr. Rakesh Vyas together manage the HDFC Small Cap Fund. Sonata Software Limited, Atul Limited, Chambal Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited, and SKF India Limited, are some of the holdings that are part of HDFC Small Cap Fund’s portfolio as on March 31, 2018.
Though both the schemes belong to the same category, yet; they differ on account of numerous parameters such as performance, current NAV, and so on. So, let’s understand the differences between Aditya Birla Sun Life Small Cap Fund Vs HDFC Small Cap Fund through this article.
It is the first section in the comparison that includes elements such as Current NAV, scheme category, and Fincash Rating. To begin with the scheme category, it can be referred that both the schemes belong to the same category of Equity Mid & Small-cap. The comparison of NAV shows that HDFC Small Cap Fund leads the race. As on April 26, 2018, the NAV of ABSL Small Cap Fund was approximately INR 42 while of HDFC Small Cap Fund was around INR 47. With respect to Fincash Rating, it can be said that Aditya Birla Sun Life Small Cap Fund is rated as a 5-Star scheme and HDFC Small Cap Fund is rated as a 4-Star scheme. The summary comparison of the basics section is tabulated as follows.
Parameters Basics NAV Net Assets (Cr) Launch Date Rating Category Sub Cat. Category Rank Risk Expense Ratio Sharpe Ratio Information Ratio Alpha Ratio Benchmark Exit Load Aditya Birla Sun Life Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details ₹96.7895 ↓ -0.06 (-0.06 %) ₹6,120 on 30 Sep 26 31 May 07 ☆☆☆☆☆ Equity Small Cap 1 Moderately High 1.91 0.62 0 0 Not Available 0-365 Days (1%),365 Days and above(NIL) HDFC Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details ₹132.407 ↓ -1.06 (-0.80 %) ₹40,801 on 30 Sep 26 3 Apr 08 ☆☆☆☆ Equity Small Cap 9 Moderately High 1.56 -0.35 -0.49 -8.04 Not Available 0-1 Years (1%),1 Years and above(NIL)
This being the second section compares the CAGR or Compounded Annual Growth Rate returns of both the schemes at different time intervals. These time intervals include 1 Month Return, 6 Month Return, 3 Year Return, and Return since Inception. The analysis of the performance section shows that; HDFC Small Cap Fund leads the race in many instances. In addition, there also exists a significant difference between the returns of both the schemes. The table given below shows the summary comparison of the performance section.
Parameters Performance 1 Month 3 Month 6 Month 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year Since launch Aditya Birla Sun Life Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details -1.8% -2.5% 6.8% 10.8% 13.3% 11.6% 12.3% HDFC Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details -2.6% -7.4% -2.2% -7% 8.2% 12.1% 14.9%
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It is the third section in the comparison of the schemes. The comparable element of yearly performance section is the absolute returns generated by both the schemes for a particular year. With respect to absolute returns, it can be said that for certain years, ABSL Small Cap Fund has done better while in others, HDFC Small Cap Fund has performed well. The table given below summarizes the comparison of yearly performance section.
Parameters Yearly Performance 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 Aditya Birla Sun Life Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details -3.7% 21.5% 39.4% -6.5% 51.4% HDFC Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details -0.6% 20.4% 44.8% 4.6% 64.9%
AUM, minimum SIP investment, and minimum lumpsum investment are some of the parameters that form part of the other details section. With respect to the AUM, there is not much difference between both the schemes, though HDFC Mutual Fund’s scheme leads the race. As on March 31, 2018, the AUM of ABSL Small Cap Fund was approximately INR 2,089 Crores while of HDFC Small Cap Fund was around INR 2,968 Crores. Both the schemes also differ on account of minimum SIP and lumpsum investment. The minimum SIP and lumpsum investment for ABSL Small Cap Fund are INR 1,000 for both respectively. However, the SIP and lumpsum investment for HDFC Small Cap Fund is INR 500 and INR 5,000. The summary comparison of this section is as shown in the table given below.
Parameters Other Details Min SIP Investment Min Investment Fund Manager Aditya Birla Sun Life Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details ₹1,000 ₹1,000 Abhinav Khandelwal - 1.92 Yr. HDFC Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details ₹300 ₹5,000 Chirag Setalvad - 12.27 Yr.
Aditya Birla Sun Life Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.
Date Value 31 Oct 21 ₹10,000 31 Oct 22 ₹9,562 31 Oct 23 ₹11,768 31 Oct 24 ₹16,213 31 Oct 25 ₹15,889 31 Oct 26 ₹16,979 HDFC Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.
Date Value 31 Oct 21 ₹10,000 31 Oct 22 ₹10,539 31 Oct 23 ₹14,028 31 Oct 24 ₹19,087 31 Oct 25 ₹19,656 31 Oct 26 ₹17,669
Aditya Birla Sun Life Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details Asset Allocation
Asset Class Value Cash 4.64% Equity 95.36% Equity Sector Allocation
Sector Value Consumer Cyclical 19.84% Financial Services 16.48% Health Care 15.79% Industrials 15.3% Basic Materials 12.69% Consumer Defensive 7.95% Technology 3.69% Real Estate 1.47% Communication Services 1.24% Utility 0.91% Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
Name Holding Value Quantity TD Power Systems Ltd (Industrials)
Equity, Since 30 Jun 23 | TDPOWERSYS3% ₹207 Cr 2,638,838 Sai Life Sciences Ltd (Healthcare)
Equity, Since 30 Jun 25 | SAILIFE3% ₹193 Cr 1,263,192 Navin Fluorine International Ltd (Basic Materials)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 20 | NAVINFLUOR3% ₹174 Cr 210,525 Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Dec 24 | MCX3% ₹165 Cr 498,500
↑ 117,500 Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Ltd Ordinary Shares (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 25 | UJJIVANSFB2% ₹148 Cr 21,907,129 Meesho Ltd (Consumer Cyclical)
Equity, Since 31 Dec 25 | MEESHO2% ₹143 Cr 6,296,313 Shaily Engineering Plastics Ltd (Basic Materials)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 25 | 5014232% ₹141 Cr 461,745
↑ 44,781 Radico Khaitan Ltd (Consumer Defensive)
Equity, Since 31 May 20 | RADICO2% ₹132 Cr 302,373 RBL Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 30 Nov 25 | RBLBANK2% ₹127 Cr 3,147,305 Arvind Ltd (Consumer Cyclical)
Equity, Since 30 Nov 24 | 5001012% ₹126 Cr 2,331,695 HDFC Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details Asset Allocation
Asset Class Value Cash 9.94% Equity 90.06% Equity Sector Allocation
Sector Value Consumer Cyclical 22.04% Industrials 20.82% Financial Services 12.3% Health Care 10.8% Technology 10.74% Basic Materials 7.82% Consumer Defensive 3.6% Communication Services 1.96% Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
Name Holding Value Quantity Firstsource Solutions Ltd (Technology)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 18 | FSL4% ₹1,502 Cr 58,722,189 Aster DM Quality Care Ltd Ordinary Shares (Healthcare)
Equity, Since 30 Jun 19 | ASTERDM3% ₹1,376 Cr 19,740,031 Gabriel India Ltd (Consumer Cyclical)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 18 | GABRIEL3% ₹1,259 Cr 9,381,123
↓ -100,000 eClerx Services Ltd (Technology)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 18 | ECLERX3% ₹1,192 Cr 6,547,683 Bank of Baroda (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 19 | 5321343% ₹1,080 Cr 46,828,792 Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences Ltd (Healthcare)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 23 | KIMS2% ₹831 Cr 11,133,566 Apar Industries Ltd (Industrials)
Equity, Since 30 Sep 16 | APARINDS2% ₹782 Cr 450,044 Indian Bank (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 16 | 5328142% ₹781 Cr 9,688,128 Pearl Global Industries Ltd (Consumer Cyclical)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 24 | PGIL2% ₹775 Cr 6,042,408
↑ 25,696 Eris Lifesciences Ltd Registered Shs (Healthcare)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 23 | ERIS2% ₹771 Cr 6,464,629
To conclude in a nutshell, it can be said that there are differences between both the schemes in-spite of them belonging to the same category. As a consequence, individuals should be careful while investing in any of the schemes. They should understand its modalities completely and check whether the scheme suits their investment objective or not. This will help them to attain their objectives on time along with ensuring that their capital is safe.
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