Nippon India Small Cap Fund (Formerly know as Reliance Small Cap Fund) and HDFC Small Cap Fund both of them belong to the small cap category offered by different fund houses. Though both the schemes belong to the same category of Small cap funds under equity category yet, there are differences between both of them. So, let us understand the differences between both the schemes through this article.
This scheme of Nippon India was launched on April 03, 2008. The scheme’s main objective is to attain long-term Capital appreciation by Investing in equity and equity-related instruments of small-cap companies.
The top 10 holdings of Nippon India Small Cap Fund (as on January 31, 2018) include VIP Industries Limited, RBL Bank Limited, Navin Fluorine International Limited, Zydus Wellness Limited, etc.
From October 2019, Reliance Mutual Fund has been renamed as Nippon India Mutual Fund. Nippon Life has acquired majority (75%) stakes in Reliance Nippon Asset Management (RNAM). The company will continue to run its operations without any change in structure and management.
HDFC Small Cap Fund is a part of HDFC Mutual Fund and was incepted on April 03, 2008. The primary aim of the scheme is to achieve capital growth in the long-term by investing a major portion of its corpus in shares of small cap companies.
As on January 31, 2018, the top 10 holdings of HDFC Small Cap Fund’s Portfolio include Sonata Software Limited, TV Today Network Limited, KEC International Limited, Oriental Carbon & Chemicals Limited, etc.
In this section, the parameters compared are current NAV, Fincash Rating, AUM, their category, expense ratio, exit load and so on. To begin with, the category of these schemes, they both belong to equity category. With respect to the current NAV, both the schemes have different NAV though the difference is not much.
Fincash Ratings for both the Nippon India/Reliance Small Cap Fund and HDFC Small Cap Fund are 4-Star
To summarize, the basic parameters are compared below 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 Nippon India Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details ₹167.443 ↑ 0.56 (0.33 %) ₹65,922 on 31 Jul 25 16 Sep 10 ☆☆☆☆ Equity Small Cap 6 Moderately High 1.44 -0.51 0 -3.84 Not Available 0-1 Years (1%),1 Years and above(NIL) HDFC Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details ₹142.308 ↑ 1.23 (0.87 %) ₹36,353 on 31 Jul 25 3 Apr 08 ☆☆☆☆ Equity Small Cap 9 Moderately High 1.58 -0.17 0 0 Not Available 0-1 Years (1%),1 Years and above(NIL)
After looking at the basic parameters let us now look at the performance aspects of both the funds. With respect to performance aspects, there is not much difference in the areas of 1 Month Returns, 3 Month Returns, 6 Month Returns, and 1 Year returns. However, with respect to 3 Year Returns, 5 Year Returns, and Returns Since Inception, there seems a good difference between both of them. In these parameters, the returns of Reliance Small Cap Fund is higher as compared to HDFC Small Cap Fund. Therefore, though HDFC Small Cap Scheme was launched earlier than Reliance’s scheme yet; its performance is better. The table given below shows the performance of both the schemes.
Parameters Performance 1 Month 3 Month 6 Month 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year Since launch Nippon India Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details 0% 0.5% 20% -6.7% 22.9% 32.3% 20.7% HDFC Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details 1.9% 5.2% 25.1% 0.2% 23.4% 30.4% 16.5%
After looking at the 1Y, 3Y, 5Y Performance let us now look at the absolute yearly performance aspects of both the funds in last 5 years. over here Nippon India Small Cap Fund is generating marginally better returns every year in comparison to HDFC Small cap fund.
Parameters Yearly Performance 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 Nippon India Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details 26.1% 48.9% 6.5% 74.3% 29.2% HDFC Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details 20.4% 44.8% 4.6% 64.9% 20.2%
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In this section of other details, some of the parameters compared are Minimum SIP and lumpsum investment. Though the lumpsum investment in case of both the schemes is same, that is, INR 5,000, nevertheless, in case of SIP, the minimum amount of Reliance is lower as compared to HDFC.
Nippon India/Reliance Small Cap Fund is managed by Mr. Samir Rachh
HDFC Small Cap Fund is managed by Mr. Chirag Setalvad
Parameters Other Details Min SIP Investment Min Investment Fund Manager Nippon India Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details ₹100 ₹5,000 Samir Rachh - 8.67 Yr. HDFC Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details ₹300 ₹5,000 Chirag Setalvad - 11.19 Yr.
Nippon India Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.
Date Value 31 Aug 20 ₹10,000 31 Aug 21 ₹19,171 31 Aug 22 ₹22,076 31 Aug 23 ₹29,854 31 Aug 24 ₹44,369 31 Aug 25 ₹40,510 HDFC Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.
Date Value 31 Aug 20 ₹10,000 31 Aug 21 ₹18,549 31 Aug 22 ₹20,186 31 Aug 23 ₹27,782 31 Aug 24 ₹37,887 31 Aug 25 ₹37,167
Nippon India Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details Asset Allocation
Asset Class Value Cash 4.3% Equity 95.7% Equity Sector Allocation
Sector Value Industrials 22.6% Financial Services 15.03% Consumer Cyclical 14.43% Basic Materials 13.05% Health Care 8.85% Consumer Defensive 8.53% Technology 7.18% Utility 2.47% Energy 1.53% Communication Services 1.43% Real Estate 0.59% Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
Name Holding Value Quantity Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 28 Feb 21 | MCX2% ₹1,424 Cr 1,851,010 HDFC Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 30 Apr 22 | HDFCBANK2% ₹1,342 Cr 6,650,000 Kirloskar Brothers Ltd (Industrials)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 12 | KIRLOSBROS1% ₹881 Cr 4,472,130 Paradeep Phosphates Ltd (Basic Materials)
Equity, Since 31 May 22 | 5435301% ₹870 Cr 40,362,502
↑ 1,670,164 Karur Vysya Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 28 Feb 17 | 5900031% ₹838 Cr 31,784,062 Apar Industries Ltd (Industrials)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 17 | APARINDS1% ₹801 Cr 899,271 ELANTAS Beck India Ltd (Basic Materials)
Equity, Since 28 Feb 13 | 5001231% ₹798 Cr 651,246 State Bank of India (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 19 | SBIN1% ₹725 Cr 9,100,000 Tube Investments of India Ltd Ordinary Shares (Industrials)
Equity, Since 30 Apr 18 | TIINDIA1% ₹710 Cr 2,499,222 Zydus Wellness Ltd (Consumer Defensive)
Equity, Since 31 Aug 16 | ZYDUSWELL1% ₹684 Cr 3,369,221
↑ 17,475 HDFC Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details Asset Allocation
Asset Class Value Cash 8.93% Equity 91.07% Equity Sector Allocation
Sector Value Industrials 23.59% Consumer Cyclical 18.21% Technology 13.07% Health Care 12.61% Financial Services 11.31% Basic Materials 7.92% Consumer Defensive 2.24% Communication Services 1.75% Utility 0.36% Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
Name Holding Value Quantity Firstsource Solutions Ltd (Technology)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 18 | FSL5% ₹1,861 Cr 54,453,120 Aster DM Healthcare Ltd Ordinary Shares (Healthcare)
Equity, Since 30 Jun 19 | ASTERDM4% ₹1,459 Cr 24,127,134
↓ -267,359 eClerx Services Ltd (Technology)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 18 | ECLERX4% ₹1,420 Cr 3,769,293 Gabriel India Ltd (Consumer Cyclical)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 18 | GABRIEL3% ₹1,194 Cr 11,506,772
↓ -600,000 Bank of Baroda (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 19 | 5321343% ₹1,114 Cr 46,828,792 Eris Lifesciences Ltd Registered Shs (Healthcare)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 23 | ERIS3% ₹1,086 Cr 6,035,882 Fortis Healthcare Ltd (Healthcare)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 23 | 5328432% ₹864 Cr 10,073,132 Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences Ltd (Healthcare)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 23 | 5433082% ₹836 Cr 11,127,166
↓ -314,939 Sudarshan Chemical Industries Ltd (Basic Materials)
Equity, Since 29 Feb 24 | SUDARSCHEM2% ₹823 Cr 5,734,275 Power Mech Projects Ltd (Industrials)
Equity, Since 31 Aug 15 | POWERMECH2% ₹748 Cr 2,392,936
↓ -77,000
Thus, from the above comparisons, we can find that both the schemes are different in certain parameters while same in certain parameters. However, it is always advised to people that they understand the modalities of a scheme completely and check whether it matches their investment objectives before investing. In addition, they can even consult a financial advisor to ensure that the selected fund is in-line with their objectives and they attain it on time.