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 ₹176.549 ↓ -3.31 (-1.84 %) ₹74,604 on 31 May 26 16 Sep 10 ☆☆☆☆ Equity Small Cap 6 Moderately High 1.44 0.05 -0.24 2.35 Not Available 0-1 Years (1%),1 Years and above(NIL) HDFC Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details ₹135.56 ↓ -2.33 (-1.69 %) ₹38,809 on 31 May 26 3 Apr 08 ☆☆☆☆ Equity Small Cap 9 Moderately High 1.58 -0.31 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 3.4% 11.9% 7.6% 2.2% 16.9% 19.1% 19.9% HDFC Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details 3% 6.2% -1.2% -4.2% 12.1% 15.2% 15.3%
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 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 Nippon India Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details -4.7% 26.1% 48.9% 6.5% 74.3% HDFC Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details -0.6% 20.4% 44.8% 4.6% 64.9%
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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 - 9.5 Yr. HDFC Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details ₹300 ₹5,000 Chirag Setalvad - 12.02 Yr.
Nippon India Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.
Date Value 30 Jun 21 ₹10,000 30 Jun 22 ₹10,860 30 Jun 23 ₹15,169 30 Jun 24 ₹23,621 30 Jun 25 ₹24,128 30 Jun 26 ₹25,102 HDFC Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.
Date Value 30 Jun 21 ₹10,000 30 Jun 22 ₹9,800 30 Jun 23 ₹14,202 30 Jun 24 ₹20,070 30 Jun 25 ₹21,309 30 Jun 26 ₹20,727
Nippon India Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details Asset Allocation
Asset Class Value Cash 2.9% Equity 97.1% Equity Sector Allocation
Sector Value Industrials 24.65% Financial Services 15.05% Consumer Cyclical 14.19% Basic Materials 11.05% Health Care 9.49% Consumer Defensive 9.04% Technology 7.05% Utility 3.27% Communication Services 1.65% Real Estate 0.78% Energy 0.43% Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
Name Holding Value Quantity Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (Industrials)
Equity, Since 30 Sep 22 | BHEL2% ₹1,438 Cr 34,507,422 HDFC Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 30 Apr 22 | HDFCBANK2% ₹1,322 Cr 17,754,929 TD Power Systems Ltd (Industrials)
Equity, Since 31 Dec 15 | TDPOWERSYS2% ₹1,277 Cr 9,680,747 Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 28 Feb 21 | MCX2% ₹1,169 Cr 3,957,067
↓ -342,933 Apar Industries Ltd (Industrials)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 17 | APARINDS2% ₹1,154 Cr 879,502 State Bank of India (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 19 | SBIN1% ₹964 Cr 10,000,000
↑ 2,000,000 NLC India Ltd (Utilities)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 22 | NLCINDIA1% ₹938 Cr 26,990,331 Karur Vysya Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 28 Feb 17 | KARURVYSYA1% ₹921 Cr 31,907,252 Zydus Wellness Ltd (Consumer Defensive)
Equity, Since 31 Aug 16 | ZYDUSWELL1% ₹876 Cr 17,273,570 Tube Investments of India Ltd Ordinary Shares (Industrials)
Equity, Since 30 Apr 18 | TIINDIA1% ₹785 Cr 2,499,222 HDFC Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details Asset Allocation
Asset Class Value Cash 10.14% Equity 89.86% Equity Sector Allocation
Sector Value Industrials 21.38% Consumer Cyclical 20.81% Financial Services 12.52% Health Care 11.83% Technology 10.13% Basic Materials 7.46% Consumer Defensive 4.05% Communication Services 1.68% Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
Name Holding Value Quantity Firstsource Solutions Ltd (Technology)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 18 | FSL4% ₹1,522 Cr 57,922,189
↑ 1,402,758 Aster DM Healthcare Ltd Ordinary Shares (Healthcare)
Equity, Since 30 Jun 19 | ASTERDM4% ₹1,474 Cr 20,240,031
↓ -3,827,000 Bank of Baroda (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 19 | BANKBARODA3% ₹1,257 Cr 46,828,792 Gabriel India Ltd (Consumer Cyclical)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 18 | GABRIEL3% ₹1,075 Cr 9,775,044 eClerx Services Ltd (Technology)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 18 | ECLERX2% ₹952 Cr 6,313,993
↑ 38,545 Eris Lifesciences Ltd Registered Shs (Healthcare)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 23 | ERIS2% ₹918 Cr 6,563,458
↓ -200,000 Fortis Healthcare Ltd (Healthcare)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 23 | FORTIS2% ₹876 Cr 9,440,132 Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences Ltd (Healthcare)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 23 | KIMS2% ₹845 Cr 11,133,566 Indian Bank (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 16 | INDIANB2% ₹807 Cr 9,688,128 Apar Industries Ltd (Industrials)
Equity, Since 30 Sep 16 | APARINDS2% ₹663 Cr 505,371
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.