fincash logo SOLUTIONS
EXPLORE FUNDS
CALCULATORS
LOG IN
SIGN UP

Fincash » Nippon India Small Cap Vs HDFC Small Cap Fund

Nippon India Small Cap Fund Vs HDFC Small Cap Fund: A Comparative Study

Updated on June 5, 2025 , 8136 views

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.

Nippon India/Reliance Small Cap Fund

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.

Important Information

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

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.

Detailed Comparison of Nippon India/Reliance Small Cap Vs HDFC Small Cap

Basic Parameters

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
BasicsNAV
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
₹168.485 ↑ 0.49   (0.29 %)
₹58,029 on 30 Apr 25
16 Sep 10
Equity
Small Cap
6
Moderately High
1.55
-0.21
0.55
1.49
Not Available
0-1 Years (1%),1 Years and above(NIL)
HDFC Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details
₹137.037 ↑ 0.22   (0.16 %)
₹30,880 on 30 Apr 25
3 Apr 08
Equity
Small Cap
9
Moderately High
1.64
-0.39
0
0
Not Available
0-1 Years (1%),1 Years and above(NIL)

Performance

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
Performance1 Month
3 Month
6 Month
1 Year
3 Year
5 Year
Since launch
Nippon India Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details
10.5%
15.8%
-6.9%
7.2%
28%
38.5%
21.1%
HDFC Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details
12.8%
15.6%
-5.1%
9.9%
26.8%
34.6%
16.5%

Yearly Performance

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 Performance2024
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%

Ready to Invest?
Talk to our investment specialist
Disclaimer:
By submitting this form I authorize Fincash.com to call/SMS/email me about its products and I accept the terms of Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.

Other Details

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 DetailsMin SIP Investment
Min Investment
Fund Manager
Nippon India Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details
₹100
₹5,000
Samir Rachh - 8.41 Yr.
HDFC Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details
₹300
₹5,000
Chirag Setalvad - 10.93 Yr.

Growth of 10k Investments over the years

Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.
Nippon India Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details
DateValue
31 May 20₹10,000
31 May 21₹22,034
31 May 22₹26,339
31 May 23₹33,417
31 May 24₹51,089
31 May 25₹54,222
Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.
HDFC Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details
DateValue
31 May 20₹10,000
31 May 21₹21,753
31 May 22₹24,075
31 May 23₹31,855
31 May 24₹44,049
31 May 25₹48,298

Detailed portfolio Comparison

Asset Allocation
Nippon India Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details
Asset ClassValue
Cash5.34%
Equity94.66%
Equity Sector Allocation
SectorValue
Industrials22.85%
Consumer Cyclical14.12%
Financial Services13.91%
Basic Materials12.5%
Consumer Defensive9.15%
Health Care8.25%
Technology8.09%
Energy1.92%
Utility1.9%
Communication Services1.47%
Real Estate0.5%
Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
NameHoldingValueQuantity
HDFC Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 30 Apr 22 | HDFCBANK
2%₹1,280 Cr6,650,000
Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 28 Feb 21 | MCX
2%₹1,134 Cr1,851,010
Dixon Technologies (India) Ltd (Technology)
Equity, Since 30 Nov 18 | DIXON
1%₹773 Cr470,144
Kirloskar Brothers Ltd (Industrials)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 12 | KIRLOSBROS
1%₹766 Cr4,472,130
Tube Investments of India Ltd Ordinary Shares (Industrials)
Equity, Since 30 Apr 18 | TIINDIA
1%₹724 Cr2,499,222
State Bank of India (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 19 | SBIN
1%₹718 Cr9,100,000
Karur Vysya Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 28 Feb 17 | 590003
1%₹693 Cr31,784,062
Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (Industrials)
Equity, Since 30 Sep 22 | 500103
1%₹624 Cr27,500,000
Emami Ltd (Consumer Defensive)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 23 | 531162
1%₹623 Cr9,970,126
NLC India Ltd (Utilities)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 22 | NLCINDIA
1%₹619 Cr27,190,940
Asset Allocation
HDFC Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details
Asset ClassValue
Cash7.56%
Equity92.44%
Equity Sector Allocation
SectorValue
Industrials22.59%
Consumer Cyclical17.44%
Financial Services14.26%
Technology13.79%
Health Care12.78%
Basic Materials7.28%
Consumer Defensive2.01%
Communication Services1.98%
Utility0.31%
Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
NameHoldingValueQuantity
Firstsource Solutions Ltd (Technology)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 18 | FSL
6%₹1,853 Cr54,385,267
↑ 102,686
Aster DM Healthcare Ltd Ordinary Shares (Healthcare)
Equity, Since 30 Jun 19 | ASTERDM
4%₹1,232 Cr24,394,493
↑ 67,840
Bank of Baroda (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 19 | 532134
4%₹1,170 Cr46,828,792
eClerx Services Ltd (Technology)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 18 | ECLERX
3%₹948 Cr3,769,293
↑ 19,197
Eris Lifesciences Ltd Registered Shs (Healthcare)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 23 | ERIS
3%₹856 Cr5,974,796
Sonata Software Ltd (Technology)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 17 | SONATSOFTW
3%₹780 Cr18,501,699
↑ 1,121,276
Fortis Healthcare Ltd (Healthcare)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 23 | 532843
3%₹777 Cr11,340,132
↓ -1,113,143
Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences Ltd (Healthcare)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 23 | 543308
2%₹752 Cr11,442,105
Gabriel India Ltd (Consumer Cyclical)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 18 | GABRIEL
2%₹655 Cr12,105,104
↑ 49,104
Power Mech Projects Ltd (Industrials)
Equity, Since 31 Aug 15 | POWERMECH
2%₹647 Cr2,469,936

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.

Disclaimer:
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.
How helpful was this page ?
POST A COMMENT