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

Updated on February 11, 2026 , 8440 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
₹162.704 ↓ -1.81   (-1.10 %)
₹68,287 on 31 Dec 25
16 Sep 10
Equity
Small Cap
6
Moderately High
1.44
-0.42
-0.02
-1.23
Not Available
0-1 Years (1%),1 Years and above(NIL)
HDFC Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details
₹134.886 ↓ -2.04   (-1.49 %)
₹37,753 on 31 Dec 25
3 Apr 08
Equity
Small Cap
9
Moderately High
1.58
-0.23
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
0.7%
-4.2%
-1.9%
8.7%
21.1%
23.8%
19.8%
HDFC Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details
-0.5%
-5.4%
-3.3%
10.6%
19.1%
21%
15.7%

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
-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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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 - 9 Yr.
HDFC Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details
₹300
₹5,000
Chirag Setalvad - 11.52 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 Jan 21₹10,000
31 Jan 22₹17,257
31 Jan 23₹18,306
31 Jan 24₹28,687
31 Jan 25₹31,667
31 Jan 26₹31,833
Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.
HDFC Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details
DateValue
31 Jan 21₹10,000
31 Jan 22₹16,272
31 Jan 23₹17,049
31 Jan 24₹26,272
31 Jan 25₹27,387
31 Jan 26₹28,831

Detailed portfolio Comparison

Asset Allocation
Nippon India Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details
Asset ClassValue
Cash3.83%
Equity96.17%
Equity Sector Allocation
SectorValue
Industrials19.8%
Financial Services16.77%
Consumer Cyclical14.25%
Consumer Defensive11.36%
Basic Materials10.68%
Health Care9.29%
Technology6.96%
Utility3%
Energy1.86%
Communication Services1.26%
Real Estate0.92%
Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
NameHoldingValueQuantity
Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 28 Feb 21 | MCX
3%₹2,061 Cr1,851,010
HDFC Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 30 Apr 22 | HDFCBANK
2%₹1,318 Cr13,300,000
State Bank of India (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 19 | SBIN
1%₹1,016 Cr10,347,848
Karur Vysya Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 28 Feb 17 | 590003
1%₹1,006 Cr38,140,874
Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (Industrials)
Equity, Since 30 Sep 22 | 500103
1%₹848 Cr29,507,422
Emami Ltd (Consumer Defensive)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 23 | 531162
1%₹835 Cr15,798,302
↑ 2,923,504
eClerx Services Ltd (Technology)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 20 | ECLERX
1%₹804 Cr1,712,794
Reliance Industries Ltd (Energy)
Equity, Since 30 Nov 24 | RELIANCE
1%₹780 Cr4,964,128
Zydus Wellness Ltd (Consumer Defensive)
Equity, Since 31 Aug 16 | ZYDUSWELL
1%₹775 Cr17,048,030
↑ 200,000
Axis Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 24 | 532215
1%₹759 Cr5,977,976
Asset Allocation
HDFC Small Cap Fund
Growth
Fund Details
Asset ClassValue
Cash9.48%
Equity90.52%
Equity Sector Allocation
SectorValue
Industrials21.94%
Consumer Cyclical18.99%
Financial Services12.85%
Technology12.73%
Health Care11.15%
Basic Materials7.21%
Consumer Defensive4.08%
Communication Services1.57%
Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
NameHoldingValueQuantity
Firstsource Solutions Ltd (Technology)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 18 | FSL
5%₹1,856 Cr55,264,362
Aster DM Healthcare Ltd Ordinary Shares (Healthcare)
Equity, Since 30 Jun 19 | ASTERDM
4%₹1,476 Cr23,927,134
eClerx Services Ltd (Technology)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 18 | ECLERX
4%₹1,475 Cr3,141,244
↓ -150,000
Bank of Baroda (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 19 | 532134
4%₹1,386 Cr46,828,792
Eris Lifesciences Ltd Registered Shs (Healthcare)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 23 | ERIS
3%₹980 Cr6,506,651
↑ 24,551
Gabriel India Ltd (Consumer Cyclical)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 18 | GABRIEL
2%₹931 Cr9,223,375
↓ -75,000
Fortis Healthcare Ltd (Healthcare)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 23 | 532843
2%₹835 Cr9,440,132
Indian Bank (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 16 | 532814
2%₹811 Cr9,688,128
Sonata Software Ltd (Technology)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 17 | SONATSOFTW
2%₹698 Cr19,409,949
↑ 38,730
Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences Ltd (Healthcare)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 23 | 543308
2%₹677 Cr11,127,166

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.
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