What is up capture?
Look only at the months the benchmark went up. Up capture is what percentage of that gain the fund captured on average - 100% means it matched the benchmark exactly in rising months, below 100% means it lagged.
Up Capture = Rp,up / Rm,up × 100
Read this together with down capture below - the gap between the two is the real story.
Real comparison across 6 funds
CHART
3Y Up Capture Ratio - 6 real funds
Every fund here captures 73-81% of benchmark upside - none amplify rallies, all are somewhat defensive by construction.
Funds compared: Parag Parikh Flexi Cap · DSP Value · ICICI Prudential Value · SBI Focused · Parag Parikh ELSS Tax Saver · SBI Multicap
Reading the spread
Across these 6 funds, up capture runs from 73.3 (Parag Parikh Flexi Cap) to 80.8 (ICICI Prudential Value), a gap of 7.5. The middle value is 79.3, with 3 of 6 above it. Taking higher as better, ICICI Prudential Value leads and Parag Parikh Flexi Cap trails on this measure alone.
How to use it in practice
Up capture shows how much of the benchmark’s gains a fund captured in rising periods. A value above 100 means the fund rose more than the index in up markets. Read it together with down capture: the ideal fund captures more of the ups than the downs. If up capture is 105 and down capture is 90, the manager is adding value in both directions.
Common mistakes
A high up capture alone proves little: a very aggressive fund will also capture a lot on the way up and then give it back on the way down. And because it is an average across rising months, it can hide a few big misses. Always judge the two capture ratios as a pair, over a window that includes both rising and falling markets.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good up capture ratio?
Above 100 means the fund gained more than its benchmark in rising periods. A higher figure is better only if down capture is not equally high, so judge them together.
How is up capture calculated?
It compares the fund’s average return with the benchmark’s average return across the periods in which the benchmark rose, expressed as a percentage.
Why look at up capture and down capture together?
A fund that captures 110% of gains and 110% of losses is simply leveraged to the market. A fund that captures more of the gains than the losses is adding value in both directions.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU A low up capture isn’t a red flag by itself - it only becomes a concern if down capture is just as high, meaning the fund lags in good markets without protecting in bad ones. See Down Capture Ratio.
METHODOLOGY Computed over a trailing 3-year window as of 2026-08-31, using monthly return periods where the benchmark was positive. Data: Punji risk analytics. Not investment advice.