COMPARE
Axis Innovation Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option vs HDFC Defence Fund - Growth Option - Direct Plan
Axis Innovation Fund and HDFC Defence Fund are both in the Thematic Fund category, from Axis Asset Management Co. Ltd. and HDFC Asset Management Company Limited respectively. HDFC Defence Fund has posted a higher 3-year rolling CAGR. HDFC Defence Fund has the lower expense ratio. See the full table and FAQ below for the complete real-data comparison.
Basics
HDFC Defence Fund has the lower direct-plan expense ratio, by 0.46 percentage points.
| Axis Innovation Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option | HDFC Defence Fund - Growth Option - Direct Plan | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Thematic Fund | Thematic Fund |
| AMC | Axis Asset Management Co. Ltd. | HDFC Asset Management Company Limited |
| Benchmark | Nifty 500 TRI | Nifty India Defence TRI |
| NAV | ₹22.26 (2026-10-28) | ₹29.085 (2026-10-28) |
| AUM | ₹1,295.798 Cr | ₹11,136.943 Cr |
| Expense Ratio (Direct) | 1.35% | 0.89% |
| Inception | 2020-12-04 | 2023-05-19 |
Returns
HDFC Defence Fund leads on 3-year rolling CAGR (39.6% vs Axis Innovation Fund's 16.2%) - see the FAQ below for percentile context within each fund's own category.
Risk Metrics
HDFC Defence Fund has been the more volatile of the two by standard deviation.
| Axis Innovation Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option | HDFC Defence Fund - Growth Option - Direct Plan | |
|---|---|---|
| 3Y Sharpe Ratio | 0.52 | 0.93 |
| 3Y Alpha | 6.659% | -0.6617% |
| 3Y Std Deviation | 15.0729% | 26.9238% |
| 3Y Calmar Ratio | 0.76 | 0.93 |
Portfolio Analytics
Axis Innovation Fund carries the higher portfolio P/E ratio (a rougher proxy for how richly the underlying holdings are valued) - see the table below for the full comparison.
| Axis Innovation Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option | HDFC Defence Fund - Growth Option - Direct Plan | |
|---|---|---|
| P/E Ratio | 69.3577 | 59.1788 |
| P/B Ratio | - | - |
| Dividend Yield | 0.1522% | 0.5081% |
| Active Share | 92.44% | 30.63% |
| Portfolio Turnover | 83% | 3172% |
| YTM | 5.28% | - |
| Duration (Macaulay) | - | - |
Punji Fund Health Score
Axis Innovation Fund and HDFC Defence Fund carry the same Punji Quality grade.
Frequently asked questions
Which has a higher 3-year return, Axis Innovation Fund or HDFC Defence Fund?
HDFC Defence Fund's 3-year rolling CAGR of 39.6% is higher than Axis Innovation Fund's 16.2%. HDFC Defence Fund sits in the 100th percentile of its category on this metric, versus the 39th percentile for Axis Innovation Fund - though note both funds may belong to different categories with different medians, so a raw CAGR comparison doesn't account for how each fund performed relative to its own peers. A higher historical return also doesn't necessarily mean lower risk; check the risk metrics below before concluding either fund is the "better" choice.
Which has a lower expense ratio, Axis Innovation Fund or HDFC Defence Fund?
HDFC Defence Fund's direct-plan expense ratio is 0.46 percentage points lower than Axis Innovation Fund's. Over long holding periods, a persistent expense-ratio gap compounds into a materially different final corpus even if the two funds' gross returns are similar - it's one of the few fund attributes you can compare with total certainty upfront, unlike future returns, since the fee is contractually fixed rather than a historical estimate.
Which fund carries more risk, Axis Innovation Fund or HDFC Defence Fund?
By standard deviation (a measure of how much a fund's returns swing around its own average), HDFC Defence Fund has been more volatile than Axis Innovation Fund over the trailing window. Standard deviation captures total volatility in both directions - up and down - so a higher figure means bigger swings generally, not necessarily bigger losses specifically. Sharpe ratio (0.52 for Axis Innovation Fund vs 0.93 for HDFC Defence Fund) is a better single measure of risk-adjusted return, since it weighs the return earned per unit of volatility taken rather than volatility alone.
Which has higher AUM, Axis Innovation Fund or HDFC Defence Fund?
HDFC Defence Fund has ₹11,137 Cr in assets under management, versus ₹1,296 Cr for Axis Innovation Fund. A larger AUM generally means deeper liquidity and lower per-unit fixed costs for the AMC to spread across investors, but an AUM that's very large relative to a fund's category and strategy (especially in small/mid cap categories, where the investable universe is smaller) can also make it harder for a manager to enter and exit positions without moving the price - bigger isn't automatically better, especially for less liquid categories.
Which fund has a longer track record, Axis Innovation Fund or HDFC Defence Fund?
Axis Innovation Fund launched on 2020-12-04, making it older than HDFC Defence Fund (launched 2023-05-19). A longer track record means more real market cycles (bull runs, corrections, rate cycles) the fund has actually navigated, which is useful context for judging consistency - but it isn't a guarantee of future performance, and a newer fund isn't automatically worse, especially if it's run by an experienced manager or team with a track record at a prior fund.
Data as of 2026-10-29. Source: AMFI disclosures via Punji. Not investment advice.