COMPARE
Axis Small Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth vs Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth
Axis Small Cap Fund and Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund are both in the Small Cap Fund category, from Axis Asset Management Co. Ltd. and Mahindra Manulife Investment Management Pvt Ltd respectively. Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund has posted a higher 3-year rolling CAGR. Axis Small Cap Fund has the lower expense ratio. See the full table and FAQ below for the complete real-data comparison.
Basics
Axis Small Cap Fund has the lower direct-plan expense ratio, by 0.20 percentage points.
| Axis Small Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth | Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Small Cap Fund | Small Cap Fund |
| AMC | Axis Asset Management Co. Ltd. | Mahindra Manulife Investment Management Pvt Ltd |
| Benchmark | Nifty Smallcap 250 TRI | BSE 250 SmallCap Index TRI |
| NAV | ₹128.37 (2026-10-28) | ₹22.5855 (2026-10-28) |
| AUM | ₹29,487.293 Cr | ₹5,132.03 Cr |
| Expense Ratio (Direct) | 0.72% | 0.92% |
| Inception | 2013-11-11 | 2022-11-21 |
Returns
Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund leads on 3-year rolling CAGR (24.2% vs Axis Small Cap Fund's 19.7%) - see the FAQ below for percentile context within each fund's own category.
Risk Metrics
Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund has been the more volatile of the two by standard deviation.
| Axis Small Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth | Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth | |
|---|---|---|
| 3Y Sharpe Ratio | 0.29 | 0.46 |
| 3Y Alpha | 3.3501% | 6.0361% |
| 3Y Std Deviation | 15.7506% | 18.8572% |
| 3Y Calmar Ratio | 0.60 | 0.60 |
Portfolio Analytics
Axis Small Cap 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 Small Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth | Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth | |
|---|---|---|
| P/E Ratio | 31.6437 | 27.1985 |
| P/B Ratio | 4.9243 | 4.5144 |
| Dividend Yield | 0.5449% | 0.6241% |
| Active Share | 68.27% | 85% |
| Portfolio Turnover | 47% | - |
| YTM | 5.28% | - |
| Duration (Macaulay) | - | - |
Punji Fund Health Score
Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund has the stronger Punji Quality grade of the two.
Frequently asked questions
Which has a higher 3-year return, Axis Small Cap Fund or Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund?
Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund's 3-year rolling CAGR of 24.2% is higher than Axis Small Cap Fund's 19.7%. Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund sits in the 67th percentile of its category on this metric, versus the 33rd percentile for Axis Small Cap 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 Small Cap Fund or Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund?
Axis Small Cap Fund's direct-plan expense ratio is 0.20 percentage points lower than Mahindra Manulife Small Cap 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 Small Cap Fund or Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund?
By standard deviation (a measure of how much a fund's returns swing around its own average), Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund has been more volatile than Axis Small Cap 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 (0.29 for Axis Small Cap Fund vs 0.46 for Mahindra Manulife Small Cap 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 Small Cap Fund or Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund?
Axis Small Cap Fund has ₹29,487 Cr in assets under management, versus ₹5,132 Cr for Mahindra Manulife Small Cap 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 Small Cap Fund or Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund?
Axis Small Cap Fund launched on 2013-11-11, making it older than Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund (launched 2022-11-21). 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.