COMPARE
DSP Small Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth vs Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth
DSP Small Cap Fund and Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund are both in the Small Cap Fund category, from DSP Asset Managers Private Limited and Mahindra Manulife Investment Management Pvt Ltd respectively. Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund has posted a higher 3-year rolling CAGR. DSP Small Cap Fund has the lower expense ratio. See the full table and FAQ below for the complete real-data comparison.
Basics
DSP Small Cap Fund has the lower direct-plan expense ratio, by 0.11 percentage points.
| DSP Small Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth | Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Small Cap Fund | Small Cap Fund |
| AMC | DSP Asset Managers Private Limited | Mahindra Manulife Investment Management Pvt Ltd |
| Benchmark | BSE 250 SmallCap Index TRI | BSE 250 SmallCap Index TRI |
| NAV | ₹242.035 (2026-10-28) | ₹22.5855 (2026-10-28) |
| AUM | ₹20,315.232 Cr | ₹5,132.03 Cr |
| Expense Ratio (Direct) | 0.81% | 0.92% |
| Inception | 2007-05-04 | 2022-11-21 |
Returns
Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund leads on 3-year rolling CAGR (24.2% vs DSP Small Cap Fund's 23.3%) - 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.
| DSP Small Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth | Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth | |
|---|---|---|
| 3Y Sharpe Ratio | 0.37 | 0.46 |
| 3Y Alpha | 4.1942% | 6.0361% |
| 3Y Std Deviation | 18.1795% | 18.8572% |
| 3Y Calmar Ratio | 0.57 | 0.60 |
Portfolio Analytics
DSP 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.
| DSP Small Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth | Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth | |
|---|---|---|
| P/E Ratio | 29.8393 | 27.1985 |
| P/B Ratio | 2.5697 | 4.5144 |
| Dividend Yield | 0.6542% | 0.6241% |
| Active Share | 84% | 85% |
| Portfolio Turnover | -12% | - |
| YTM | - | - |
| Duration (Macaulay) | - | - |
Punji Fund Health Score
DSP Small Cap Fund and Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund carry the same Punji Quality grade.
Frequently asked questions
Which has a higher 3-year return, DSP 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 DSP Small Cap Fund's 23.3%. Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund sits in the 67th percentile of its category on this metric, versus the 63rd percentile for DSP 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, DSP Small Cap Fund or Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund?
DSP Small Cap Fund's direct-plan expense ratio is 0.11 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, DSP 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 DSP 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 (0.37 for DSP 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, DSP Small Cap Fund or Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund?
DSP Small Cap Fund has ₹20,315 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, DSP Small Cap Fund or Mahindra Manulife Small Cap Fund?
DSP Small Cap Fund launched on 2007-05-04, 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.