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HDFC Defence Fund - Growth Option - Direct Plan vs Nippon India Japan Equity Fund- Direct Plan- Growth Plan- Growth Option
HDFC Defence Fund and Nippon India Japan Equity Fund- are both in the Thematic Fund category, from HDFC Asset Management Company Limited and Nippon Life India Asset Management Limited respectively. Nippon India Japan Equity 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 0.48 percentage points.
| HDFC Defence Fund - Growth Option - Direct Plan | Nippon India Japan Equity Fund- Direct Plan- Growth Plan- Growth Option | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Thematic Fund | Thematic Fund |
| AMC | HDFC Asset Management Company Limited | Nippon Life India Asset Management Limited |
| Benchmark | Nifty India Defence TRI | S&P JAPAN 500 TRI |
| NAV | ₹29.085 (2026-10-28) | ₹31.1282 (2026-10-28) |
| AUM | ₹11,136.943 Cr | ₹340.048 Cr |
| Expense Ratio (Direct) | 0.89% | 1.37% |
| Inception | 2023-05-19 | 2014-08-08 |
Returns
Nippon India Japan Equity Fund- leads on 3-year rolling CAGR (8.2% vs HDFC Defence Fund's 39.6%) - 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.
| HDFC Defence Fund - Growth Option - Direct Plan | Nippon India Japan Equity Fund- Direct Plan- Growth Plan- Growth Option | |
|---|---|---|
| 3Y Sharpe Ratio | 0.93 | 0.94 |
| 3Y Alpha | -0.6617% | 8.5478% |
| 3Y Std Deviation | 26.9238% | 15.5762% |
| 3Y Calmar Ratio | 0.93 | 1.38 |
Portfolio Analytics
| HDFC Defence Fund - Growth Option - Direct Plan | Nippon India Japan Equity Fund- Direct Plan- Growth Plan- Growth Option | |
|---|---|---|
| P/E Ratio | 59.1788 | - |
| P/B Ratio | - | - |
| Dividend Yield | 0.5081% | - |
| Active Share | 30.63% | - |
| Portfolio Turnover | 3172% | 55.00000000000001% |
| YTM | - | - |
| Duration (Macaulay) | - | - |
Punji Fund Health Score
HDFC Defence Fund and Nippon India Japan Equity Fund- carry the same Punji Quality grade.
Frequently asked questions
Which has a higher 3-year return, HDFC Defence Fund or Nippon India Japan Equity Fund-?
Nippon India Japan Equity Fund-'s 3-year rolling CAGR of 8.2% is higher than HDFC Defence Fund's 39.6%. Nippon India Japan Equity Fund- sits in the 13th percentile of its category on this metric, versus the 100th percentile for HDFC Defence 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, HDFC Defence Fund or Nippon India Japan Equity Fund-?
HDFC Defence Fund's direct-plan expense ratio is 0.48 percentage points lower than Nippon India Japan Equity 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, HDFC Defence Fund or Nippon India Japan Equity 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 Nippon India Japan Equity 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 (0.93 for HDFC Defence Fund vs 0.94 for Nippon India Japan Equity 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, HDFC Defence Fund or Nippon India Japan Equity Fund-?
HDFC Defence Fund has ₹11,137 Cr in assets under management, versus ₹340 Cr for Nippon India Japan Equity 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, HDFC Defence Fund or Nippon India Japan Equity Fund-?
Nippon India Japan Equity Fund- launched on 2014-08-08, 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.