10 Best Equity Mutual Funds to Invest in 2021

Equity, as the name suggests, is a category where the fund invests in equity and equity related instruments across market capitalization and typically adopts the fundamental style of investing. An equity mutual fund invests 60% or more of its funds in equity shares of companies. The could be a purely large-cap funds or a mixture of stocks of companies with different types of funds. Moreover, the investing style may be value-oriented or growth-oriented. SEBI has fixed the upper limit of expense ratio at 2.5% for equity funds and may reduce it even further.

Here’s the list of Top 10 Equity Funds for 2021, you can consider investing in:

#1 Equity Mutual Funds: Aditya Birla Sun Life Flexi Cap Fund – Direct – Growth

Aditya Birla Sun Life Flexi Cap Fund seeks to generate long term growth of capital, through investment in equity & equity related instruments across market cap (large, mid & small) companies. The fund has generated over 15% returns in the past 5 years.

The fund is managed by Vinod Bhat and Anil Shah and could continue to maintain its performance given its large-cap bias. Invest in it if you are looking to invest money for at least 3-4 years and looking for high returns. 

#2 Equity Mutual Funds: Axis Flexi Cap Fund – Direct – Growth

Axis Flexi Cap Fund seeks to generate long term capital appreciation by investing in a diversified portfolio of equity and equity related instruments across market capitalization. The fund has 97.38% investment in Indian stocks, out of which 74.9% is in large cap stocks, 7.63% is in mid cap stocks and 3.67% in small cap stocks. The fund endeavors to invest in quality companies with high growth prospects in order to deliver risk adjusted returns for investors.

The fund has generated over 15% returns over the last 3 years. The fund is currently managed by Shreyash Devalkar since October, 2017. The fund is suitable for investors who are looking to invest money for at least 3-4 years while looking for high returns.

#3 Equity Mutual Funds: Canara Roboco Flexi Cap Fund – Direct – Growth

Canara Roboco Flexi Cap Fund seeks to generate capital appreciation by investing in equity and equity related securities. The fund has generated nearly 17% returns over the 5 period and is currently managed by Shridatta Bhandwaldar and Miyush Gandhi. The fund has 95.17% investment in Indian stocks, out of which 58.61% is in large cap stocks, 17.06% is in mid cap stocks and 6.23% is in small cap stocks.

The fund is likely to continue with its performance as this is a flexi-cap fund where the fund management has the complete freedom to invest in companies of different sizes, depending on where it expects maximum gains. It is suitable for investors who are looking to invest money for at least 3-4 years and looking for high returns.

#4 Equity Mutual Funds: DSP Flexi Cap Fund – Direct – Growth

DSP Flexi Cap Fund is an open-ended growth scheme, seeking to generate long term capital appreciation, from a portfolio that is substantially constituted of equity securities and equity related securities of issuers domiciled in India. The fund has 98.38% investment in Indian stocks, out of which 48.59% is in large cap stocks, 22.6% is in mid cap stocks and 14.56% in small cap stocks.

Currently, the fund has generated over 17% average annual returns over the last 5 years. The fund is managed by Atul Bhole and Abhishek Ghosh. The fund is suitable for investors who are looking to invest money for at least 3-4 years and looking for high returns.

#5 Equity Mutual Funds: Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund – Direct – Growth

Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund seeks to generate long-term capital growth from an actively managed portfolio primarily of equity and equity related securities. It has has 65.53% investment in Indian stocks, out of which 34.47% is in large cap stocks, 9.43% is in mid cap stocks and 19.06% in small cap stocks. The fund has generated around 19% returns over the last 5 years.

The fund is managed by Rajeev Thakkar and Raj Mehta. Given the approach of the fund, it is a good option for investors who seek to generate consistent returns over the next few years and are looking to invest for a span of around 3-4 years.

#6 Equity Mutual Funds: IDFC Core Equity Fund – Direct – Growth

IDFC Core Equity Fund seeks to seeks to generate long-term capital growth by investing predominantly in large cap and mid cap stocks. This fund has 98.14% investment in Indian stocks, out of which 45% is in large cap stocks, 33.33% is in mid cap stocks and 14.05% in small cap stocks.

The fund generated over 14% returns over the 5 year period and is managed by Anoop Bhaskar since April, 2016. It is again a good option for investors looking for investing their money over a 3 to 4 year period.

#7 Equity Mutual Funds: Mirae Asset Emerging Bluechip Fund – Direct – Growth

Mirae Asset Emerging Bluechip Fund seeks to generate income and capital appreciation from a portfolio primarily investing in Indian equities and equity related securities of large cap and mid cap companies at the time of investment. The fund has 99.03% investment in Indian stocks , out of which 48.76% is in large cap stocks, 28.19% is in mid cap stocks, and 11.04% in small cap stocks.

The five-star rated fund generated around 20% returns over the 5 year period and is managed by Ankit Jain and Neelesh Surana. The fund is suitable for investors who are looking to invest money for at least 3-4 years and looking for high returns.

#8 Equity Mutual Funds: SBI Large & Mid cap Fund – Direct – Growth

SBI Large & Mid cap Fund seeks to provide the investor with the opportunity of long-term capital appreciation by investing in diversified portfolio comprising predominantly large cap and mid cap companies. The fund has 96.79% investment in Indian stocks out of which 32.45% is in large cap stocks, 32.31% is in mid cap stocks and is in 24.4% in small cap stocks.

The fund generated over 15% returns during the 5 year period and is managed by Saurabh Pant since September 2016. It is suitable for investors who know that investing for 5 years or more means that you can expect gains that comfortably beat the inflation rate as well as returns from fixed income options but you might have to face ups and downs in your investment along the way.

#9 Equity Mutual Funds: Mirae Asset Large Cap Fund – Direct – Growth

Mirae Asset Large Cap Fund seeks to generate long term capital appreciation by capitalizing on potential investment opportunities by predominantly investing in equities of large cap companies. The fund has 97.73% investment in Indian stocks out of which 71.31% is in large cap stocks, 12.07% is in mid cap stocks and 2.95% in small cap stocks. 

The fund has generated a return rate of around 16% over the last 5 years. It is managed by Gaurav Misra and Harshad Borawake currently. The scheme is suitable for investors looking at a long term investment horizon.

Our Approach to Evaluating Best Equity Mutual Funds:

We have evaluated based on both qualitative and quantitative factors such as returns, fund size, fund managers, the reputation of fund house, and investment philosophy. Here is our analysis:

It will be a good idea to invest money in the equity market right now in a staggered way. So, our recommendation would be to start an SIP today.