Sundaram Multi Cap Fund

Sundaram Multi Cap Fund has delivered strong SIP XIRR of 16.89% over 3Y and 16.42% over 5Y, consistently above the NIFTY 50 across all periods — for example, 5Y lump-sum CAGR of 13.92% versus the benchmark's 7.83%, generating 6.18% alpha. However, on a like-for-like SIP basis the fund trails category averages in most windows, including 5Y (16.42% vs 17.83%) and 10Y (16.90% vs 18.09%), though it leads the 3Y category average (16.89% vs 16.01%). Recent calendar-year returns have softened, with 2025 at 5.35% and 2026 year-to-date at 1.86%.

The fund shows a favorable downside profile versus the NIFTY 50, with downside capture of 85.64% over 5Y and 84.33% over 7Y against upside capture near or above 92-94%, indicating it falls less than the benchmark in weak markets. Beta below 1 across most periods (0.91-0.96) confirms moderate volatility relative to the index. The maximum drawdown of -38.67% took 790 days with a 240-day recovery, and 8 drawdown events exceeding 10% reflect meaningful equity risk, though Calmar ratios of 0.40-0.45 across long windows indicate reasonable risk-adjusted returns.

The portfolio is well diversified across 74 holdings, with the top position (Larsen & Toubro at 3.04%) kept deliberately small and the top 10 holdings totaling only about 24% of NAV. Financials lead sector exposure with Banks at 14.9% and Finance at 8.7%, followed by Electrical Equipment (4.9%) and Consumer Durables (4.7%), providing balanced exposure across construction, telecom, IT, retailing, and aviation. This broad, multi-cap spread reduces single-stock and single-sector concentration risk.

Against category peers, the fund's SIP XIRR lags in the 5Y (16.42% vs 17.83%), 7Y (16.30% vs 18.13%), and 10Y (16.90% vs 18.09%) windows, placing it below the middle of the multi cap pack over longer horizons. Its 3Y XIRR of 16.89% does beat the category average of 16.01%, suggesting recent relative improvement. Long-term consistency versus the benchmark remains a clear positive, with positive alpha in every period from 1Y through 15Y.

This fund suits investors seeking diversified multi-cap equity exposure with a long time horizon of 7-10 years or more, given the history of deep drawdowns and multi-year recovery periods. It is appropriate for moderate-to-high risk tolerance investors who value benchmark outperformance and downside protection over category-leading returns. SIP investors benefit from the fund's consistent double-digit XIRR across 3Y to 12Y windows, but should expect periods of underperformance versus peers.

• Consistent positive alpha versus NIFTY 50 across all periods from 1Y (8.51%) to 15Y (4.89%), with 5Y fund CAGR of 13.92% versus benchmark 7.83%
• Strong downside protection with downside capture of 84.33% over 7Y and 85.64% over 5Y, well below the benchmark's downside moves
• Highly diversified portfolio of 74 holdings with no single stock above 3.04% of NAV, limiting concentration risk

• SIP XIRR trails category averages in the 5Y (16.42% vs 17.83%), 7Y (16.30% vs 18.13%), and 10Y (16.90% vs 18.09%) windows, indicating middling peer positioning over long horizons
• Maximum drawdown of -38.67% with a 790-day drawdown duration and 8 drawdown events exceeding 10% highlights significant downside risk during market stress