Indian Stock Market / Mutual funds also collapsed in 6 months, only 3 out of 519 made money

From October 2024 to February 2025, the Indian stock market witnessed a massive sell-off, with the Sensex and Nifty falling 8.17% and 8.88%, respectively. There was a recovery in March, but the losses were not recovered. Only three mutual funds—Aditya Birla Sun Life International Equity Fund, Motilal Oswal Business Cycle Fund, and Nippon India US Equity Opportunities Fund—delivered positive returns.

Mutual Funds: The Indian stock market witnessed a massive sell-off in the last six months, starting from October 2024 and continuing till the end of February 2025. Although the market showed a tremendous recovery in March 2025, it could not fully compensate for the losses incurred in the last five months. During this period, the Sensex and Nifty declined by 8.17% and 8.88% respectively. Midcap and smallcap stocks saw an even greater decline. The BSE 250 Smallcap index fell 20% and the BSE 150 Midcap index fell 16%.

This decline also affected equity mutual funds. Out of 519 equity mutual fund schemes, only three managed to deliver positive returns in the last six months. Interestingly, two of these were international funds and one thematic fund. Let us know which funds these were:

1. Aditya Birla Sun Life International Equity Fund

This is a global equity fund, which invests mainly in shares of companies outside India. It was established on 1 January 2013 and its benchmark is S&P Global 1200 TRI. In the last six months, this fund has given a return of 2.63%, while its AUM is Rs 199 crore.

2. Motilal Oswal Business Cycle Fund

This is a thematic equity mutual fund, which adopts a business cycle-based investment strategy. This fund was launched on 27 August 2024 and its benchmark is NIFTY 500 TRI. In the last six months, this fund has given a return of 2.62%. The AUM of the fund is Rs 1,603 crore.

3. Nippon India US Equity Opportunities Fund

This fund invests primarily in companies listed on US stock exchanges. It was launched on July 23, 2015 and its benchmark is S&P 500 TRI. The fund has an AUM of Rs 725 crore and has given a return of 2.30% in the last six months.

Future Prospects

The market rally in March 2025 indicates that investor confidence is gradually returning. However, full recovery may take more time after the sharp decline in the last six months. In such a situation, investors are advised to adopt a strategic and long-term investment approach.