There is no single, synchronized leaderboard in the available data that identifies the top Indian value mutual fund for every 1-, 3- and 5-year period. In Moneycontrol’s July 2026 rankings of schemes with at least ₹1,500 crore in assets, Quant Value Fund led the one-year and three-year CAGR tables. A separate direct-plan comparison dated July 31, 2026, also placed Quant first among the listed positive-alpha value schemes over three years. For five-year returns, the available current snapshot is for regular plans: Axis Value Fund had the highest listed CAGR among schemes with five-year data. These figures use different dates, plan types and selection rules, so they should not be treated as one unified ranking.
Which value fund had the highest 1-year return?
In a Moneycontrol ranking using ACE MF data dated July 7, 2026, Quant Value Fund led the one-year CAGR table at 15.3%. The ranking included only schemes with at least ₹1,500 crore in assets under management, so it was not an all-scheme category ranking. Moneycontrol’s one-year value-fund comparison reports the figure and the screen.
A different comparison gives a different number: Mint reported Quant Value Fund’s direct-plan one-year CAGR as 16.29% in Value Research data dated July 31, 2026. The observation date and plan basis differ from Moneycontrol’s AUM-screened ranking; neither figure should be substituted for the other. Mint’s direct-plan return comparison identifies the dates and figures.
Which value fund had the highest 3-year CAGR?
Quant Value Fund also led Moneycontrol’s AUM-screened three-year CAGR ranking, at 23.3%, using ACE MF data dated July 6, 2026. As with the one-year table, the ranking required at least ₹1,500 crore in AUM. Moneycontrol’s three-year comparison describes that screen.
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In the separate Value Research direct-plan data dated July 31, 2026, Mint reported Quant Value Fund at 21.83% for three years and DSP Value Fund at 17.45%. These are direct-plan figures, not a continuation of Moneycontrol’s differently dated, AUM-screened table. Mint’s direct-plan return comparison gives the period CAGRs.
Who leads the 5-year comparison?
The available current five-year snapshot is for regular-growth plans, not direct plans. In Integrato MFIC’s table calculated from AMFI NAVs as of October 1, 2026, Axis Value Fund had the highest listed five-year CAGR, at 13.8%, among schemes with five-year data. The table is alphabetically listed rather than presented as a ranking; the leader here is determined by comparing its reported values. Returns are after expenses and before tax. Integrato MFIC’s regular-growth returns table gives the date, basis and scheme figures.
Rank #2
Quant Value Fund has no five-year figure in that snapshot because it had not yet built a five-year history. In Mint’s July 31 direct-plan comparison, five-year data were unavailable for Quant and Baroda BNP Paribas Value Fund; DSP Value Fund’s direct-plan five-year CAGR was 14.02%. That July direct-plan value and October regular-plan values are not a same-date, same-plan leaderboard, so they cannot establish which direct plan led over five years. Mint’s direct-plan comparison reports the missing data and DSP figure.
Are the return leaders outperforming on alpha?
In Value Research direct-plan data dated July 31, 2026, reproduced by Mint, Quant Value Fund had the highest listed three-year alpha at 8.23%, followed by DSP Value Fund at 6.75%. Mint says the calculation uses calendar-month returns over the preceding three years. The same table showed negative alpha for Sundaram Value Fund (-3.36%) and Baroda BNP Paribas Value Fund (-1.33%). Mint’s alpha comparison reports the figures and method period.
Alpha is benchmark-relative: it estimates outperformance or underperformance after accounting for market risk. A negative figure indicates lagging the benchmark under the stated method; it does not mean the fund necessarily lost money. Alpha is also not absolute return, and a positive historical figure does not guarantee future outperformance.
For broader context, Value Research reported that 95.7% of value funds with available alpha data had positive alpha as of June 29, 2026. Its 7.4% figure was the average alpha of the five highest-alpha value funds—not the category average. Value Research’s value-fund alpha analysis explains the scope and cautions that short-period alpha can reverse.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to compare CAGR and alpha fairly
Before treating a fund as a leader, make sure the figures answer the same question. Trailing returns can change with the measurement date, and a top result for one window does not establish leadership over another. Check these items together:
- Measurement date and period: Confirm the exact as-of date and whether the return covers one, three or five years.
- Plan and option: Match direct with direct or regular with regular, and confirm the growth option. Their expense structures differ.
- Eligibility rules: Check whether the comparison imposes a minimum AUM or excludes schemes without a full five-year record.
- Return basis: Distinguish CAGR from absolute return, and check whether the benchmark is a total-return index.
- Risk and persistence: Consider volatility, Sharpe ratio, rolling returns, drawdowns and performance across market cycles alongside trailing CAGR and alpha.
Benchmark choice matters too. As one fund-specific illustration—not a value-category leaderboard—Nippon India Mutual Fund reported that its Value Fund Direct Growth returned 4.51% over one year, 21.68% annualized over three years and 18.92% annualized over five years as of April 30, 2026. It reported corresponding Nifty 500 TRI returns of 3.96%, 15.28% and 14.03%. The figures show why benchmark-relative results need the benchmark, plan and date alongside them; they do not establish that all value funds beat their benchmarks. Nippon India Mutual Fund’s factsheet provides the comparison.
What these rankings can—and cannot—tell you
The strongest supported conclusion is specific to each comparison: Quant led Moneycontrol’s one- and three-year rankings among schemes above its AUM threshold in July 2026; Quant and DSP had the highest listed positive three-year alpha values in Mint’s July direct-plan table; and Axis had the highest listed five-year CAGR in the October regular-plan snapshot among schemes with five-year data. The evidence does not establish a synchronized all-scheme direct-plan leader across all three periods.
These are historical comparisons, not individualized investment advice. A past CAGR or positive alpha does not establish that a fund will outperform in a future period.
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