Stocks struggle, but these multi-asset funds score big: What’s driving returns?, |

Sep 05, 2026, 12:53:45 PM IST

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Multi asset allocation funds vs Nifty

Multi-asset funds have outperformed the Nifty over the past one- and three-year periods with the category delivering an average returns of 11.44% and 14.45%, respectively, compared with a 1.26% decline and an 8.57% gain for the Nifty, as reported by ETBureau. (Data source: Value Research)

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What are multi asset allocation funds?

Multi-asset funds invest across equities, fixed income, precious metals, REITs, InvITs and overseas equities. Some multi-asset funds typically keep 65-70% in unhedged equities, with the rest spread across fixed income, precious metals, REITs and InvITs. Another set keeps equity exposure at 35-65%, giving fund managers greater leeway to allocate to other asset classes depending on market conditions.

IANS

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What's driving returns?

The outperformance has been aided by strong returns from asset classes outside equities, particularly precious metals. Domestic gold prices have risen around 45% over the past year and 150-160% over three years, translating into annualised returns of roughly 36-38% over the three years.

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Contribution by REITs and InvITS

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) have also contributed, with the Nifty REITs & InvITs index returning around 13% over one year and 12.5% annualised over three years.

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Top 5 multi asset allocation funds in 3 years

Quant Multi Asset Allocation Fund delivered the highest annualised return of 22.25% in the last three years. This was followed by Nippon India Multi Asset Allocation Fund (19.66%), WhiteOak Capital Multi Asset Allocation (17.10%), ABSL Multi Asset Allocation (16.74%) and UTI Multi Asset Allocation (16.53%).

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Expert take

"Opt for a multi-asset fund which has higher flexibility to buy other low-correlated assets like fixed income, gold, InvITs and foreign equity. An equity allocation of 35-65% gives fund managers greater room to move into assets such as gold, silver, InvITs or REITs when opportunities emerge," said Manuj Jain, co-founder, ValueMetrics Technologies.

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