A mutual fund factsheet is a monthly snapshot published by the fund house. In a page or two per scheme, it describes what the fund is trying to do, what it holds, what it costs and how it has behaved. It is dense, but once you know where to look, it answers most of the questions worth asking before — and after — you invest.
1. Objective, category and benchmark
The investment objective states, in a sentence or two, what the fund aims to do. The category places it in SEBI's classification — large cap, flexi cap, short duration and so on — which limits what it may hold. The benchmark is the index it should be compared with.
If the objective and your goal do not line up, little else on the page matters.
2. Fund facts
- Inception date and fund managers: how long the scheme, and its current managers, have a record.
- AUM: the total assets in the scheme. Very small funds can carry higher costs; very large funds in some categories may find it harder to move nimbly. Neither is good or bad on its own.
- NAV: shown separately for direct and regular plans and for growth and IDCW options. A higher NAV does not make a fund expensive — see what NAV really means.
- Minimum investment and SIP amounts.
3. Costs
- Expense ratio: listed for both the regular and the direct plan.
- Exit load: the charge, if any, for redeeming within a set period.
4. Portfolio — equity funds
- Top holdings: the largest positions and their weights. A high share in the top ten signals concentration.
- Sector allocation: where the money sits, and how that compares with the benchmark.
- Market-cap split: large, mid and small companies — a major driver of how bumpy the ride is.
- Portfolio turnover: how actively the fund trades. Higher turnover means more trading costs inside the fund.
5. Portfolio — debt funds
Debt fund factsheets add a different set of numbers:
- Yield to maturity: the portfolio's yield if every holding were held to maturity, before expenses. It is a starting indicator, not a promised return. See YTM.
- Average maturity, Macaulay duration and modified duration: how sensitive the portfolio is to interest-rate changes. Higher duration means larger price swings when rates move — see why bond prices fall when rates rise.
- Credit quality: the split across government securities, AAA and lower ratings.
- Potential Risk Class: the maximum interest-rate and credit risk the scheme may take.
6. Risk measures
- Standard deviation: how widely returns have varied around their average.
- Beta: how much the fund has moved relative to its benchmark. Above 1 suggests more movement than the benchmark; below 1, less.
- Sharpe ratio: return earned above a baseline short-term rate, per unit of volatility. Higher has meant better compensation for the ride.
- Riskometer: the scheme's current level on SEBI's six-point scale — see how to read a riskometer.
All of these are calculated from past data over a stated period. They describe how the fund has behaved, not how it will.
7. Performance
Factsheets present returns in a standard format: point-to-point returns over periods such as one, three and five years and since inception, next to the benchmark, often with the value of ₹10,000 invested. Many also show SIP returns.
Read performance with care:
- Compare with the benchmark and the category, over several periods.
- Check direct-plan and regular-plan figures separately.
- Look at how the fund did in weak years, not only strong ones.
- Note which return measure is used. Point-to-point returns are usually CAGR; SIP returns are usually XIRR. Our explainer on CAGR vs XIRR shows the difference.
- Remember the standard disclosure: past performance may or may not be sustained in future.
8. Commentary and the small print
Most factsheets open with market commentary from the fund house. It can be useful context, but it is opinion, not analysis of your situation. Further back you will usually find IDCW history (if the scheme has paid any), the load structure and the scheme's riskometer alongside its benchmark details. The small print also states how returns were calculated — worth a glance before comparing figures across fund houses.
Compare two factsheets, not one
A single factsheet is a snapshot. Placing this month's factsheet next to one from six or twelve months ago shows how the fund is evolving: whether the top holdings are stable, whether sector weights or company sizes have shifted, whether a debt fund's duration or credit quality has changed. Gradual drift away from the stated category or style is worth noticing, because it changes the role the fund plays in your portfolio.
A short checklist
| Question | Where to look |
|---|---|
| Does the objective match my goal? | Objective, category |
| What will it cost me? | Expense ratio for my plan, exit load |
| How concentrated is it? | Top holdings, sector weights |
| How bumpy could it be? | Market-cap split or duration, riskometer, standard deviation |
| Has it earned its cost? | Returns versus benchmark over several periods |
A factsheet explains one fund. To see how all your funds fit together — overlap, concentration and allocation — use the Portfolio X-Ray.