The largest momentum index funds have negative one year returns.
Over one year to 30 September 2026, the Nifty200 Momentum 30 TRI returned -0.47%. Index funds tracking it have reported returns slightly below the index, after costs.
The numbers published by Nifty Indices in its April 2026 white paper look very different. These are back tested figures, which means they are calculated on past data using the index rules, and no fund has actually earned them.
| Index | Back tested return | Comparison index |
|---|---|---|
| Nifty200 Momentum 30 | 19.19% | 15.08% for the Nifty 200 |
| Nifty Midcap150 Momentum 50 | 23.00% | 17.24% for the Nifty Midcap 150 |
These are over the long term period the paper covers.
What the factors pick and where the money sits
- Momentum: selects stocks whose prices have been rising faster than the others in its group. As per Business Standard, the Nifty200 Momentum 30 index picks 30 stocks from the Nifty 200, while the Nifty Midcap150 Momentum 50 index and the Nifty500 Momentum 50 index pick 50 stocks each from the Nifty Midcap 150 and the Nifty 500.
- Quality: selects companies with stronger financial records.
- Low volatility: selects stocks whose prices have moved up and down by less.
| Category | Assets |
|---|---|
| Schemes tracking the Nifty200 Momentum 30 index | About Rs 12,523 crore |
| All Nifty momentum indices together | About Rs 17,667 crore |
| SBI Quality Fund | About Rs 2,578 crore; the page counts 83 funds in the category |
| Low volatility: Nifty100 Low Volatility 30 and Nifty Alpha Low Volatility 30 | Each more than Rs 1,000 crore |
Concentration, mixing and the size question
Momentum indices can become heavily tilted towards a single sector. Financial services had the largest weight in the Nifty200 Momentum 30 index as of 29 May 2026, at 48.97%.
Some fund houses are offering a mix of factors in one scheme. The Motilal Oswal Multi Factor Passive fund of funds (FoF) divides its money equally, with 25% each going to index funds or exchange traded funds (ETFs) that track Nifty 500 Momentum 50, BSE Ltd, formerly the Bombay Stock Exchange, is a Mumbai based electronic exchange where shares and other securities are traded under SEBI oversight. Read the full meaning of BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) Quality, BSE Low Volatility and BSE Enhanced Value. Its assets were about Rs 29.29 crore on 30 September 2026.
| Pair | Correlation |
|---|---|
| Momentum and quality | 32.7% |
| Quality and low volatility | 62.7% |
| Value and low volatility | -27.3%, negatively correlated |
Correlation shows how closely two factors move together, and the fund house presents these figures in support of mixing factors.
Industry assets also keep changing with the markets. The AMFI and Crisil Factbook 2026 shows that total mutual fund assets had reached Rs 82.03 lakh crore in February 2026, the highest level in FY26, and stood at Rs 73.73 lakh crore at the end of FY26. The total for factor funds alone is harder to find, there is no single official AMFI figure for the assets held by factor funds across the industry.
