SEBI's Fund Categories, Explained

Before 2017, two funds with similar names could hold entirely different portfolios. SEBI's categorisation framework fixed that by defining each category and limiting AMCs to one scheme per category in most cases.

The five broad groups

• Equity — large, mid, small, flexi, multi cap, sectoral, ELSS and more.
• Debt — sixteen categories arranged mostly by duration and credit profile.
• Hybrid — aggressive, conservative, balanced advantage, multi asset, arbitrage.
• Solution-oriented — retirement and children's funds, with lock-ins.
• Other — index funds, ETFs and fund of funds.

Why it matters for comparison

Because the definitions are mandated, a like-for-like comparison inside a category is meaningful: every large-cap fund must hold at least 80% in the top 100 companies. This is why every ranking on this site is most useful read within a category rather than across the whole universe.

Where the labels still mislead

Latitude remains. Flexi cap managers can position very differently from one another, 'thematic' can stretch widely, and hybrid categories permit broad ranges. The category tells you the boundaries, not the strategy inside them.