How to compare two mutual funds properly
Most comparisons stop at the headline return, which is the least reliable part. Here are the five checks that change the answer, in the order worth doing them.
These figures update themselves. Every number below is recalculated from NAV history each day, so this page is current as of 24 September 2026 rather than the day it was written.
Comparing two funds is where most people either give up or make the wrong call, usually by putting two return figures next to each other and picking the bigger one.
Those two figures are often not measuring the same thing. Here is the order that actually works.
First: are they the same kind of fund
If one is a growth fund and the other an income fund, stop. They are doing different jobs and the comparison has no meaning.
Over 2 years, growth funds here averaged 8.37% a year and income funds averaged 14.50%. Reading that as growth funds being worse would be a mistake: it reflects what markets did over these particular months, not the merit of either mandate.
Growth17 funds · 1.00% to 15.59% · spread 14.59 pts
Balanced11 funds · 0.34% to 14.46% · spread 14.12 pts
Income7 funds · 8.77% to 20.00% · spread 11.23 pts
Tap or point at a dot to see the fund.
Compare inside a type first.
Second: is the window the same
A fund quoting its return since launch and a fund quoting three years are not comparable, and the difference can be large enough to reverse the ranking.
Here is the same set of funds ranked over two windows. Every line that crosses another is a ranking that reverses when only the window changes.
Tap a fund to follow its line.
EDGE Bangladesh Mutual Fund, the strongest of these funds over 2 years, is 7th over 5 years. Shanta Fixed Income Fund, first over 5 years, is 7th of 35 over 2 years.
Worse, a fund's own material naturally quotes the window that flatters it. That is not dishonesty, it is selection, and it is why every figure on this site uses common windows applied identically to all 35 funds.
If a fund is younger than the window you want, the honest answer is that the comparison cannot be made yet.
Third: are dividends treated the same way
A fund that pays generously looks worse than it is if the comparison ignores payouts, because its NAV drops each time it pays.
Check that both figures either include reinvested dividends or exclude them. Mixing the two produces a result that means nothing.
Fourth: what do they actually hold
This is the step almost nobody takes, and it is the one that most often changes a decision.
Two funds from different managers can hold substantially the same companies. Marico Bangladesh appears among the largest positions in 25 of the funds tracked here. If both of your candidates hold it heavily, buying both is not diversification.
| Holding | Relative frequency | Funds |
|---|---|---|
| Marico Bangladesh | 25 | |
| BRAC Bank | 23 | |
| Square Pharmaceuticals | 21 | |
| Jamuna Bank | 18 | |
| Renata | 18 | |
| Prime Bank | 16 | |
| Beximco Pharmaceuticals | 15 | |
| BSRM Steels | 15 | |
| Robi Axiata | 12 | |
| LafargeHolcim Bangladesh | 12 | |
| Eastern Bank | 12 | |
| Berger Paints Bangladesh | 12 |
The holdings panel on each fund page shows asset mix and the largest named positions, taken from the manager's own portfolio statement.
Fifth: how long has it done it for
A fund leading over one window may have caught a good stretch. Only 4 of the 35 funds here sit in the upper group over both the short and the long window. They are the green lines in the chart under the second check.
Length of record is not a guarantee. It is a way of separating funds whose result survived more than one market from funds whose result did not have to.
Running it
The compare tool on this site puts two or three funds side by side over a shared window, with the same dividend treatment applied to each, plus what they hold. Figures through 24 September 2026.
Your comparison: five checks
0 of 5 done
All five done. Put the two funds side by side: the compare tool applies the same window and dividend treatment to both.
Ticks stay on this device only; nothing is sent anywhere.
Common questions
What is the most common mistake in comparing funds?
Comparing across types or across different windows. Both can reverse the apparent ranking before any real difference in the funds is considered.
Why does the compare tool sometimes shorten the period I chose?
Because it uses the longest window both funds actually share. If one is younger, the window is limited by that fund, and the tool says so rather than quietly showing a shorter chart.
Should I always choose the fund with the higher return?
Not on that basis alone. A higher figure can come with a rougher ride, a shorter record, or a portfolio that overlaps something you already hold.
Where can I see fee information?
Each fund's charges are set out in its own prospectus. The management fee is already deducted inside the NAV, so returns shown here are net of it.
Further reading on this site
Run these numbers on your own amount
