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 27 August 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 8.92% a year and income funds averaged 14.32%. 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.
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.
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 34 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 23 of the funds tracked here. If both of your candidates hold it heavily, buying both is not diversification.
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 3 of the 34 funds here sit in the upper group over both the short and the long window.
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 27 August 2026.
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.