A screener narrows a very large list to a short one. It cannot tell you which fund to buy. It decides which funds are even eligible for the job you have in mind. Getting that step right removes most of the bad decisions before they happen.
Our universe is AMFI’s published net asset value file, as of 31 August 2026. It holds 2,063 direct plan entries across 51 fund houses. Direct plans only. A regular plan carries a distributor commission that compounds against you for the whole holding period.
What should I filter on first?
Category, before anything else. It is the only filter defined by regulation rather than by opinion. It fixes what the fund is allowed to do with your money.
SEBI’s categorisation framework fixes what each label means. A flexi cap fund must hold a minimum of 65% in equity. A multi cap fund must hold at least 25% each in large, mid and small caps. The segments are defined by rank in SEBI’s Master Circular for Mutual Funds, dated 27 June 2024. Large cap is 1st to 100th by full market capitalisation. Mid cap is 101st to 250th. Small cap is 251st onwards.
Pick the category from your holding period and your tolerance for a bad year. Then screen inside it. Comparing a liquid fund with a small cap fund on return is meaningless. It is also the most common screening mistake there is.
| Category | Direct plan entries |
|---|---|
| Index Funds | 298 |
| Sectoral/ Thematic | 202 |
| Fund of funds, domestic | 163 |
| Equity Funds | 73 |
| Liquid Fund | 65 |
| Thematic Fund | 57 |
| Overnight Fund | 53 |
| Flexi Cap Fund | 51 |
| Income | 51 |
| Fund of funds, overseas | 50 |
| Arbitrage Fund | 46 |
| Small Cap Fund | 42 |
| Large Cap Fund | 41 |
| Large & Mid Cap Fund | 38 |
| Other ETFs | 38 |
| Aggressive Hybrid Fund | 37 |
| Mid Cap Fund | 35 |
| Multi Cap Fund | 33 |
| Focused Fund | 32 |
| Gilt Fund | 31 |
The counts are of plan entries, not of distinct schemes. One scheme appears twice if it offers both growth and income-distribution options.
What each screening criterion actually measures
| Input | What it means | What to watch | Where to get it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Category | What the scheme is legally permitted to hold | Defined by SEBI, not by the fund house | SEBI categorisation; AMFI scheme classification |
| Net asset value | The price of one unit today | Carries no information about quality or future return | AMFI daily NAV file |
| Total expense ratio | The annual charge deducted from the scheme’s assets | Compare direct plans only. Regular plan ratios include commission | The fund house’s own site and the scheme factsheet |
| Assets under management | The size of the scheme | A very large small cap fund can struggle to trade its own positions | Monthly factsheet; AMFI aggregate disclosures |
| Trailing return | Past performance over a fixed window | Highly sensitive to the start date. Never a forecast | Fund house factsheet, on a SEBI-prescribed basis |
| Benchmark | The index the scheme measures itself against | The comparison is only fair against the fund’s own benchmark | Scheme information document |
Where our data stops, and why we say so
The AMFI file gives scheme names, fund houses, categories, net asset values and net asset value dates. It does not give expense ratios, assets under management or return series.
So we can screen this universe by category and by fund house. We can tell you exactly what each label permits. We cannot rank funds on cost or performance from this data. And we will not publish a ranking that looks as if we can.
Take the expense ratio and the assets under management from the fund house’s own factsheet. It is published monthly and is authoritative for both. That is a five-minute job for a shortlist of three funds. It is also the part of the process that pays.
How to use a screen without being misled by it
Sort by last year’s return and you will get a list of whatever was in fashion last year. That is the single most reliable way to buy at the top of a cycle.
Use the screen to eliminate instead. Cut the categories that do not match your holding period. Cut regular plans. Cut anything whose mandate you cannot restate in a sentence. What survives is a shortlist you can research.
Then check three things on each survivor. The direct plan expense ratio. Whether the portfolio matches the mandate. And how long the current manager has been running it. Our flexi cap funds page works through that on one category. Index funds covers the low-cost alternative.
What the fund does to your tax
Category decides tax treatment too. It changes the answer more than most people expect. On the position we track as of 17 August 2026, gains on listed equity and equity funds become long term after 12 months. They are then taxed at 12.5% above ₹1,25,000 a year. Short-term gains are taxed at 20%.
Debt mutual funds bought on or after 1 April 2023 are different. There is no long-term category for them. Gains are taxed at your slab rate however long you hold.
So a debt fund screened purely on return can lose to a bank deposit once tax is applied. Screen on the post-tax outcome, not on the headline. See mutual fund taxation for the full position. Use the XIRR calculator to compare irregular investments properly.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best way to screen mutual funds in India?
Start with category, because SEBI defines what each one may hold. Then restrict to direct plans. Then compare the total expense ratio from the fund house’s own factsheet. Use return only as a check, never as the sort order. It should show that a fund has not badly lagged its own benchmark.
How many mutual fund schemes are there in India?
AMFI’s published net asset value file as of 31 August 2026 carries 2,063 direct plan entries. They span 51 fund houses. That counts plan entries, not distinct schemes. A scheme with both a growth and an income-distribution option appears twice.
Should I screen on expense ratio or on returns?
Expense ratio, because it is known in advance and returns are not. The charge is deducted every year whatever the market does. Past return is one observation of one path. It is also very sensitive to the window you measure. Cost is the one variable you control.
Does a low NAV mean a mutual fund is cheap?
No. Net asset value is the price of a unit. A lower one simply buys more units for the same money. The value of your investment is identical either way. A fund with a high NAV has usually been running longer. That tells you its age and nothing about its prospects.
Why should I only screen direct plans?
A regular plan embeds a distributor commission in the expense ratio. That charge is levied every year for as long as you hold the fund. The scheme, the manager and the portfolio are identical. Over a long holding period the difference compounds into a large sum, entirely against the investor.
Sources
- AMFI, daily net asset value file, as of 31 August 2026, with net asset values dated 28 August 2026. 2,063 direct plan entries across 51 fund houses.
- SEBI Master Circular for Mutual Funds, 27 June 2024, paragraph 2.7 on the definition of large cap, mid cap and small cap by full market capitalisation rank, as reproduced in scheme information documents filed with SEBI.
- SEBI, Circular on introduction of Flexi Cap Fund as a new category under equity schemes, 6 November 2020.
- Credsir capital gains table, as of 17 August 2026.
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