New Delhi, Aug. 5 -- After rewarding investors handsomely in 2025, several of last year's best-performing mutual fund categories have struggled to maintain their momentum in 2026, underlining how quickly market leadership can change.

An analysis by Value Research of category-wise mutual fund returns through July shows that six of the seven major fund categories have seen their performance rankings reverse from last year. While silver, banking and technology funds have lost ground, pharma, small-cap and international equity funds have emerged among this year's top performers.

The shift comes after a volatile first seven months of the year, marked by a sharp correction in February and March followed by an equally strong rebound in April, ...