New Delhi, Nov. 8 -- Small-cap mutual funds have emerged as the best-performing equity mutual fund category over the 10 years. However, investors in the category's largest schemes have experienced varying returns, with three of the five biggest funds delivering annualised systematic investment plan (SIP) returns of over 18%, while two failed to cross this mark.

Nippon India Small Cap Fund, the largest scheme in the category by assets under management (AUM), delivered a 10-year annualised SIP return of 21.13%. Its AUM stood at Rs.80,906 crore, according to Value Research data. The fund ranked second among the 13 small-cap schemes in the comparison.

SBI Small Cap Fund, the second-largest scheme with an AUM of Rs.41,059 crore, delivered a ...