Equity Investors Missed Out: Multi-Asset Mutual Funds Deliver Over 22% Returns

Mumbai: Investors who relied solely on equity mutual funds faced disappointing returns last year, while gold and silver delivered eye-popping gains. Gold returned over 74% in 2025, and silver more than doubled with a 160% return. This surge has renewed investor interest in multi-asset allocation funds, which combine precious metals, equities, and debt in a single portfolio.

Why Multi-Asset Funds Are in Focus
While gold and silver soared, equity markets struggled, leaving pure equity mutual fund investors at a disadvantage. Experts now recommend diversifying across multiple asset classes to capture returns while managing risk. Multi-asset funds allow investors to benefit from high-performing commodities like gold and silver while maintaining exposure to equities and safer debt instruments.

Strong Performance of Multi-Asset Funds
Multi-asset allocation funds have produced consistent alpha returns over the past few years. For instance:

• Nippon India Multi-Asset Allocation Fund delivered 22.71% over three years and 22.30% in 2025, emerging as one of the top performers.
• UTI Multi-Asset Allocation Fund returned 12.75% over three years and 22.35% in 2025.
• HDFC Multi-Asset Allocation Fund provided 15.20% over three years and 16.54% in 2025.

Additional Benefits of Multi-Asset Funds
Beyond offering exposure to gold and silver, these funds provide several advantages:

• Diversification: Investments are spread across multiple asset classes, reducing risk from poor performance in any single category.
• Risk Management: High-risk assets like equities are balanced with safer instruments like debt, lowering portfolio volatility and safeguarding capital during market downturns.
• Simplified Investing: Investors can access multiple asset classes through a single fund, eliminating the need to manage separate investments.
• Tax Efficiency: Multi-asset funds reduce the need to switch between asset classes, improving tax efficiency for investors.

As gold and silver continue to break new records, experts suggest that investors seeking balanced returns with controlled risk should consider multi-asset mutual funds as a viable alternative to pure equity investing.