Compare the best business cycle funds in India — ICICI Prudential Business Cycle, Tata Business Cycle, HDFC Business Cycle, Axis Business Cycles and Motilal Oswal Business Cycle. Thematic funds that rotate across sectors based on economic cycles. Live NAV from RightAdvise.
Sorted by 5-year CAGR. Click any fund for full analysis — rolling returns, drawdown chart, NAV history and risk ratios.
If you had invested ₹1 lakh 5 years ago in each fund, here is how much it would be worth today. Calculated from 5 years of daily NAV in the RightAdvise database.
💡 What is AAUM? AAUM stands for Average Assets Under Management — the average value of all investor money a fund managed during a specific quarter. Reported to SEBI every quarter via AMFI. More reliable than a single-day AUM snapshot.
| Fund | NAV | AAUM | 1Y Return | 3Y CAGR | 5Y CAGR | 10Y CAGR | Max Drawdown | Sharpe (3Y) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICICI Prudential Business Cycle Fund | ₹25.49 2026-06-04 | ₹15.7K Cr Jan–Mar 2026 | +1.4% | +19.2 % p.a. | +17.4 % p.a. | — | -14.4% | 1.13 |
| Tata Business Cycle Fund | ₹19.98 2026-06-04 | ₹2.6K Cr Jan–Mar 2026 | +2.2% | +17.0 % p.a. | — | — | -20.0% | 0.83 |
| HDFC Business Cycle Fund | ₹14.65 2026-06-04 | ₹2.6K Cr Jan–Mar 2026 | -0.5% | +11.3 % p.a. | — | — | -18.0% | 0.48 |
| Axis Business Cycles Fund | ₹16.74 2026-06-04 | ₹2.1K Cr Jan–Mar 2026 | +0.1% | +15.0 % p.a. | — | — | -19.3% | 0.64 |
| Motilal Oswal Business Cycle Fund | ₹11.42 2026-06-04 | ₹1.8K Cr Jan–Mar 2026 | -8.4% | — | — | — | -25.0% | — |
Business Cycle Funds are thematic funds that must invest at least 80% of their assets in equity following a business cycle based investing theme. They rotate across sectors based on the fund manager's view of where the economy is in the business cycle — early cycle, mid cycle, late cycle or recession. Unlike sector funds, business cycle funds can invest across multiple sectors simultaneously based on cyclical positioning.
Business Cycle Funds are thematic equity funds that invest based on where the economy is in its growth cycle. Every economy moves through cycles — expansion, peak, contraction and recovery. Different sectors outperform at different points in this cycle. Early cycle (recovery phase) favours cyclicals like metals, cement and banking. Mid cycle favours industrial and consumer discretionary stocks. Late cycle favours energy, utilities and healthcare. Recession favours defensive sectors like FMCG and pharma.
Business cycle fund managers actively rotate the portfolio across sectors based on their macro economic analysis. When they see early signs of economic recovery, they buy cyclicals. When they see late cycle signals, they shift to defensives. This macro-driven approach is different from both sector funds (fixed sector) and diversified equity funds (sector agnostic). The approach works well when the fund manager correctly identifies cycle turns — but can significantly underperform when macro calls are wrong.
Economic cycles move through four phases: Recovery (GDP growing from trough), Expansion (GDP growing above trend), Slowdown (GDP growth decelerating), Contraction (GDP declining). Business cycle fund managers shift sector weights based on these phases. In Recovery they buy metals, cement, banks. In Expansion they rotate into consumer discretionary, industrials. In Slowdown they shift to defensives — FMCG, pharma, IT. The skill is identifying cycle turns early — often months before the broader market recognises the shift. ICICI Prudential, backed by its strong macro research team, has been one of the most consistent cycle identifiers in India.
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