Yes, it is prudent to invest in small-cap mutual funds if you have a high risk tolerance and a long-term horizon (7-10 years). They offer higher growth potential but come with more volatility. Ensure they form a part of a diversified portfolio to balance risk.
The future outlook for mid-cap and small-cap funds is cautiously optimistic. With India's GDP expected to grow at 6.5%-7% in FY 2025-26, sectors represented in under the mid and small cap indices are poised for expansion.
In July 2024, U.S. small-cap stocks outperformed large-cap stocks after lagging for the first half of the year, driven by a cooler inflation report and improved market sentiment.
Looking ahead, S&P 500 stocks are currently forecast to generate 13% EPS growth in 2025 and 13.1% growth in 2026 (versus 8.5% EPS growth in 2025), while the S&P SmallCap 600 Index is currently forecast to generate EPS growth of 20.9% in 2025 and 18.6% EPS growth in 2026 (versus minus 8.0% EPS growth in 2024), according ...
Nifty Smallcap 100 index has fallen 4% to its lowest level since mid-June amid concerns about Q3FY25 performance. Disappointing earnings results have led to increased selling pressure, with many stocks down significantly from their 1-year highs and foreign investors pulling out funds.
The Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts are another reason why small-cap stocks are well-positioned for growth in 2025. Small-cap companies tend to be more reliant on borrowed money, and falling interest rates make it cheaper for these companies to take on debt.
Most investors think smaller companies underperform in a recession. In most cases, they are correct. However, what's less well-known is that small caps usually exit recessions quicker than assumed – outperforming large caps. This rebound can begin as early as three months into an economic downturn.
The small cap segment can be extremely volatile in the short term, but they have the potential to offer very high returns over a long period. Small cap schemes are recommended only to aggressive investors with a high-risk appetite and long investment horizon, say, around seven to 10 years.
Short-Term Investor. If you are investing in mutual funds for a short duration, stay away from small-cap mutual funds. Small-cap mutual funds perform well over a long period of time. However, over a short period of time, they tend to be very volatile.
Not only have small-cap stocks historically outperformed their larger peers, but they've done so strongly, by an annual average of more than 300 basis points (bps), and consistently, more than 69% of the time (Figure 1).
Investment Horizon
The recommended time frame is eight to ten years. Making these funds highly suitable for long-term investors.
The main disadvantage of a small-cap fund is its higher risk profile, making it susceptible to market volatility and economic downturns.
2025 outlook: Small caps offer an inexpensive way to gain exposure to the robust US economy. Multiple favorable trends – including onshoring and increased CAPEX – may explain why Wall Street expects to see the strongest earnings gains come from small caps in 2025.
Small-cap is not a bad thing, it is just that you should have the time-frame. If you're investing for any 10 year, small-cap will beat all other kinds of funds hands down, but if you are coming with a very short-term expectation, you will be very surprised in a very negative way.
On average, small-caps have an advantage when the U.S. economy is in recovery mode. It's typically a great time to invest in small-cap stocks when the economy is rebounding, unemployment rates are decreasing quickly, and businesses are seeing strong earnings growth. Of course, small-cap stocks don't always outperform.
In a recession, it's smart to preserve your capital by investing in safer assets, such as bonds, particularly government bonds, which can perform well during economic downturns.
It has to do with the great financial crisis and then the pandemic, quantitative easing. The low interest rates, the deficits, and obviously in the extreme case when the pandemic hit, we had aggressive monetary easing as well as fiscal stimulus.
Small-cap mutual funds are ideal for you if you have an investment horizon of five years and above, as small-cap stocks are volatile in the short term, and small-cap funds perform better in the long term.
Small-cap valuations – Attractive
We expect earnings to drive the next leg higher for small-cap share prices. Analysts are looking for robust earnings growth: 15% this year, and by over 30% in 2025 and 2026. That is ahead of the long run rate of 13% growth (see Exhibit 3).
Small-caps, on average, outperform large-caps by about a percentage point for the six months after a 50 basis point cut, she writes, and the majority of those periods see small-caps outperform by any degree. They average about three percentage points of superior returns over the 12 months following such a rate cut.