Flexi cap funds are a versatile option for investors looking to take a dynamic exposure across market cap segments – largecaps, midcaps, and smallcaps.
This trait has led to investors enthusiastically considering them for wealth creation, shows the inflows data of the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). The Assets Under Management (AUM) of flexi cap funds have touched nearly Rs 5.98 trillion (tn) as of September 2025.
While maintaining a 65% allocation to equities, a flexi cap fund dynamically shifts largecaps, midcaps, and smallcaps depending on the market conditions, valuations, and liquidity among a host of other aspects.
So, you as an investor benefit from growth-oriented smaller companies as well as well-established largecaps. When market conditions seem challenging or valuations look stretched, if the portfolio is skewed to stable largecaps, significant drawdowns may be prevented.
In the last 3 years, 5 years, and 7 years, the compounded average growth rate delivered by flexi-cap funds, on average, is 16.4%, 20.3% and 16%, respectively (as of 31 October 2025).
In this editorial, we will take you through a relatively new flexi-cap fund – Helios Flexicap Fund.
Fund Overview
This scheme was launched in November 2013 and is the first scheme from the stable of a relatively new fund house – Helios Mutual Fund – which received a license from the capital market regulator in August 2023.
The parent company, Helios Capital Management Pte. Ltd., is an India-focused Singapore-based asset management company. Helios Capital Asset Management (India) Pvt. Ltd. is headquartered in Mumbai.
The Helios Group was founded by Samir Arora in 2005, along with two other co-founders who have an experience of over 25 years in the asset management business. The fund house has an established team following investment processes and systems for portfolio management.
Helios Flexicap Fund is an open-ended dynamic equity scheme investing across large cap, mid cap & small cap stocks.
It allocates 65-100% in equity & equity-related instruments of large cap, mid cap and small cap companies (including equity derivatives up to 45% for non-hedging purposes), up to 35% in debt securities and Money Market instruments (including Cash & cash equivalents), up to 10% in REITs and InvITs, and up to 5% in units of other schemes of Helios Mutual Fund or in units of schemes of any other Mutual Fund.
The fund also has provisions to invest up to 35% of its total assets in foreign securities.
Thus, the investment objective is to generate long-term capital appreciation by investing predominantly in equity & equity-related instruments across market capitalisation. However, there is no assurance or guarantee that the investment objective of the scheme will be achieved.
In nearly two years since its launch, the AUM of the fund has grown respectably to over Rs 43 billion (bn) as per its September 2025 portfolio.
The fund has been co-managed by Ashok Bahl and Pratik Singh since its inception.
Bahl is the Chief Investment Officer at Helios Capital Asset Management (India) Pvt. Ltd, with over 33 years of experience. He has been a part of Helios Group since its inception in 2005 and was one of the first employees in Helios’ Singapore office.
He is a commerce graduate (B. Com) and has done a Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Management from K.C. College of Management and a Post Graduate Certificate in Business Management from XLRI Jamshedpur.
Singh has over 10 years of experience in equity research and fund management. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering (B.E. – Mechanical) and an MBA (Finance).
Helio Flexicap Fund – Snapshot
| Inception Date | 13-Nov-13 | SI Return (CAGR) | 25.94% |
| Corpus (bn) | Rs 43.61 | Min. Lumpsum / Min. SIP | Rs 5,000 / Rs 1,000 |
| Expense Ratio (Dir/Reg) | 0.88% / 1.85% | Exit Load | 1% |
What is the Investment Strategy of Helios Flexicap Fund?
The fund is actively managed to achieve the stated investment objective and invests at least 65% of its assets in equity and equity-related instruments across market capitalisations.
It moves assets between equity and fixed income securities depending on its view on markets, subject to the asset allocation pattern. The scheme engages in IPOs, primary market placements while also investing through the secondary market.
Moreover, it invests in foreign securities, which may offer diversification opportunities.
To mitigate stock-specific risk, the fund conducts a thorough analysis before investing in any company through its elimination investing process.
The elimination investing process navigates through a comprehensive framework comprising eight factors:
- Size of opportunity
- Favourable industry dynamics
- Low potential for disruption
- Strong management/background/strategy
- Good corporate governance
- Clean accounting
- Medium-term positive triggers
- Reasonable valuations
This framework is meticulously applied to eliminate investments that exhibit red flags.
By employing this investment strategy, the focus will be on eliminating “bad” investment opportunities that fail to meet the above criteria.
This reduces the risk of selecting poorly performing companies, whereby a universe of “not bad” companies is established for investing.
The fund follows both a top-down and bottom-up approach to stock picking, while following a blend style of investing, i.e. a mix of growth and value.
What is the Portfolio of Helios Flexicap Fund?
The fund holds a fairly diversified portfolio of 50-70 stocks spread across market capitalisations and sectors.
As per the September 2025 portfolio, the fund has 66 stocks, of which 49% are largecaps, 27% midcaps, and 18% smallcaps. In other words, the fund is currently holding a largecap biased portfolio.
The top 10 stocks comprise 34.1% of the total assets and include names such as HDFC Bank (5.8%), Eternal (4.3%), Adani Ports (4%), etc.
Among a range of sectors it has exposure to, the top 3 sectors are finance (15.6%), banks (14%), and auto & ancillaries (9.6%), constituting 39.2% of the portfolio.
The fund is practically fully invested, as cash & cash equivalents are around 1.1% of its total assets.
Despite following a flexi-cap approach, the fund has refrained from churning its portfolio aggressively. The portfolio turnover ratio is moderate — in the range of 42-83% in the last one year. It reveals that the fund holds its portfolio with conviction.
What Are the Historical Returns of Helios Flexicap Fund?
The fund hasn’t completed a 3-year performance track record yet.
However, in 6 months and 1 year, the compounded annualised rolling returns of 4.4% and 13.1%, respectively, delivered by the fund have been quite appealing.
The fund has generated alpha, i.e. outperformed the Nifty 500 – TRI by a noticeable margin with its strategy followed in these time periods.
Since its inception, the fund has clocked a CAGR of 25.9%, higher than the category average of 16.8%. In other words, Rs 10,000 invested in this fund would now be nearly Rs 12,594 as of 31 October 2025.
It can be said that the out-of-the-box thinking for stock selection has helped its investors despite holding a largecap biased portfolio.
Helios Flexicap Fund – Performance
| Scheme Name | Absolute (%) | CAGR (%) | Risk Ratios | |||
| 6 Months | 1 Year | Since Inception# | SD Annualised | Sharpe | Sortino | |
| Helios Flexi Cap Fund | 4.42 | 13.15 | 25.94 | 14.22 | 0.36 | 0.62 |
| Category Average* | 1.99 | 9.20 | 16.76 | 12.83 | 0.28 | 0.57 |
| Nifty 500 – TRI | 1.82 | 7.64 | – | 12.58 | 0.26 | 0.52 |
Data as of 31 October 2025. Rolling period returns are calculated using the Direct Plan-Growth option. Returns over 1 year are compounded annualised. # Since inception returns are calculated using point-to-point returns. Standard Deviation indicates total risk, while the Sharpe Ratio and Sortino Ratio measure the Risk-Adjusted Return. They are calculated over 3 years, assuming a risk-free rate of 6% p.a. *All flexi-cap mutual fund schemes are considered to compute the category average returns. Please note that this table represents past performance. Past performance is not an indicator of future returns. The securities quoted are for illustration only and are not recommendatory. Speak to your investment advisor for further assistance before investing. Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks. Read all scheme-related documents carefully.
What About the Risk Involved?
Helios Flexicap Fund is classified as very high risk on the risk-o-meter. The high risk of volatility is due to the flexibility embedded in its mandate.
The fund has exposed its investors higher risk (denoted by the standard deviation of 14.22) than its category peers and the Nifty 500 – TRI.
Having said that, it has justified the risk taken by delivering appealing risk-adjusted returns, as reflected by the sharpe and sortino ratios of 0.36 and 0.62, respectively, which are higher than the category average.
On sortino ratio – which captures the downside risk while speaking about risk-adjusted returns – the fund has fared relatively better than the category average and the Nifty 500 – TRI.
Should You Add Helios Flexicap Fund to Your Watchlist?
The fund is, so far, a high-risk, high-return contender. It is suitable for those with a high-risk appetite and a long-term wealth creation goal over 5-7 years or more.
While, as of now, the fund has delivered appealing returns with its investment strategy involving out-of-the-box thinking, going forward, its fortunes will be closely linked to how the underlying performs along with its allocation to largecap, midcaps, and smallcaps stocks.
This is because the stock market works in cycles – at times favouring certain market segments and sectors/industries.
It is important not to base your investment decision solely on past performance, as that is not necessarily indicative of how the fund will fare in the future.
Hence, invest sensibly. Be a thoughtful investor.
Happy investing.
Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only. It is not a stock recommendation and should not be treated as such. Learn more about our recommendation services here…
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