Should I invest in HDFC Defence Fund?

We don't give personal investment advice. HDFC Defence Fund - Growth Option is suitable for an investor whose:time horizon is **5+ years** — equity funds can drop 30-50% in bad years; horizons under 5 years materially raise the risk of selling at a lossrisk tolerance accepts seeing the portfolio fall sharply without panic-sellinggoal isn't capital preservation in the short termCross-check the numbers above against alternatives before deciding.

HDFC

HDFC Defence Fund - Growth Option

Latest NAV

₹29.0720

As of

17 Jul 2026

768 NAV records on file

NAV history & peer comparison

All NAVs split-adjusted and normalised to 100 at the start of the selected period, so funds with very different absolute NAV scales can be compared on one axis.

Period

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Returns matrix

Fund return alongside the category average and peer rank for every standard window. Returns under one year are absolute; one year and longer are compound annualised (CAGR).

Window	Fund	Category avg	+/− vs avg	Rank	Quartile
1D	+0.51%	-0.07%	+0.58	28 / 122	Q1
1W	-1.25%	-0.15%	-1.10	109 / 122	Q4
2W	-2.17%	-0.13%	-2.03	115 / 122	Q4
1M	-0.03%	+1.33%	-1.36	91 / 122	Q3
3M	+10.98%	+3.32%	+7.66	10 / 122	Q1
6M	+24.11%	+2.87%	+21.25	1 / 122	Q1
YTD	+24.76%	+1.43%	+23.33	1 / 122	Q1
1Y	+18.30%	+2.53%	+15.77	7 / 120	Q1
2Y	+9.26%	+1.69%	+7.57	19 / 116	Q1
3Y	+39.82%	+13.72%	+26.10	1 / 114	Q1
4Y	—	—	—	—	—
5Y	—	—	—	—	—
7Y	—	—	—	—	—
10Y	—	—	—	—	—
Inception	+40.65%	+11.17%	+29.49	1 / 122	Q1

Quartile legend: Q1 top 25% Q2 25-50% Q3 50-75% Q4 bottom 25%

Calendar-year returns

Full-year performance vs category average. Current year is partial (year-to-date).

Year	Fund	Category avg	+/− vs avg	Rank
2026 YTD	+24.76%	+1.37%	+23.39	1 / 118
2025	+8.66%	+3.20%	+5.46	29 / 115
2024	+39.52%	+19.60%	+19.91	9 / 113
2023	—	—	—	—

Rolling returns

Removes start-date bias by averaging CAGR over every overlapping N-year window in the fund's history. Higher average plus tight min/max plus high "% positive" = consistent.

1-Year rolling

+38.07%

27 windows

min 2.9% · max 133.5%

100% positive

Limited basis — fund is young, so this average may be skewed by which 1Y windows happen to be available.

3-Year rolling

+41.01%

2 windows

min 39.8% · max 42.2%

100% positive

Limited basis — fund is young, so this average may be skewed by which 3Y windows happen to be available.

5-Year rolling

—

Insufficient history

7-Year rolling

—

Insufficient history

SIP returns — historical "what if"

If you had invested every month in this fund over the chosen period, this is what your investment would be worth today.

Period

Total invested

₹ —

Today's value

₹ —

XIRR

Annualised

Wealth multiplier

Period	Total invested	Today's value	XIRR	Wealth multiplier

XIRR is the annualised internal rate of return on the SIP cash flow — invariant to the monthly amount. "Today's value" and "Total invested" scale linearly with the slider. Past performance does not guarantee future returns. Excludes exit load and taxes.

Risk profile

Risk-adjusted return and volatility, computed from monthly NAV returns over the trailing 3-year and 5-year windows.

Std deviation

28.32%

3-year · annualised

Sharpe ratio

1.11

vs risk-free 6.5%

Sortino ratio

2.11

Downside-only deviation

Max drawdown

-35.01%

Jul 2024 → Feb 2025

% positive months

63.9%

Share of monthly returns > 0 over the 3-year window

Sharpe / Sortino use a risk-free rate of 6.5% (1-year T-bill proxy). Higher Sharpe = more return per unit of total risk; higher Sortino = more return per unit of downside risk.

Peers in Sectoral/Thematic Fund

Scheme	Fund house	NAV	As of
HDFC Banking & Financial Services Fund - Growth Option	HDFC	₹18.4020	17 Jul 2026
Nippon India Japan Equity Fund- Growth Plan- Bonus Option	Nippon India	₹27.0439	17 Jul 2026
Magnum Equity Fund -Dividend	SBI	₹75.2678	17 Jul 2026
ICICI Prudential Active Momentum Fund - Growth	ICICI Prudential	₹10.7400	17 Jul 2026
Franklin Asian Equity Fund - Dividend Plan	Franklin Templeton	₹20.5340	17 Jul 2026
Franklin India Multi-Factor Fund- Growth	Franklin India	₹9.5442	17 Jul 2026
Kotak Infrastructure & Economic Reform Fund - Standard Plan-Growth	Kotak	₹68.7640	17 Jul 2026
Canara Robeco Infrastructure-DIVIDEND	Canara Robeco	₹64.5500	17 Jul 2026
UTI - MNC Fund (UGS 10000)-Growth Option	UTI	₹397.9086	17 Jul 2026
BANK OF INDIA Manufacturing & Infrastructure Fund-Growth	Bank of India	₹66.3400	17 Jul 2026

Recent NAVs

Date	NAV
17 Jul 2026	₹29.0720
16 Jul 2026	₹28.9250
15 Jul 2026	₹29.0040
14 Jul 2026	₹28.9470
13 Jul 2026	₹29.2090
10 Jul 2026	₹29.4400
9 Jul 2026	₹29.0570
8 Jul 2026	₹28.9630
7 Jul 2026	₹29.4100
6 Jul 2026	₹29.8270

Frequently asked questions

These answers are generated from this fund's live metrics — NAV, returns, peer rank, drawdown, SIP backtest. Numbers refresh nightly after AMFI's NAV feed lands.

As of 17 Jul 2026, the NAV of HDFC Defence Fund - Growth Option is ₹29.0720. It's a Sectoral/Thematic Fund from HDFC, run as a Unknown plan Growth option. NAVs update once per business day from the AMFI feed.

HDFC Defence Fund - Growth Option has NAV history starting from 02 Jun 2023, a track record of about 3 years 1 months. It's a relatively new scheme. With under 5 years of NAVs, peer comparison is the best yardstick — point-to-point returns can be skewed by entry timing.

HDFC Defence Fund - Growth Option is managed by HDFC. It's classified by AMFI under the 'Sectoral/Thematic Fund' SEBI category, which determines its peer set and tax treatment.

Over the trailing 1-year window, HDFC Defence Fund - Growth Option has delivered a absolute return of 18.30% — +15.77 pp ahead of the Sectoral/Thematic Fund category average of 2.53%. The fund ranks #7 of 120 in its category — the top (Q1) quartile.

Over the trailing 3-year window, HDFC Defence Fund - Growth Option has delivered a CAGR of 39.82% — +26.1 pp ahead of the Sectoral/Thematic Fund category average of 13.72%. The fund ranks #1 of 114 in its category — the top (Q1) quartile.

HDFC Defence Fund - Growth Option doesn't have a complete 5-year window yet (we need at least 5 year of NAVs). Check the shorter-window returns above.

₹1 lakh invested in HDFC Defence Fund - Growth Option exactly 3 years ago would be worth approximately ₹273,336 today — a multiplier of 2.73×, based on the 3-year CAGR of 39.82%. The category average over the same window would have grown ₹1 lakh to ₹147,066.

A ₹10,000 monthly SIP in HDFC Defence Fund - Growth Option over the last 3 years — total invested ₹360,000 — would be worth ₹547,662 today. That's an XIRR (money-weighted annualised return) of 29.23%.

HDFC Defence Fund - Growth Option doesn't yet have 10 years of NAVs. Over the longest available window (3-year SIP), ₹10,000/month would have grown to ₹547,662 — XIRR 29.23%.

On a 3-year basis, HDFC Defence Fund - Growth Option ranks #1 out of 114 funds in the Sectoral/Thematic Fund category — that places it in the top quartile (Q1) — strong outperformance. The category average return over the same window is 13.72%; this fund delivered 39.82%.

The worst peak-to-trough decline HDFC Defence Fund - Growth Option has experienced over the last 3-year window is 35.01% — its NAV fell from a high on 08 Jul 2024 to a low on 28 Feb 2025. Drawdown is a useful gauge of how much short-term pain you'd have endured to capture the long-term return.

Across all 3-year rolling windows, HDFC Defence Fund - Growth Option averaged 41.01% (best 42.20%, worst 39.82%). 100% of rolling windows ended positive. The 3-year Sharpe ratio is 1.11 — strong risk-adjusted performance.

In calendar year 2025, HDFC Defence Fund - Growth Option returned 8.66% — beating the Sectoral/Thematic Fund category average of 3.20% by 5.46 pp. It ranked #29 of 115 in its category that year.

HDFC Defence Fund - Growth Option is classified as an Equity fund (at least 65% equity exposure). Tax rules (post Budget 2024): if you hold 12 months or more, gains are Long-Term and taxed at 12.5% on the amount exceeding ₹1.25 lakh per financial year. Held for under 12 months, gains are Short-Term and taxed at 20%. The ₹1.25 L exemption is per PAN per FY across all equity LTCG.

We don't give personal investment advice. HDFC Defence Fund - Growth Option is suitable for an investor whose:

time horizon is **5+ years** — equity funds can drop 30-50% in bad years; horizons under 5 years materially raise the risk of selling at a loss
risk tolerance accepts seeing the portfolio fall sharply without panic-selling
goal isn't capital preservation in the short term

Cross-check the numbers above against alternatives before deciding.

Educational content only — not investment advice. Tax rules summarised above reflect Budget 2024; consult a qualified adviser before transacting.