HDFC Arbitrage Fund
Fund basics
Returns
No CAGR is shown for an Monthly IDCW scheme, and that is deliberate. Its NAV falls by every payout it makes, so a return computed from NAV alone understates it by exactly the amount distributed — and AMFI's daily file carries no payout history to add back. A wrong number wearing the right label is worse than an honest gap. The Growth option of this same fund is the one to compare on returns.
Everything the NAV says
Computed from 3,054 published NAVs between 27 Mar 2014 and 27 Aug 2026 — 12.4 years of history. Nothing here is an estimate; it is arithmetic on what the fund actually printed.
How it has moved
Return over time (%)
| Fund name | 1M | 3M | 6M | 1Y | 3Y | 5Y | 7Y | 10Y | Since launch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HDFC Arbitrage Fund Direct | -0.01 | 0.46 | 0.41 | 0.94 | 1.71 | 1.35 | 1.08 | 0.82 | 1.00 |
| Arbitrage category median · 28 funds | — | — | — | 6.59 | 7.40 | 6.62 | — | 6.39 | — |
Anything over a year is annualised (CAGR); shorter windows are absolute. The benchmark row is the index fund named below, priced daily by AMFI like every other scheme here. The category row is the median Direct plan in Arbitrage — the middle fund, not a ranking, and a median rather than an average so that one mis-stated scheme cannot move it. As on 26 Aug 2026.
Risk measures
| Fund name | Volatility | Sharpe | Sortino | Beta | Alpha | Max fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HDFC Arbitrage Fund Direct | 2.15 | -2.23 | -2.52 | — | — | -4.09 |
Risk measures use a risk-free rate of 6.5% and are stated so they can be checked — a ratio quoted without its risk-free rate cannot be. Beta and alpha need an index, so they are blank for the benchmark row itself.
Risk
| Volatility | Downside volatility | Sharpe | Sortino |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1% | 1.9% | -2.23 | -2.52 |
Sharpe and Sortino use a risk-free rate of 6.5%, roughly the 10-year government bond. Both are stated so the figure can be checked — a ratio quoted without its risk-free rate cannot be.
The worst it has been
| Deepest fall | Time to recover | Today, from its peak |
|---|---|---|
| -4.1% | 95 months | -0.6% |
A drawdown is the fall from a previous high to the low that followed it. It is the number that decides whether somebody stays invested — a fund can have an excellent ten-year return and still have been unbearable to hold in year four.
Every one-year period it has lived through
| Best year | Median year | Worst year | Losing years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.5% | 0.7% | -3.2% | 29% |
Rolling returns ask a fairer question than a single five-year figure: not "what did it do from this one start date", but "what happened across every start date". A fund whose worst year is −45% is a different proposition from one whose worst is −8%, even if the averages match.
Calendar years
If you had run a SIP
₹10,000 every month for five years — ₹600,000 invested in all — would be worth ₹624,847 today, an XIRR of 1.60% a year.
XIRR, not CAGR. A SIP's money arrives over sixty months, so most of it has been invested for far less than five years — which is why this figure normally sits below the five-year CAGR above in a rising market, and above it in a falling one. It is the return the investor got, not the return the fund got.
What it actually holds
The real portfolio the AMC filed with AMFI. Nothing here is estimated — when a fund has no filing in our store the section simply does not appear. A fund is its holdings; the returns above are only what those holdings did.
Asset allocation
A fund's risk starts here — how much of it is even in the market — before any question of which stocks or which sectors. Cash is not idleness; it is the manager's choice not to be invested, and it shows up as a drag in a rising market and a cushion in a falling one.
Portfolio aggregates
AMFI has not classified this scheme's holdings into large, mid and small cap in the filing we hold, so there is no split to show. The section is left here rather than hidden so it is clear the data is missing, not that the fund holds nothing.
Concentration
| Number of stocks | 176 |
|---|---|
| Top 5 stocks | 25.93% |
| Top 10 stocks | 37.23% |
| Top 20 stocks | 50.99% |
| Largest single holding | 8.78% |
| Largest sector | Unclassified · 17.69% |
| Number of sectors | 44 |
| Effective stocks | 45.0 |
| Cash & equivalents | 4.70% |
Counting positions overstates diversification. The effective-stocks figure is the honest count: a portfolio can hold seventy names and still have most of its money in twenty.
Sector allocation
Largest holdings
Top 10 are 40.2% of the fund. A high number means a concentrated portfolio — fewer names doing more of the work, for better and for worse.
Disclosed holdings from the AMC's AMFI filing, largest first. A portfolio is filed monthly and shifts between filings — this is the most recent one loaded, not a live book.
How it compares with its closest peers
The same category, the same plan, the same option — the only comparison that means anything. A Arbitrage Direct Plan Monthly IDCW scheme against another of exactly the same kind.
| Scheme | Return | Alpha | Beta | Volatility | Sharpe | Max fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HDFC Arbitrage Fund HDFC Mutual Fund · this scheme | 1.7% | — | — | 2.1% | -2.23 | -4.1% |
| Axis Arbitrage Fund Axis Mutual Fund | 2.0% | — | — | 1.8% | -2.50 | -1.5% |
| BANDHAN Arbitrage Fund Bandhan Mutual Fund | -8.2% | — | — | 8.4% | -1.75 | -30.2% |
| BANK OF INDIA ARBITRAGE FUND Bank of India Mutual Fund | 6.7% | — | — | 1.6% | 0.15 | -2.2% |
| DSP Arbitrage fund DSP Mutual Fund | 3.4% | — | — | 1.6% | -1.89 | -2.9% |
| HSBC Arbitrage Fund HSBC Mutual Fund | -1.1% | — | — | 2.6% | -2.93 | -5.3% |
| LIC MF Arbitrage Fund LIC Mutual Fund | 6.6% | — | — | 1.4% | 0.09 | -3.3% |
Alpha and beta are against the category index. Max fall is the deepest peak-to-trough drop in each fund's own history, so a longer-running fund has had more chances to record a bad one. Click a column to sort. This is a sort, not a ranking, and nothing here is a recommendation.
What a Arbitrage scheme is
Buying in the cash market and selling in futures, capturing the spread.
Returns look like a short-term debt fund but are taxed as equity, which is the reason these exist. Returns depend on market activity — in quiet markets the spread thins and so does the return.
Who it suits. Parking money for a few months to a year in a taxable account.
How long money should stay. 6 months to 1 year.
Compare this scheme with others →
Questions people ask
What is the NAV of HDFC Arbitrage Fund — Direct Plan — Monthly IDCW?
₹11.2940 as on 26 Aug 2026, from AMFI's daily NAV file. NAV is declared once each business day after markets close, so the figure here is the most recent one published.
What is the difference between the Direct and Regular plan of HDFC Arbitrage Fund?
They hold the identical portfolio, run by the same manager. A Regular plan pays a distributor commission out of the fund, inside its expense ratio — commonly 0.5% to 1.2% a year more than Direct. That difference is charged on the whole balance, every year, so it compounds: on ₹1,00,000 held ten years a gap of 1.5 percentage points is roughly ₹1.4 lakh of ending value. Direct is the same fund without the commission.
What does the Monthly IDCW option mean?
An IDCW option pays part of the fund's gains out to you, and the NAV falls by exactly what it pays. It is not extra return — it is your own money returned, taxed at your slab rate. That also means a return computed from NAV alone understates an IDCW scheme, which is why no CAGR is shown here for it.
What kind of scheme is this?
Buying in the cash market and selling in futures, capturing the spread. Returns look like a short-term debt fund but are taxed as equity, which is the reason these exist. Returns depend on market activity — in quiet markets the spread thins and so does the return.
How long should money stay in it?
Typically 6 months to 1 year. Parking money for a few months to a year in a taxable account.