HDFC Defence Fund
Direct–Growth is the plan and option we treat as this fund's main page, so search engines are pointed there. Everything below is this filing's own data.
Fund basics
Everything the NAV says
Computed from 798 published NAVs between 2 Jun 2023 and 28 Aug 2026 — 3.2 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 Defence Fund Direct | 5.89 | 9.96 | 24.59 | 37.06 | 39.25 | — | — | — | 42.68 |
| Nifty 500 benchmark | 0.87 | 4.31 | 2.15 | 5.20 | 12.49 | 11.41 | — | — | 15.49 |
| Sectoral / Thematic category median · 131 funds | — | — | — | 6.97 | 16.91 | 14.34 | — | 15.17 | — |
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 Sectoral / Thematic — the middle fund, not a ranking, and a median rather than an average so that one mis-stated scheme cannot move it. As on 27 Aug 2026.
Risk measures
| Fund name | Volatility | Sharpe | Sortino | Beta | Alpha | Max fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HDFC Defence Fund Direct | 24.77 | 1.32 | 1.85 | 1.60 | 30.66 | -34.54 |
| Nifty 500 benchmark | 17.16 | 0.35 | 0.47 | — | — | -37.31 |
Risk-free rate 6.5%. Beta and alpha need an index, so the benchmark's own row leaves them blank.
Risk
| Volatility | Downside volatility | Sharpe | Sortino |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24.8% | 17.7% | 1.32 | 1.85 |
Risk-free rate 6.5%, roughly the 10-year government bond.
The worst it has been
| Deepest fall | Time to recover | Today, from its peak |
|---|---|---|
| -34.5% | 3 months | -1.3% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 140.3% | 20.1% | -0.2% | 1% |
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
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
Concentration
| Number of stocks | 22 |
|---|---|
| Top 5 stocks | 58.98% |
| Top 10 stocks | 80.75% |
| Top 20 stocks | 97.36% |
| Largest single holding | 14.86% |
| Largest sector | Aerospace & Defense · 45.67% |
| Number of sectors | 9 |
| Effective stocks | 11.5 |
| Cash & equivalents | 2.16% |
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 80.8% 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 in its category
Against the Sectoral / Thematic Direct schemes with the highest three-year return. Same category, same plan — the only comparison that means anything. The list re-sorts itself as returns move; it is an ordering by one number, not a view on which fund anyone should hold.
| Scheme | Return | Alpha | Beta | Volatility | Sharpe | Max fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HDFC Defence Fund HDFC Mutual Fund · this scheme | 39.2% | 30.7% | 1.60 | 24.8% | 1.32 | -34.5% |
| Nippon India Taiwan Equity Fund Nippon India Mutual Fund | 59.7% | 30.7% | 0.49 | 32.3% | 1.65 | -44.8% |
| HDFC Defence Fund HDFC Mutual Fund | 39.2% | 30.7% | 1.60 | 24.8% | 1.32 | -34.5% |
| LIC MF Infrastructure Fund LIC Mutual Fund | 25.4% | 8.3% | 1.08 | 18.1% | 1.05 | -39.6% |
| ICICI PRUDENTIAL TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS FUND ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund | 25.5% | 13.5% | 1.01 | 15.7% | 1.21 | -23.6% |
| Franklin Asian Equity Fund Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund | 24.5% | 2.2% | 0.52 | 15.4% | 1.17 | -40.2% |
| BANK OF INDIA MANUFACTURING & INFRASTRUCTURE FUND Bank of India Mutual Fund | 24.3% | 11.6% | 0.95 | 17.0% | 1.05 | -43.5% |
| SBI PSU FUND SBI Mutual Fund | 23.7% | 6.9% | 1.00 | 19.7% | 0.87 | -47.1% |
| SBI HEALTHCARE OPPORTUNITIES FUND SBI Mutual Fund | 24.9% | 15.6% | 0.62 | 16.0% | 1.15 | -30.5% |
Alpha and beta are against Nifty 500. 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 Sectoral / Thematic scheme is
At least 80% in one sector or theme.
The same concentration risk as any sector fund. Themes are usually launched after the theme has already run, which is why the average investor's return in these funds trails the funds' own published returns.
Who it suits. A small, deliberate satellite position — rarely a core holding.
How long money should stay. Through a full cycle.
Questions people ask
What is the NAV of HDFC Defence Fund — Direct Plan — IDCW Option?
₹31.7250 as on 27 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 Defence 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 IDCW Option 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?
At least 80% in one sector or theme. The same concentration risk as any sector fund. Themes are usually launched after the theme has already run, which is why the average investor's return in these funds trails the funds' own published returns.
How long should money stay in it?
Typically Through a full cycle. A small, deliberate satellite position — rarely a core holding.