ITI Business Cycle Fund Direct Growth Review 2026: NAV, Returns, Portfolio & Should You Invest?

ITI Business Cycle Fund Direct Growth Plan has a NAV of ₹10.8904 as of 18 Sep 2026, with scheme AUM of ₹116 Cr. Its 1-year, 3-year and 5-year returns are 0%, 0% and 0% respectively, and the scheme is tagged High Risk.

Our view is that this is a newer equity fund with a portfolio that leans heavily on banks, finance and other cyclical names, so it may suit investors who can tolerate sharper swings and are comfortable waiting through uneven early-period performance. The benchmark is Nifty 50, which gives a useful broad-market reference for judging how the fund behaves in changing market conditions.

Quick facts

Particular	Details
NAV	₹10.8904 as of 18 Sep 2026
AUM	₹116 Cr
Expense Ratio	0.0%
Launch Date	09 Mar 2026
Min SIP	₹500
Risk Category	High Risk
Benchmark	Nifty 50
Fund Category	Equity
Exit Load	0.50% or or before 3M, Nil after 3M
Fund Managers	Nilay Dalal, Alok Ranjan, Rajesh Bhatia

The fund is managed by Nilay Dalal, Alok Ranjan and Rajesh Bhatia.

Source data date: as of 18 Sep 2026

Performance

Period	Fund return	Benchmark return
1M	2.15%	-3.73%
3M	3.15%	-3.14%
1Y	Data not available	Data not available
3Y	Data not available	Data not available
5Y	Data not available	Data not available

Recent behaviour has been better than the benchmark over both the 1-month and 3-month periods. The fund posted positive short-term returns while the Nifty 50 was negative over the same windows, which suggests the portfolio held up relatively well in a weaker market phase.

The longer arc is still limited because the scheme only launched in March 2026. That means there is not enough history to judge how the strategy behaves across a full market cycle, even though the early monthly path shows periods of drawdown followed by recovery.

Because the fund is still very new, the 1-year, 3-year and 5-year fields are not available in a meaningful trailing sense. For now, the more useful read-through is that the fund has shown a steadier short-term profile than the benchmark, but we would not extend that into a durable track record assessment yet.

Against a benchmark that was negative over the same short windows, the fund’s short-term numbers are encouraging. Still, investors should treat those figures as early evidence rather than proof of consistency, because a business-cycle strategy normally needs more time to reveal how it handles expansion, slowdown and sector rotation.

Source data date: as of 18 Sep 2026

Should you BUY or HOLD ITI Business Cycle?

A fund's past returns alone don't tell you whether you should buy it today or continue holding it.

The right decision depends on factors such as your current allocation, purchase price, risk profile, investment horizon and the role this fund plays in your overall portfolio.

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Peer comparison

Fund	1Y return	3Y return	5Y return
ITI Business Cycle Fund Direct Growth Plan	Data not available	Data not available	Data not available
ICICI Pru Strategic Metal and Energy Equity FoF Direct Growth Plan	65.43%	35.11%	Data not available
HDFC Pharma and Healthcare Fund Direct Growth Plan	27.29%	Data not available	Data not available
Kotak Healthcare Fund Direct Growth Plan	27.27%	Data not available	Data not available
Motilal Oswal Active Momentum Fund Direct Growth Plan	25.8%	Data not available	Data not available
PGIM India Healthcare Fund Direct Growth Plan	24.4%	Data not available	Data not available

This assessment is prepared by Uniapps Investment Adviser Pvt. Ltd. under SEBI Registered Investment Adviser registration INA000017639. On the return figures available here, the fund trails the stronger short-term peer numbers by a wide margin, with several peers showing meaningful 1-year gains while this scheme does not yet have a comparable trailing history. The same limitation applies to 3-year and 5-year comparisons, where peers with available data show positive results but this fund does not yet have a long enough record to match them. That makes the current comparison more about age and track record depth than about a mature performance gap.

Source data date: as of 18 Sep 2026

Portfolio: where your money goes

Holding	Sector	Weight
ICICI Bank Limited	Bank	3.69%
Net Receivables / (Payables)	Cash & Cash Equivalents and Net Assets	2.91%
HDFC Bank Limited	Bank	2.85%
Bajaj Finance Limited	Finance	2.49%
Reliance Industries Limited	Crude Oil	2.08%
Bajaj Auto Limited	Automobile & Ancillaries	1.9%
State Bank of India	Bank	1.9%
Titan Company Limited	Diamond & Jewellery	1.89%
Esds Software Solution Ltd	IT	1.72%
Shriram Finance Limited	Finance	1.72%

The largest holding is ICICI Bank Limited at 3.69%, which is meaningful but not dominant on its own. The tenth holding, Shriram Finance Limited, is 1.72%, so the weight gap from the top position to the tenth is fairly measured rather than extreme.

What stands out more is the blend of financials, with banks and finance names appearing several times in the top set, alongside a smaller allocation to areas such as consumer, industrial and technology names. That pattern suggests the portfolio may be positioned to benefit when business activity and credit demand improve, although the actual outcome will still depend on market conditions.

The top 10 holdings account for approximately 23.15% of the portfolio. With 75 disclosed holdings in total, the visible exposure is spread across a fairly long tail, so the scheme may be less dependent on a single stock than a tightly concentrated portfolio, even though the biggest names are still likely to have greater influence than the smaller ones.

To see all holdings, visit the ITI Business Cycle Fund Direct Growth Plan page

Source data date: as of 18 Sep 2026

Who should invest

This fund may fit investors who can tolerate High Risk and are comfortable with a strategy that is still building its history. The short-term numbers are better than the benchmark over the latest one- and three-month windows, but there is not yet a long trailing record to confirm consistency.

The portfolio mix points to a cyclical tilt, especially through banks and finance names, so a longer investment horizon is more relevant than a short holding period. The main trade-off is the chance of stronger performance when the cycle turns in its favour versus the possibility of uneven results while the strategy is still young.

Tax and exit load

Holding period	Tax rate	Description
Units held less than 1 year	20%	Short-term capital gains tax
Units held more than 1 year	12.5%	Long-term capital gains tax

Exit load

0.50% if units are sold within 3 months; nil after 3 months.

Source data date: as of 18 Sep 2026

Frequently asked questions

What is the current NAV of ITI Business Cycle Fund Direct Growth Plan?
The NAV is ₹10.8904 as of 18 Sep 2026.

What are the fund’s 1-year, 3-year and 5-year returns?
The fund’s 1-year, 3-year and 5-year returns are not available in a meaningful trailing sense because the scheme launched on 09 Mar 2026. The short-term performance available is 2.15% for 1 month and 3.15% for 3 months.

How has the fund performed against Nifty 50 recently?
It has done better over the recent short windows. The fund returned 2.15% over 1 month and 3.15% over 3 months, while Nifty 50 returned -3.73% and -3.14% over those same periods.

How does it compare with the peer funds shown here?
Its available trailing return history is much shorter than the peer set, so the comparison is mainly about track-record depth. Several peers have positive 1-year and, where available, 3-year returns, while this fund does not yet have comparable long-window numbers.

What is the minimum SIP amount?
The minimum SIP amount is ₹500.

Who manages the fund and what is the exit load?
The fund is managed by Nilay Dalal, Alok Ranjan and Rajesh Bhatia. The exit load is 0.50% if units are sold within 3 months and nil after that holding period.

Bottom line

ITI Business Cycle Fund Direct Growth Plan is still too new for a full long-term verdict, but its early short-term performance has been better than the benchmark. Against peers with available trailing history, it lacks the same depth of record, so the comparison is uneven even before performance is considered. The portfolio shows a clear tilt toward banks and finance, which gives it a cyclical character. That makes the fund more suitable for investors who can stay patient through periods of volatility and are willing to wait for the strategy to play out.

Published on 21 September 2026 at 10:13 AM IST

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RIA disclosure

Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks. Read all scheme-related documents carefully before investing. This review is prepared by Uniapps Investment Adviser Pvt. Ltd. (earlier known as Uniapps Global Research Pvt. Ltd.) under SEBI Registered Investment Adviser registration INA000017639 for general informational purposes and is not personalized investment advice.