Markets
Which investing styles are paying?
Over the past year, value led its universe by +8.8 pts and momentum by −3.0 pts. Each factor here is the NSE index with the longest live record, compared with the stocks it chooses from, so what you see is the rule at work rather than a size difference. 4 of 6 have done worse since launch than NSE's back-calculated history suggested.
Written for investors choosing between factor funds and anyone checking which style of investing is in favour. Data to 22 Oct 2026.
The scoreboard
Each factor's lead over its parent universe at every horizon: its total return minus the parent's, in percentage points. Leads beyond a year are per year.
Total-return indices to 22 Oct 2026. "Live" is the index's launch date; NSE calculated everything before it after the fact.
| Factor | Index | Against | 3 months | 1 year | 3 years, a year | 5 years, a year | Live since | More |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low volatility | Nifty100 Low Volatility 30 | Nifty 100 | −1.7 pts | +0.2 pts | +1.1 pts | +0.9 pts | Jul 2016 | |
| Quality | Nifty200 Quality 30 | Nifty 200 | +0.2 pts | −0.3 pts | −2.1 pts | −2.2 pts | Apr 2018 | |
| Value | Nifty500 Value 50 | Nifty 500 | −1.8 pts | +8.8 pts | +10.3 pts | +14.2 pts | Oct 2018 | |
| Momentum | Nifty200 Momentum 30 | Nifty 200 | −2.2 pts | −3.0 pts | −0.9 pts | 0.0 pts | Aug 2020 | |
| Alpha | Nifty Alpha 50 | Nifty 500 | +1.3 pts | +7.3 pts | +3.8 pts | +2.3 pts | Nov 2012 | |
| Equal weight | Nifty100 Equal Weight | Nifty 100 | −1.3 pts | +5.0 pts | +4.9 pts | +3.1 pts | Jun 2013 |
Who is leading
The rolling one-year lead of each factor over its universe, over ten years. The band is the usual range (the middle half of all readings); the coloured stretch is the last twelve months. Factors take turns: none leads for long.
inside its usual range; higher than 36% of readings since 2006.
2016–2026 · usual −1.9 pts to +6.7 pts
inside its usual range; higher than 38% of readings since 2006.
2016–2026 · usual −3.5 pts to +8.6 pts
inside its usual range; higher than 57% of readings since 2006.
2016–2026 · usual −11.1 pts to +21.7 pts
below its usual range; higher than 19% of readings since 2006.
2016–2026 · usual −1.2 pts to +12.1 pts
inside its usual range; higher than 50% of readings since 2004.
2016–2026 · usual −3.7 pts to +23.6 pts
inside its usual range; higher than 69% of readings since 2004.
2016–2026 · usual −3.5 pts to +7.1 pts
Live, not back-calculated
An index's history before its launch was calculated by NSE after the fact, with the rule already chosen. Since launch, 5 of 6 factors have beaten their universe, but most by far less than their back-calculated years promised.
Each factor against its universe since launch
Factor index ÷ parent index, 100 at the factor's launch date; live data only, so each line starts when its index did.
How to read it. Above 100, the factor has beaten the stocks it picks from since it went live; a rising line is a lead still growing. Lines start in different years, so compare slopes, not heights.
Loading chart…
Lead over the parent per year, NSE's back-calculated years against live years.
| Factor | Live since | Live years | Back-calculated, a year | Live, a year | More |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low volatility | Jul 2016 | 10.3 | +5.3 pts | +0.5 pts | |
| Quality | Apr 2018 | 8.5 | +6.0 pts | −0.7 pts | |
| Value | Oct 2018 | 8.0 | +0.4 pts | +6.3 pts | |
| Momentum | Aug 2020 | 6.2 | +6.1 pts | +0.9 pts | |
| Alpha | Nov 2012 | 13.9 | +5.1 pts | +6.8 pts | |
| Equal weight | Jun 2013 | 13.4 | +2.2 pts | +1.3 pts |
Across all 20 NSE strategy indices with three years on both sides of launch, the average lead fell from 3.6% a year before launch to 0.9% after: the full test. Value is the exception here: it barely beat its universe in the back-calculated years and has led strongly since 2018.
Year by year
Each factor's lead over its universe in every calendar year. Read down a column to see how unevenly a factor's good years come, and across a row to see which style won that year.
| Low volatility (live 2016) | Quality (live 2018) | Value (live 2018) | Momentum (live 2020) | Alpha (live 2012) | Equal weight (live 2013) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 0 | −1 | +4 | 0 | +11 | +6 |
| 2025 | +1 | −5 | +9 | −14 | −18 | −1 |
| 2024 | −1 | 0 | +4 | +7 | +18 | +5 |
| 2023 | +11 | +7 | +36 | +17 | +17 | +9 |
| 2022 | −3 | −9 | +19 | −10 | −18 | −3 |
| 2021 | −2 | −3 | +25 | +25 | +44 | +8 |
| 2020 | +8 | +9 | −9 | +3 | +35 | +1 |
| 2019 | −7 | −4 | −23 | +1 | −1 | −8 |
| 2018 | +5 | +9 | −24 | −2 | −11 | −11 |
| 2017 | −3 | −5 | +9 | +22 | +32 | +3 |
| 2016 | −2 | −4 | +20 | +4 | −14 | +2 |
| 2015 | +11 | +3 | −7 | +12 | +15 | +1 |
| 2014 | +2 | +3 | +40 | +12 | +30 | +8 |
| 2013 | −1 | +14 | −19 | +7 | −1 | −3 |
| 2012 | 0 | −2 | −1 | +5 | +19 | +7 |
| 2011 | +13 | +16 | −11 | +10 | +6 | −4 |
| 2010 | +6 | +13 | +16 | +4 | +3 | −1 |
| 2009 | +8 | +42 | +42 | −19 | −3 | +36 |
| 2008 | +11 | +6 | 0 | −4 | −17 | 0 |
| 2007 | −28 | −15 | +44 | +35 | +36 | −1 |
| 2006 | +3 | −5 | −22 | +7 | +15 | −12 |
| 2005 | +14 | +3 | −12 | +4 | +31 | −7 |
| 2004 | +22 | +9 | ||||
| 2003 | +30 |
In falls and rallies
The same factors split sharply in bad markets. In the Nifty 500's worst tenth of months since May 2005, when it fell 10.4% on average, quality beat its universe by 2.0 points a month and low volatility by 1.7; alpha lagged by 2.6. In the best tenth the order reversed.
Average monthly lead over the parent, 26 worst and 26 best months of the Nifty 500 (total return), May 2005 to Oct 2026. Includes back-calculated years.
| Factor | Worst months | Beat its universe in them | Ordinary months | Best months | More |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality | +2.0 pts | 81% | +0.23 pts | −2.1 pts | |
| Low volatility | +1.7 pts | 81% | +0.23 pts | −2.2 pts | |
| Momentum | +0.2 pts | 46% | +0.56 pts | −1.1 pts | |
| Equal weight | −0.7 pts | 19% | +0.03 pts | +1.3 pts | |
| Value | −1.6 pts | 27% | +0.25 pts | +3.2 pts | |
| Alpha | −2.6 pts | 23% | +0.81 pts | +1.1 pts |
How to read it. Low volatility and quality behave like insurance: they gain about as much in sell-offs as they give back in rallies, and earn their keep in ordinary months. Alpha, value and equal weight carry more market risk than their universe, which is why they shine in rallies and hurt in falls. Pairing one of each kind smooths the ride more than holding two of the same.
How the factors overlap
Two factor funds can be the same bet under different names. Over the last five years, momentum and alpha moved together most closely (correlation 0.77); low volatility and momentum moved most against each other (−0.29).
| Low volatility | Quality | Value | Momentum | Alpha | Equal weight | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low volatility | +0.52 | −0.27 | −0.29 | −0.26 | +0.01 | |
| Quality | +0.52 | −0.28 | −0.04 | −0.04 | +0.18 | |
| Value | −0.27 | −0.28 | +0.23 | +0.15 | +0.35 | |
| Momentum | −0.29 | −0.04 | +0.23 | +0.77 | +0.49 | |
| Alpha | −0.26 | −0.04 | +0.15 | +0.77 | +0.47 | |
| Equal weight | +0.01 | +0.18 | +0.35 | +0.49 | +0.47 |
What each costs today
Factors differ in what you pay for them. Value trades at 9.5 times earnings against 21.1 for its universe; quality at 25.1 against 20.0. NSE's valuation history for these indices starts only in August 2026, so there is no long-run range to place them in yet.
Valuations from NSE factsheet data on 22 Oct 2026. Volatility and tracking error over the last three years. A relative fall is the factor's worst drop against its universe from a previous relative peak.
| Factor | P/E | Universe P/E | P/B | Dividend yield | Volatility | Tracking error | Worst relative fall | When | Below its relative high now | More |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low volatility | 23.4 | 18.8 | 3.6 | 1.5% | 12% | 6% | −25% | Jan 2008 | −3% | |
| Quality | 25.1 | 20.0 | 7.9 | 2.4% | 14% | 7% | −21% | Feb 2026 | −18% | |
| Value | 9.5 | 21.1 | 1.2 | 3.3% | 21% | 11% | −54% | Oct 2020 | −8% | |
| Momentum | 21.8 | 20.0 | 4.1 | 1.0% | 20% | 9% | −29% | May 2009 | −21% | |
| Alpha | 25.3 | 21.1 | 5.3 | 0.6% | 22% | 12% | −48% | May 2009 | −9% | |
| Equal weight | 18.7 | 18.8 | 3.0 | 1.6% | 16% | 5% | −21% | Mar 2009 | −2% |
The workings
The question
Data
Every chart has a table view, a CSV download and a link to its published JSON. Bundles are listed in data status.