Balance Advantage Funds comparison: How HDFC, ICICI Pru and SBI Mutual Fund schemes stack up

Balanced advantage funds, or Dynamic Asset Allocation Funds, are hybrid mutual funds investing both in equity and debt securities. BAF schemes can increase or decrease their allocation towards equity or debt based on the market conditions.

For instance, if the fund manager of a BAF scheme thinks that markets are going to be rough over the next few years, s/he may increase allocation towards debt instruments to ensure the fund makes some return, even when the markets are lagging. Similarly, if the fund manager thinks markets are going to do well, then s/he may increase equity allocation to ride the good run.

BAFs generally maintain at least 65% allocation towards equity to be classified as equity funds, which is more tax-efficient than debt funds.

BAF schemes are often admired for their flexibility to shift the asset mix from debt to equity and vice-versa based on market condition. But do they also deliver returns? In this article, we take a look at three of the biggest BAF schemes in terms of the AUM, followed by some key observations.

Before reading further, please note that this exercise is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to recommend any of these schemes for investment. You should make an investment decision based on your personal financial goals and risk appetite.

HDFC Balanced Advantage Fund

Launch date: 11 September 2000

Fund manager: Gopal Agrawal

Benchmark: NIFTY 50 Hybrid Composite Debt 50:50 Index

AUM: ₹107971 crore

NAV: 537.83

Returns since inception: 17.03%

Returns in last 1, 3 and 5 years: 6.94%, 18.09% and 19.05% respectively.

As on January 5, 2026, HDFC Balanced Advantage Fund has invested 68.72% in equity, 26.66% in debt and 4.6% in others. Of the total assets, 55.72% are in large-cap stocks, 5.66% in midcap and 6.25% in small-cap stocks.

In terms of sector-wise allocation, HDFC Balanced Advantage Fund has 18.71% of its assets in banks, 6.17% in IT, 5.7% in crude oil, 5.27% in automobiles and ancillaries and 4.18% in healthcare.

The top 5 stock holdings of this scheme as of January 5, 2026, include HDFC Bank (5.21%), ICICI Bank (4.47%), Reliance Industries (4.05%), Bharti Airtel (3.26%), and SBI (3.17%).

ICICI Prudential Balanced Advantage Fund

Launch date: 30 December 2006

Fund manager: Rajat Chandak

Benchmark: CRISIL Hybrid 50+50 - Moderate Index

AUM: ₹69867 crore

NAV: 78.12

Returns since inception: 11.41%

Returns in last 1, 3 and 5 years: 11.53%, 13.94% and 12.72% respectively.

As on January 5, 2026, ICICI Prudential Balanced Advantage Fund has invested 68.36% in equity, 20.17% in debt and 11.46% in others. Of the total assets, 60.04% are in large-cap stocks, 6.24% in midcap and 1.41% in small-cap stocks.

In terms of sector-wise allocation, ICICI Prudential Balanced Advantage Fund has 13.05% of its assets in banks, 10.72% in automobiles and ancillaries, 8.22% in IT, 4.29% in crude oil and 3.57% in FMCG.

The top 5 stock holdings of this scheme as of January 5, 2026, include TVS Motor (5.28%), ICICI Bank (4.39%), HDFC Bank (4.03%), Infosys (3.79%) and Reliance Industries (3.55%).

SBI Balanced Advantage Fund

Launch date: 31 August 2021

Fund manager: Dinesh Balachandra

Benchmark: NIFTY 50 Hybrid Composite Debt 50:50 Index

AUM: ₹39,337 crore

NAV: 16.18

Returns since inception: 11.69%

Returns in last 1 and 3 years: 9.69% and 14.54% respectively.

As on January 5, 2026, SBI Balanced Advantage Fund has invested 67.02% in equity, 27.76% in debt and 5.2% in others. Of the total assets, 53.31% are in large-cap stocks, 9.33% in midcap and 3.47% in small-cap stocks.

In terms of sector-wise allocation, SBI Balanced Advantage Fund has 15.73% of its assets in banks, 8.76% in Crude Oil, 6.65% in automobiles and ancillaries, 4.49% in IT and 3.66% in Power stocks.

The top 5 stock holdings of this scheme as of January 5, 2026, include Reliance Industries (6.11%), HDFC Bank (5.07%), Tata Steel (2.43%), Mahindra & Mahindra (2.09), and GAIL India (2.08%).

Key observations

Even as these schemes can shift assets between equity and debt swiftly, returns are not guaranteed. Moreover, returns can vary from one scheme to another, depending on the performance of underlying assets, including stocks and bonds, and the timing of picking such assets by the fund manager.

The fund manager's role is crucial in BAF's performance. However, fund managers can go wrong sometimes, as timing the market is not easy for anyone.

BAF schemes may be useful for investors with a low-risk appetite. They can protect you from steep falls during the market downturn and deliver better than debt returns during neutral market conditions.

During market rallies, however, these schemes may not sprint like pure equity schemes.

BAF schemes can theoretically deliver better returns than equity schemes due to their ability to adjust asset allocation based on market conditions. However, this doesn't always happen in reality.