Direct vs Regular Plans: A Risk-Adjusted Performance Analysis of Indian Equity Mutual Funds
Abstract
The study analyse the performance difference between Direct and Regular plans of Indian equity mutual funds with a focus on return and risk-adjusted efficiency. The main objective is to compare absolute returns and evaluate performance using risk-adjusted measures such as Sharpe Ratio, Treynor Ratio, and Jensen’s Alpha. The study is based on secondary data collected for selected equity mutual fund schemes over the period 2015–2025.The findings reveal that Direct plans consistently generate higher returns than Regular plans. The risk-adjusted analysis also shows superior performance of Direct plans across all measures. Since both plan types are managed by the same fund managers and follow identical investment strategies, the primary reason for the performance gap is the difference in expense ratios. Lower costs in Direct plans allow investors to retain a larger portion of returns without taking additional risk.The results highlight the importance of cost efficiency in long-term wealth creation and provide practical insights for investors when choosing between Direct and Regular plans. The study concludes that Direct plans offer better overall performance, especially for informed investors who do not require intermediary advisory services.
Keywords
Direct Plans, Regular Plans, Equity Mutual Funds, Risk-Adjusted Returns.
Citations
IRE Journals:
Ankita Jain, Prof. Kumud Chandra Goswami "Direct vs Regular Plans: A Risk-Adjusted Performance Analysis of Indian Equity Mutual Funds" Iconic Research And Engineering Journals Volume 9 Issue 8 2026 Page 1046-1049 https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I8-1714403
IEEE:
Ankita Jain, Prof. Kumud Chandra Goswami
"Direct vs Regular Plans: A Risk-Adjusted Performance Analysis of Indian Equity Mutual Funds" Iconic Research And Engineering Journals, 9(8) https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV9I8-1714403
About IRE Journals
IRE Journals is an open access online journals established with an aim to publish high quality of research work in various diciplines. We have more than 6 years in publications. Over 2500+ papers already published.
Important Links
For Authors
Volume 8:
Issue 1, Issue 2, Issue 3, Issue 4, Issue 5, Issue 6, Issue 7, Issue 8, Issue 9, Issue 10, Issue 11, Issue 12Volume 7:
Issue 1, Issue 2, Issue 3, Issue 4, Issue 5, Issue 6, Issue 7, Issue 8, Issue 9, Issue 10, Issue 11, Issue 12Volume 6:
Issue 1, Issue 2, Issue 3, Issue 4, Issue 5, Issue 6, Issue 7, Issue 8, Issue 9, Issue 10, Issue 11, Issue 12Volume 5:
Issue 1, Issue 2, Issue 3, Issue 4, Issue 5, Issue 6, Issue 7, Issue 8, Issue 9, Issue 10, Issue 11, Issue 12Volume 4:
Issue 1, Issue 2, Issue 3, Issue 4, Issue 5, Issue 6, Issue 7, Issue 8, Issue 9, Issue 10, Issue 11, Issue 12Volume 3:
Issue 1, Issue 2, Issue 3, Issue 4, Issue 5, Issue 6, Issue 7, Issue 8, Issue 9, Issue 10, Issue 11, Issue 12