Large, mid and small cap
How listed companies are sorted by size, who draws the lines, and how fund categories use them
AMFI list for the six months ended 30 June 2026
Verified 12 October 2026
For training and education only. Not investment advice.
Trainer notes
Ask: one share costs ₹4,000 and another costs ₹2,000. Which company is bigger? Most people point to the ₹4,000 share. Keep the answers for slide 4.
Large, mid and small cap are ranks, not rupee amounts. The lines move every six months.
SEBI defines the three groups by a company's position in a list of listed companies ranked by market value. AMFI redraws that list twice a year.
Trainer notes
SEBI is the securities market regulator. AMFI is the Association of Mutual Funds in India, the industry body that prepares the list which every mutual fund must use. A company does not become large cap by crossing a fixed value; it becomes large cap when no more than 99 companies are bigger.
Three groups, defined by rank
- 1-100
Large cap
The 100 largest listed companies by full market capitalisation.
- 101-250
Mid cap
The next 150 companies: those ranked 101st to 250th.
- 251+
Small cap
Every listed company ranked 251st or lower. This is by far the longest part of the list.
Take-away: Market capitalisation = share price × total number of the company's shares.
Source: SEBI Master Circular for Mutual Funds, 20 Mar 2026, para 3.9.1 (definition first set by SEBI's circular of 6 Oct 2017).
Trainer notes
Market capitalisation, or market cap, is the stock market's current value for the whole company. 'Full' market capitalisation counts all the company's shares, including those held by promoters, not only the shares that trade freely. SEBI's word is 'entities': the list also ranks REITs. The definition applies to mutual fund schemes. An index provider may draw its own lines for its indices, so a 'midcap index' need not match ranks 101 to 250 exactly.
Which company is bigger?
TWO COMPANIES
Company A: share price ₹2,000. It has 50 crore shares.
Company B: share price ₹4,000. It has 5 crore shares.
- Company A: ₹2,000 × 50 crore shares = a market capitalisation of ₹1,00,000 crore.
- Company B: ₹4,000 × 5 crore shares = a market capitalisation of ₹20,000 crore.
- A is five times the size of B, although one share of B costs twice as much as one share of A.
- If A's share price rises 10% to ₹2,200, its market capitalisation becomes ₹2,200 × 50 crore = ₹1,10,000 crore.
Result: Size is price multiplied by the number of shares. The share price alone says nothing about size.
Illustration with two invented companies and assumed figures.
Trainer notes
Return to the opening question. Market capitalisation changes every trading day because the share price changes. A company's rank also depends on what happens to every other company, so a company can slip down the list even while its own value rises.
How AMFI draws the list
Start with listed names
Shares and REITs listed on recognised exchanges. If one trades on more than one exchange, its values there are averaged.
Average over six months
Each one's full market capitalisation is averaged over January to June, or July to December. One day's price does not decide the rank.
Rank and label
The first 100 are large cap, the next 150 mid cap and the rest small cap. The list is due within 5 calendar days of the period's end.
Funds fall in line
Every mutual fund must use this list. If a new list puts a scheme outside its limits, the scheme rebalances within one month.
Source: SEBI Master Circular for Mutual Funds, 20 Mar 2026, paras 3.9.2 to 3.9.4.
Trainer notes
A REIT is a real estate investment trust; its listed units have been treated as equity-related instruments for mutual funds since 1 January 2026, and the list now carries REITs alongside shares. For companies that list between two half-yearly lists, AMFI prepares a monthly list so that funds can classify them. The six-month average was added by SEBI's circular of 4 December 2017.
Where the lines fall now
AMFI list for the six months ended 30 June 2026. Values are six-month averages, in ₹ crore.
- 100TH NAME, ₹ CRORE
- 1,06,346The last large cap. The 101st, a mid cap, averaged ₹1,06,278 crore.
- 250TH NAME, ₹ CRORE
- 33,664The last mid cap. The 251st, a small cap, averaged ₹33,442 crore.
- NAMES IN THE LIST
- 5,427100 large cap, 150 mid cap and 5,177 small cap.
- LARGEST, ₹ LAKH CRORE
- 18.73₹18,73,287 crore. About 17.6 times the value of the 100th name.
Source: AMFI, Average Market Capitalization of listed companies during the six months ended 30 June 2026. The multiple is computed.
Trainer notes
The AMFI list shows each name's value and label but states no cut-off. These are simply the values of the 100th and 250th entries, and they change with every list. The gap between the 100th and 101st was about ₹68 crore, so rank, not a round figure, decides the label. The PDF was created on 7 July 2026. The next list will use July to December 2026 data. Refresh this slide then.
How fund categories use the definition
| Fund category | Minimum set by SEBI | What is left open |
|---|---|---|
| Large Cap Fund | At least 80% of assets in large cap companies. | Up to 20%. |
| Mid Cap Fund Small Cap Fund | At least 65% in mid cap companies. At least 65% in small cap companies. | Up to 35% in each case. |
| Large & Mid Cap Fund | At least 35% in large caps and at least 35% in mid caps. | Up to 30%. |
| Multi Cap Fund | At least 75% in equity, with at least 25% each in large, mid and small caps. | Up to 25%. |
| Flexi Cap Fund | At least 65% in equity. No minimum for any size group. | The whole split by size. |
Source: SEBI Master Circular for Mutual Funds, 20 Mar 2026, para 3.8.1 (equity schemes). Percentages are of the scheme's total assets.
Trainer notes
The part left open can go into other shares, money market and other liquid instruments, gold and silver instruments as SEBI permits, and InvITs, within the limits in the regulations. So a Large Cap Fund is not wholly in large caps, and a Small Cap Fund can hold some large caps. The scheme's name must be the same as its category.
When a company crosses the line
A MID CAP FUND
A Mid Cap Fund has assets of ₹1,000 crore.
It holds ₹680 crore in mid cap companies.
In the new list, one holding worth ₹50 crore moves up to large cap.
- Before the new list: ₹680 crore ÷ ₹1,000 crore = 68% in mid caps. The rule is at least 65%.
- After the new list: ₹680 crore − ₹50 crore = ₹630 crore in mid caps, which is 63%.
- The minimum is 65% of ₹1,000 crore = ₹650 crore. The fund is short by ₹650 crore − ₹630 crore = ₹20 crore.
- The fund has one month to rebalance, for example by adding ₹20 crore of mid cap shares.
Result: The fund sold nothing and bought nothing, yet its mix changed. The list moved, not the portfolio.
Illustration with an invented fund and assumed figures. Prices are held constant to keep it simple.
Trainer notes
This is why the weeks after each AMFI list see some buying and selling by funds. The same reclassified holding now counts towards a Large Cap Fund's 80%. A fund is not required to sell the holding that moved; it only has to get back within its minimum.
What tends to differ with size
These are descriptions of how the groups have usually behaved. They are not a ranking.
Ease of trading
Shares of larger companies usually trade in larger amounts each day. A big holding in a small company can take longer to buy or sell.
Size of price moves
Smaller companies' share prices have usually moved more sharply than larger ones, in both directions.
What does not differ
All three are shares. A fund in any of the groups is market-linked and its value can fall. Returns are not assured.
Sources: Trustner Academy verified lesson on scheme types, 7 Oct 2026 (price moves). Ease of trading: general description, no figure quoted.
Trainer notes
Liquidity means how easily a holding can be turned into cash without moving its price. Volatility means how much a price moves up and down. 'Usually' matters: individual large companies can fall sharply and individual small companies can be steady. Nothing here says which group will give a higher return, and we do not say so to clients.
If you learnt this from older material
What older decks say
- Each fund house decides what large or mid cap means.
- A multi cap fund may hold any mix of sizes.
- There is no flexi cap category.
- The size list covers shares only.
What holds now
- SEBI defines them by rank, since October 2017.
- At least 25% in each size group, since September 2020.
- Flexi Cap Fund was added in November 2020.
- The list covers shares and REITs.
Sources: SEBI Master Circular, 20 Mar 2026, paras 3.8.1 and 3.9, citing circulars of 6 Oct and 4 Dec 2017, 11 Sep 2020 and 6 Nov 2020.
Trainer notes
SEBI's re-categorisation circular of 26 February 2026 left the rank-based definition (1 to 100, 101 to 250, 251 onwards) untouched. What changed in 2026 for these funds was around them: the scheme name must equal the category, and existing schemes had to comply by 26 August 2026. Before September 2020 a multi cap fund needed 65% in equity with no split by size (SEBI circular of 6 October 2017, annexure). REITs have been equity-related for mutual funds since 1 January 2026.
Four things people get wrong
Misconception'A high share price means a big company.'
What is trueSize is share price multiplied by the number of shares. A ₹4,000 share can belong to the smaller company.
Misconception'Large cap starts at a fixed amount.'
What is trueIt is a rank. The 100th name averaged ₹1,06,346 crore in the June 2026 list, and that figure moves with every list.
Misconception'Large cap funds cannot fall much.'
What is trueA Large Cap Fund is market-linked and its value can fall. The rule is also at least 80% in large caps, not 100%.
Misconception'Flexi cap and multi cap are the same.'
What is trueA Multi Cap Fund must hold at least 25% in each size group. A Flexi Cap Fund has no minimum for any group.
Trainer notes
The second point is the one clients trip on most: a figure quoted in a news report as 'the large cap cut-off' is only the value of the 100th company in one list.
Check yourself
Question 1: A company has 20 crore shares and its share price is ₹750. What is its market capitalisation? What is it if the price falls 20%?
Answer: ₹750 × 20 crore = ₹15,000 crore. After a 20% fall the price is ₹600, and ₹600 × 20 crore = ₹12,000 crore.Question 2: A Multi Cap Fund has assets of ₹800 crore. What is the least it must hold in each of large, mid and small caps, and in equity in all?
Answer: 25% of ₹800 crore = ₹200 crore in each of the three groups. In all, 75% of ₹800 crore = ₹600 crore in equity.Question 3: A client says: 'This company is worth ₹50,000 crore, so it must be a large cap.' What would you explain?
Answer: Large cap is a rank, not an amount: the 100 largest names in AMFI's list. In the list for the six months to 30 June 2026 the 100th averaged ₹1,06,346 crore and the 250th ₹33,664 crore, so a ₹50,000 crore average would have fallen among the mid caps. Check the company's label in the current AMFI list.
Sources and disclaimer
Sources for the figures in this explainer
- Definition by rank, AMFI's list, six-month average, one-month rebalancing: SEBI Master Circular for Mutual Funds, 20 March 2026, para 3.9.
- Values of the 1st, 100th, 101st, 250th and 251st entries; 5,427 entries: AMFI, Average Market Capitalization list, six months ended 30 June 2026.
- Minimums for Large Cap, Mid Cap, Small Cap, Large & Mid Cap, Multi Cap and Flexi Cap Funds: same Master Circular, para 3.8.1.
- Multi cap 25% rule: SEBI circular of 11 September 2020. Flexi Cap Fund: SEBI circular of 6 November 2020. Both as cited in the Master Circular.
- REITs as equity-related from 1 January 2026; liquidity and price behaviour by size: Trustner Academy verified fact sheet and lesson, 7 October 2026.
- Companies A and B, the Mid Cap Fund and all their figures are invented for illustration. They do not refer to any real company or scheme.
This material is for training and investor education only. It is not investment, tax or legal advice and is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security or scheme. Examples use assumed figures unless a source and date are shown. Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks; read all scheme related documents carefully. Trustner Asset Services Pvt. Ltd. is an AMFI-registered Mutual Fund Distributor (ARN-286886).