Monthly factor report · India

India Factor Report — October 2026

How the major equity style factors — value, momentum, quality and low volatility — are performing in India, tracked through their flagship NSE factor indices. Free, and updated every month.

Trailing 1-year total return Data as of 30 Oct 2026

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The factor scoreboard

Ranked by trailing 1-year total return. Each factor is represented by its flagship NSE index (tracked via a low-cost index fund, Direct Plan). Nifty 50 is shown as the broad-market baseline.

1
Value LeaderNifty500 Value 50
−2.4%
2
MomentumNifty500 Momentum 50
−3.1%
3
Low VolatilityNifty500 Low Volatility 50
−5.6%
4
Quality LaggardNifty200 Quality 30
−9.3%
—
Broad market (baseline)Nifty 50
−9.6%

What led, what lagged

Every style slipped below zero as the Nifty 50 fell further. Over the trailing year to 30 October the broad Nifty 50 returned −9.6%, down from −6.9% a month earlier, and every factor gave back ground with it. Value still leads, for a fifth month running, at −2.4% — down from +6.2% — which puts it about 7 percentage points ahead of the index, against 13 last month.

Momentum held second; Quality only just stayed ahead of the index. Momentum kept second place at −3.1% (from +5.1%), so value and momentum have now followed the two defensive styles below zero. Low Volatility slipped from −3.7% to −5.6% and Quality from −6.0% to −9.3%, which leaves Quality last of the four for a third month and only 0.3 percentage points ahead of the index.

The one-line takeaway for October 2026: all four styles are now negative over the trailing year, value led for a fifth month with momentum second, and all four factors still finished ahead of a Nifty 50 down 9.6%. Factor leadership rotates, which is why our books combine several signal families rather than bet on one style — whether that pays is what the published record is for.

How MindForge uses factors

Two of the four styles above — momentum and low volatility — are in the same families as the signals our equity books rank on. Quality and value are not: the books use price and volume data only, no fundamentals. Every book is rebalanced monthly and holds its names in equal weight.

Momentum & trendThe main signal family behind LargeMidcap 250 and SmallMicro 500: how a stock’s price has moved, and how steadily.
VolatilityCalmer names rank ahead of erratic ones, so the concentrated books lean away from blow-off moves; every name held still carries the same weight.
LiquidityTrading volume is part of the ranking too, so the books stay in names that can actually be bought and sold.
Multi-asset rotationMultiAsset ranks its eight ETFs — Indian equity, the Nasdaq-100, gold, silver and bonds — on similar price-based signals each month.
See the strategies these factors power →

Report archive

Every month's edition, kept for the record.

Methodology & sources

Each factor is represented by its flagship NSE factor index, measured through a low-cost index fund tracking that index (Direct Plan). Returns are trailing 1-year total returns as of the date shown, so every factor is compared on the same clock. Nifty 50 is the broad-market baseline.

  • Value — Nifty500 Value 50 (UTI Nifty 500 Value 50 Index Fund)
  • Low Volatility — Nifty500 Low Volatility 50 (Nippon India Nifty 500 Low Volatility 50 Index Fund)
  • Momentum — Nifty500 Momentum 50 (Nippon India Nifty 500 Momentum 50 Index Fund)
  • Quality — Nifty200 Quality 30 (UTI Nifty200 Quality 30 Index Fund)
  • Baseline — Nifty 50 (UTI Nifty 50 Index Fund)
  • Trailing 1-year returns computed from official AMFI daily NAVs (Direct Plan, Growth) — 31 Oct 2025 → 30 Oct 2026, the latest published NAV date.

Factor and index returns are historical and will change. This report is educational commentary, not investment advice or a recommendation of any index, fund or security. Past performance does not guarantee future results.