Nifty Smallcap 100

The Nifty Smallcap 100 is a small-cap equity index maintained by NSE Indices Limited comprising 100 companies ranked between 251st and 500th by full market capitalisation on NSE — representing the upper tier of India's small-cap universe, which includes established small-cap companies with better liquidity, more analyst coverage, and more stable business models than the broader micro-cap universe. The index is calculated using free-float market capitalisation weighting and reviewed semi-annually. Nifty Smallcap 100 companies occupy the growth frontier of the Indian corporate landscape — often leaders in niche markets, regional champions, and businesses in the early stages of national expansion that could be among the large-caps of the next decade. The index provides a measurable benchmark for the performance of the investable small-cap segment, enabling comparison of actively managed small-cap fund performance against a relevant passive reference. Small-cap mutual fund schemes in India are benchmarked against the Nifty Smallcap 250 (the broader benchmark) but the Nifty Smallcap 100 provides a more focused comparison for funds concentrated in the more liquid upper small-cap tier. Historically, the Nifty Smallcap 100 has exhibited the highest long-term return potential among all NSE indices but also the highest volatility and maximum drawdowns — making it most suitable as a long-term (7+ years) satellite allocation for investors with genuine risk tolerance and the psychological discipline to remain invested through multiple market cycles.