After a bumpy ride until 2010, this fund has managed a steady improvement in performance, earning itself a four-star rating for much of the last three years.

SBI Magnum Midcap Fund has managed a consistent outperformance of both its benchmark and peers in the last four years. This is among the most true-to-label funds in the mid-cap category, with 65 to 70 per cent of its portfolio steadfastly parked in mid-cap stocks; it has a residual small-cap allocation. It rarely takes refuge in large caps, which make up about 5 per cent of its assets. The mid-cap universe for it is defined as the 101st to the 400th stock ranked by market cap.

SBI Magnum Midcap Fund scheme looks for structural growth stocks or emerging companies in any sector which are growing faster than its peers. It filters for capital-light business models, high scalability, strong management track record, high promoters' holding and consistent dividend and tax payouts.

After a consistent show until 2016, the fund has suffered a few hiccups in the past one year as it has had trouble outpacing the benchmark and the category. The fund's trailing one-year return lags behind the benchmark and category returns by double-digit margins. This has tended to weigh on the three-year record as well, though the fund still outpaces its benchmark by 4 percentage points on a five-year basis. The fund's clear mid-cap and growth tilt could have worked against it at a time when large-cap and deep-value stocks had a strong bounce-back.

A good performer in a challenging category, but the recent slowdown bears watching.