What the Nifty Next 50 is
NSE builds its large company indices from one ranked list. The 100 largest eligible companies by free float market value make up the Nifty 100. The top 50 of those are the Nifty 50. The other 50 are the Nifty Next 50.
- Rank the eligible companiesBy free float market value, with liquidity and listing rules.
- Top 50The Nifty 50, the headline index.
- Ranks 51 to 100The Nifty Next 50, weighted by size like its parent.
- All 100 togetherThe Nifty 100, the large cap universe.
Three things follow from that construction:
- It is still large cap. Under SEBI's definition, the top 100 companies by full market value are large caps, so most Next 50 companies are large caps, just not the very largest. The large, mid and small cap guide explains the bands.
- It is a waiting room. When a company grows into the top 50 at a semi annual review, it moves to the Nifty 50; when a Nifty 50 company shrinks, it often drops into the Next 50. The index catches companies on the way up and on the way down.
- It is less top heavy. In the Nifty 50 a few very large companies, many of them banks, carry much of the weight. In the Next 50 no company is as large, so its weights are spread more evenly. Check the current sector mix on the NSE factsheet.
The indices and benchmarks module covers the review rules that both indices share.
The record: thirteen years side by side
| 31 Dec 2012 to 31 Dec 2025 | Nifty 50 | Nifty Next 50 |
|---|---|---|
| CAGR | 12.12% | 14.20% |
| ₹1 lakh became | ₹4.43 lakh | ₹5.62 lakh |
| Volatility, a year | 16.21% | 18.12% |
| Deepest fall | −38.44% (14 Jan 2020 to 23 Mar 2020) | −41.96% (8 Jan 2018 to 23 Mar 2020) |
| CAGR to 12 Oct 2026 | 10.15% | 13.23% |
Rebased to 100 at the end of Dec 2012, the Nifty 50 reached about 379 and the Nifty Next 50 about 554 by 12 Oct 2026. The Next 50 led until early 2018, went sideways to late 2020, and pulled ahead again from 2021.
Month end closes of the price indices, NSE daily index files, Dec 2012 to 12 Oct 2026, rebased to 100.
Year by year: who won, and by how much
| Index | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nifty 50 | 6.8 | 31.4 | -4.1 | 3.0 | 28.7 | 3.2 | 12.0 | 14.9 | 24.1 | 4.3 | 20.0 | 8.8 | 10.5 |
| Next 50 | 4.8 | 44.4 | 7.0 | 7.1 | 44.8 | -9.0 | 0.5 | 14.8 | 29.9 | -0.1 | 26.5 | 27.5 | 2.0 |
Price indices, calendar year returns from NSE daily closes. Past returns.
The Next 50 won seven years and lost six, but its wins were large (44.42% in 2014, 44.76% in 2017, 27.45% in 2024) and its losses clustered. In 2018 and 2019 it returned −9.00% and 0.46% while the Nifty 50 returned 3.15% and 12.02%. That is the same stretch in which equal weight indices lagged: the very largest companies carried the market while the next tier fell. The equal weight guide shows the same two years from another angle.
calendar years, 2013 to 2025, in which the Next 50 beat the Nifty 50
NSE daily closes
yearly volatility of the Next 50, against 16.21% for the Nifty 50
NSE daily closes, 2012 to 2025
Next 50 P/E on 12 Oct 2026, against 19.12 for the Nifty 50
NSE daily index file
The long flat patch, 2018 to 2020
The Next 50 closed at 31,919.70 on 8 Jan 2018. It fell to 18,524.65 on 23 Mar 2020, a fall of 41.96%, and did not close above its January 2018 level again until 11 Dec 2020, almost three years later. Over the same period the Nifty 50 set new records in 2018 and 2019.
What would you do?
It is the end of 2019. Your Nifty Next 50 holding is about 9% below where it was two years ago, and the Nifty 50 is up about 16% over the same two years.
- Switch to the Nifty 50, which is clearly working
You sell the laggard near the end of its weak run. From the end of 2019 to the end of 2025 the Next 50 returned 16.1% a year, the Nifty 50 13.6%.
- Keep the split you chose, and rebalance it
You stay with a plan made before the two weak years. The Next 50 fell harder in March 2020, then led in 2021, 2023 and 2024.
NSE daily closes: Next 50 28,307.55 at end 2019 and 69,364.50 at end 2025; Nifty 50 12,168.45 and 26,129.60. Price indices. One episode; past patterns do not repeat on schedule.
Valuation on 12 Oct 2026
On NSE's daily file of 12 Oct 2026 the Next 50 traded at a P/E of 17.91, a P/B of 3.28 and a dividend yield of 1.46%, against 19.12, 2.75 and 1.53% for the Nifty 50. Its P/E has a median of 23.1 since the earnings basis changed on 31 Mar 2021, so it is priced well below its own recent norm. The index closed at a record 77,813.25 on 27 Sep 2024 and was 12.16% below that on 12 Oct 2026.
A lower P/E is not a forecast. The Nifty PE ratio guide shows that in the record since 2012, P/E alone was a weak guide to the next three years.
What a split between the two would have done
Many investors hold both tiers. Using the thirteen year figures above as fixed rates, purely to show the arithmetic, here is what a ₹10 lakh split would imply, and the size of a fall like the deepest one in each record:
A 30% slice in the Next 50 added about 0.6 points a year in this record and about ₹10,600 to the worst case on ₹10 lakh. Whether that trade is worth it depends on whether the extra swing would change what you do in a fall.
How investors use the Next 50
There are three common ways to hold it:
- An index fund or ETF on the Nifty Next 50. The simplest route, with an expense ratio. Check the tracking error on the factsheet.
- A Nifty 100 fund instead of two funds. Holding the Nifty 100 gives both tiers at market cap weights, so the Next 50 is the smaller share of it. Holding a Nifty 50 fund plus a Next 50 fund lets you set your own split.
- As a satellite next to a Nifty 50 core. The Next 50 adds companies the Nifty 50 does not hold, without going down into mid caps. It also adds the volatility shown above.
What the Next 50 is not: a mid cap fund. It sits between the Nifty 50 and the Nifty Midcap 150, and in most years behaved closer to the large caps than to the mid caps. Use the Sharpe and volatility calculator to see how much extra swing a given extra return is worth to you.
How this shows up in RupeeCase
RupeeCase runs rules on the same large company universe. Focused Largecap 20 picks 20 stocks from the Nifty 100 by momentum, so it can hold companies from either tier, rebalanced every 4 weeks: model CAGR 26.29%, deepest fall −23.56%, as of 27 Apr 2026. Large Midcap widens the universe to large and mid companies: model CAGR 37.83%, deepest fall −19.31%. The note when the return is a tie, the drawdown decides compares the two on risk.
Questions investors ask
What is the Nifty Next 50?
An NSE index of the 50 companies ranked 51 to 100 by free float market value, the Nifty 100 minus the Nifty 50. It is weighted by size and reviewed twice a year, like the Nifty 50.
Is the Nifty Next 50 better than the Nifty 50?
It returned more from 2012 to 2025, 14.20% a year against 12.12% on the price indices, with deeper falls and more volatility. It lagged badly in 2018 and 2019. Better depends on whether you can hold through that.
Is the Nifty Next 50 large cap or mid cap?
Mostly large cap. Its companies rank 51 to 100 among NSE's eligible companies, inside SEBI's top 100 large cap band. It behaves with a little more swing than the Nifty 50.
What was the Nifty Next 50 called earlier?
The CNX Nifty Junior. NSE renamed its CNX indices to Nifty in 2015; NSE's daily files show the old name until 6 Nov 2015.
What is the Nifty Next 50 PE ratio?
17.91 on 12 Oct 2026, from NSE's daily index file, against 19.12 for the Nifty 50 on the same day.
Is the Nifty Next 50 more volatile than the Nifty 50?
Yes, somewhat. From 2012 to 2025 its daily moves gave a yearly volatility of 18.12% against 16.21% for the Nifty 50, and its deepest fall was 41.96% against 38.44%. It is still far steadier than mid and small cap indices.
Should I invest in both Nifty 50 and Nifty Next 50?
Many investors hold both, or a Nifty 100 fund that contains both. The split depends on how much extra volatility you accept. This guide is education, not advice for your situation.