Supported Benchmarks
The optimizer supports 14 Indian equity benchmarks across NSE and BSE. Each benchmark has a different inception date, which directly constrains the post-optimization analytics window when you select it.
How benchmarks are used
The benchmark you choose serves two purposes:
- Risk-adjusted reporting.CAPM beta, Jensen's alpha, tracking error, information ratio, Treynor ratio, upside / downside capture, and any other relative metric is computed against the benchmark return series over the overlap window between your asset history and the benchmark history.
- History alignment. If the benchmark starts later than your assets, the optimizer truncates the asset price series to the benchmark window so that all post-optimization metrics are computed on the same dates. Optimization itself (weights, allocation) still uses the full overlapping asset history; only the relative-to-benchmark stage is bounded by the benchmark window.
Choose a benchmark that genuinely represents the universe you are optimizing. A NIFTY 50 benchmark on a smallcap-heavy portfolio will mechanically inflate beta and alpha noise; a NIFTY Smallcap 250 benchmark is a more honest reference.
Benchmark catalogue
Broad market
| Benchmark | Approx. start | Notes |
|---|---|---|
NIFTY 50 id: nifty | ~1990 | Default benchmark for NSE-listed equities. Widest history of any Indian benchmark on the platform. |
BSE SENSEX id: sensex | ~1979 | Default benchmark for BSE-listed equities. Only available when the chosen exchange is BSE. |
Sectoral
| Benchmark | Approx. start | Notes |
|---|---|---|
NIFTY Bank id: bank_nifty | ~2000 | Bank-sector benchmark. Useful when the universe skews toward financials. |
NIFTY family (large caps)
| Benchmark | Approx. start | Notes |
|---|---|---|
NIFTY 100 Limited history id: nifty_100 | ~2003 | Top 100 by free-float market cap. Limited history relative to NIFTY 50. |
NIFTY 200 Limited history id: nifty_200 | ~2006 | Top 200 by free-float market cap. Limited history. |
NIFTY 500 Limited history id: nifty_500 | ~1995 | Broadest NIFTY index. Reasonable history but still shorter than NIFTY 50 in some sub-windows. |
Midcap
| Benchmark | Approx. start | Notes |
|---|---|---|
NIFTY Midcap 150 (alias) Limited history id: nifty_midcap | ~2005 | Alias of the NIFTY Midcap 150 series for backward compatibility. |
NIFTY Midcap 50 Limited history id: nifty_midcap_50 | ~2004 | Concentrated 50-stock midcap basket. |
NIFTY Midcap 100 Limited history id: nifty_midcap_100 | ~2003 | Wider midcap basket. Common reference for diversified midcap-tilted portfolios. |
NIFTY Midcap 150 Limited history id: nifty_midcap_150 | ~2005 | Standard midcap benchmark used by many active and index funds. |
Smallcap
| Benchmark | Approx. start | Notes |
|---|---|---|
NIFTY Smallcap 250 (alias) Limited history id: nifty_smallcap | ~2005 | Alias of the NIFTY Smallcap 250 series for backward compatibility. |
NIFTY Smallcap 50 Limited history id: nifty_smallcap_50 | ~2007 | Concentrated 50-stock smallcap basket. Higher dispersion across periods. |
NIFTY Smallcap 100 Limited history id: nifty_smallcap_100 | ~2003 | Standard smallcap benchmark with broader coverage than the 50-stock variant. |
NIFTY Smallcap 250 Limited history id: nifty_smallcap_250 | ~2005 | Broadest smallcap benchmark with reduced single-stock concentration. |
Inception years are approximate. Series provided by upstream data vendors may differ by a few months. The optimizer uses the actual first observation in the data, not the calendar inception.
Limited-history acknowledgement
When you pick any benchmark other than NIFTY 50, BSE SENSEX, or NIFTY Bank, the configuration card surfaces an amber warning and a checkbox you must tick before submitting:
Limited price history for this configuration
The selected benchmark only has data from a more recent date onwards. The optimizer will truncate the asset price series to align with the benchmark window so post-optimization metrics (alpha, beta, tracking error, information ratio, etc.) are computed over a consistent overlap.
The same warning fires for both equity and mutual fund runs. For mutual funds it always shows because MFAPI NAV history typically starts in the mid-2000s.
Choosing a benchmark in practice
Large-cap or diversified portfolios. NIFTY 50, BSE SENSEX, or NIFTY 100. NIFTY 50 has the longest history.
Broad-market diversified portfolios. NIFTY 200 or NIFTY 500. Both are limited-history.
Midcap-tilted portfolios. NIFTY Midcap 100 or NIFTY Midcap 150. The 50-stock variant is more concentrated and noisier.
Smallcap-tilted portfolios. NIFTY Smallcap 250 is the broadest. Smallcap 50 is highly concentrated and may not reflect a diversified smallcap universe.
Bank or financials concentration. NIFTY Bank when more than ~40 percent of the universe is financials; otherwise prefer a broad benchmark.
Mutual fund runs. SENSEX is unavailable because MF schemes are NSE-aligned in MFAPI's reference. Pick the closest matching NIFTY family index for the scheme's mandate.
References
NSE Indices methodology documents (NIFTY 50, NIFTY 100/200/500, NIFTY Midcap 50/100/150, NIFTY Smallcap 50/100/250, NIFTY Bank).
BSE SENSEX methodology document.
Inception dates sourced from NSE Indices and BSE official factsheets.