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6 Best Credit Risk Mutual Funds 2025

Updated on August 21, 2025 , 12801 views

The credit risk fund is one of the categories of Mutual Funds introduced by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Oct 2017. In simple terms, credit risk funds are a type if Debt fund that invest in corporate Bonds and commercial papers. These funds basically invest in low-rated bonds that may see an upgrade in rating in the future. As per definition by SEBI, the credit risk scheme will invest in AA and below the high-rated corporate bonds.

Credit-Risk-Funds

The credit risk mutual funds should invest at least 65 percent of its assets below the highest-rated instruments Generally AAA AA debt rated instrument.

How do Credit Risk Funds Work?

By Investing in low credit rated debt instruments which are below AA rated, credit risk funds aim for higher returns. It is believed that low credit rated debt instruments tend to provide higher returns as these funds are high-risk investments.

Usually, a debt instrument with an AA rating is considered to be riskier than one with AAA ratings. Credit risk fund managers may take a Call in investing in the AA instrument over AAA ones. This possibly could be because of the potential upgrade on the ratings later in the future or assured returns due to strong fundamentals.

The corporate sector shows positivity when the Economy of the country improves. Due to which there is an improvement in its finances and this leads to an upgrade in bond ratings issued by the company. An instrument with high rating generally offers a lower interest rate compared to the bond/instruments that come with a low rating. Therefore, when rating upgrades, it leads to a fall in yield and a rise in bond price. During the period of Economic Recovery, there are chances of rating upgrades and one can play this theme with credit risk funds.

Also, since these funds are known for its 2-3% extra returns than those of other risk-free debt funds, investors tend to invest in this fund by taking a little risk.

Who Should Invest in Credit Risk Funds?

Even though this fund belongs to the debt category, credit risk fund comes with a fair amount of risk. Investors should be aware that rise and fall are a frequent trait in such funds. Therefore, investors who can bear risk in their investments should only prefer investing in this fund. One with the low-risk ability should stay away from this fund.

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Top 6 Performing Credit Risk Mutual Funds FY 25 - 26

FundNAVNet Assets (Cr)3 MO (%)6 MO (%)1 YR (%)3 YR (%)2024 (%)Debt Yield (YTM)Mod. DurationEff. Maturity
DSP Credit Risk Fund Growth ₹49.8867
↓ -0.01
₹2081.616.921.914.67.86.91%2Y 1M 6D2Y 10M 10D
Aditya Birla Sun Life Credit Risk Fund Growth ₹22.6543
↑ 0.01
₹1,02325.416.410.411.97.6%2Y 29D3Y 29D
Nippon India Credit Risk Fund Growth ₹35.4761
↑ 0.00
₹1,0141.95.29.58.28.38.28%1Y 11M 12D2Y 3M 25D
Invesco India Credit Risk Fund Growth ₹1,941.67
↓ -0.53
₹1520.769.49.17.36.79%2Y 6M 18D3Y 5M 23D
ICICI Prudential Regular Savings Fund Growth ₹32.1855
↑ 0.02
₹6,0441.75988.57.91%1Y 10M 13D2Y 7M 2D
Axis Credit Risk Fund Growth ₹21.6751
↑ 0.00
₹3671.64.98.77.687.81%1Y 11M 26D2Y 3M 29D
Note: Returns up to 1 year are on absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR basis. as on 22 Aug 25

Research Highlights & Commentary of 6 Funds showcased

CommentaryDSP Credit Risk FundAditya Birla Sun Life Credit Risk FundNippon India Credit Risk FundInvesco India Credit Risk FundICICI Prudential Regular Savings FundAxis Credit Risk Fund
Point 1Bottom quartile AUM (₹208 Cr).Upper mid AUM (₹1,023 Cr).Upper mid AUM (₹1,014 Cr).Bottom quartile AUM (₹152 Cr).Highest AUM (₹6,044 Cr).Lower mid AUM (₹367 Cr).
Point 2Oldest track record among peers (22 yrs).Established history (10+ yrs).Established history (20+ yrs).Established history (10+ yrs).Established history (14+ yrs).Established history (11+ yrs).
Point 3Rating: 4★ (upper mid).Not Rated.Rating: 2★ (lower mid).Rating: 4★ (upper mid).Rating: 1★ (bottom quartile).Top rated.
Point 4Risk profile: Moderate.Risk profile: Moderate.Risk profile: Moderate.Risk profile: Moderate.Risk profile: Moderate.Risk profile: Moderate.
Point 51Y return: 21.94% (top quartile).1Y return: 16.42% (upper mid).1Y return: 9.50% (upper mid).1Y return: 9.38% (lower mid).1Y return: 8.95% (bottom quartile).1Y return: 8.74% (bottom quartile).
Point 61M return: -0.04% (bottom quartile).1M return: 0.47% (upper mid).1M return: 0.35% (lower mid).1M return: -0.13% (bottom quartile).1M return: 0.40% (upper mid).1M return: 0.50% (top quartile).
Point 7Sharpe: 1.64 (bottom quartile).Sharpe: 2.49 (upper mid).Sharpe: 3.44 (top quartile).Sharpe: 1.44 (bottom quartile).Sharpe: 2.62 (upper mid).Sharpe: 2.44 (lower mid).
Point 8Information ratio: 0.00 (top quartile).Information ratio: 0.00 (upper mid).Information ratio: 0.00 (upper mid).Information ratio: 0.00 (lower mid).Information ratio: 0.00 (bottom quartile).Information ratio: 0.00 (bottom quartile).
Point 9Yield to maturity (debt): 6.91% (bottom quartile).Yield to maturity (debt): 7.60% (lower mid).Yield to maturity (debt): 8.28% (top quartile).Yield to maturity (debt): 6.79% (bottom quartile).Yield to maturity (debt): 7.91% (upper mid).Yield to maturity (debt): 7.81% (upper mid).
Point 10Modified duration: 2.10 yrs (bottom quartile).Modified duration: 2.08 yrs (lower mid).Modified duration: 1.95 yrs (upper mid).Modified duration: 2.55 yrs (bottom quartile).Modified duration: 1.87 yrs (top quartile).Modified duration: 1.99 yrs (upper mid).

DSP Credit Risk Fund

  • Bottom quartile AUM (₹208 Cr).
  • Oldest track record among peers (22 yrs).
  • Rating: 4★ (upper mid).
  • Risk profile: Moderate.
  • 1Y return: 21.94% (top quartile).
  • 1M return: -0.04% (bottom quartile).
  • Sharpe: 1.64 (bottom quartile).
  • Information ratio: 0.00 (top quartile).
  • Yield to maturity (debt): 6.91% (bottom quartile).
  • Modified duration: 2.10 yrs (bottom quartile).

Aditya Birla Sun Life Credit Risk Fund

  • Upper mid AUM (₹1,023 Cr).
  • Established history (10+ yrs).
  • Not Rated.
  • Risk profile: Moderate.
  • 1Y return: 16.42% (upper mid).
  • 1M return: 0.47% (upper mid).
  • Sharpe: 2.49 (upper mid).
  • Information ratio: 0.00 (upper mid).
  • Yield to maturity (debt): 7.60% (lower mid).
  • Modified duration: 2.08 yrs (lower mid).

Nippon India Credit Risk Fund

  • Upper mid AUM (₹1,014 Cr).
  • Established history (20+ yrs).
  • Rating: 2★ (lower mid).
  • Risk profile: Moderate.
  • 1Y return: 9.50% (upper mid).
  • 1M return: 0.35% (lower mid).
  • Sharpe: 3.44 (top quartile).
  • Information ratio: 0.00 (upper mid).
  • Yield to maturity (debt): 8.28% (top quartile).
  • Modified duration: 1.95 yrs (upper mid).

Invesco India Credit Risk Fund

  • Bottom quartile AUM (₹152 Cr).
  • Established history (10+ yrs).
  • Rating: 4★ (upper mid).
  • Risk profile: Moderate.
  • 1Y return: 9.38% (lower mid).
  • 1M return: -0.13% (bottom quartile).
  • Sharpe: 1.44 (bottom quartile).
  • Information ratio: 0.00 (lower mid).
  • Yield to maturity (debt): 6.79% (bottom quartile).
  • Modified duration: 2.55 yrs (bottom quartile).

ICICI Prudential Regular Savings Fund

  • Highest AUM (₹6,044 Cr).
  • Established history (14+ yrs).
  • Rating: 1★ (bottom quartile).
  • Risk profile: Moderate.
  • 1Y return: 8.95% (bottom quartile).
  • 1M return: 0.40% (upper mid).
  • Sharpe: 2.62 (upper mid).
  • Information ratio: 0.00 (bottom quartile).
  • Yield to maturity (debt): 7.91% (upper mid).
  • Modified duration: 1.87 yrs (top quartile).

Axis Credit Risk Fund

  • Lower mid AUM (₹367 Cr).
  • Established history (11+ yrs).
  • Top rated.
  • Risk profile: Moderate.
  • 1Y return: 8.74% (bottom quartile).
  • 1M return: 0.50% (top quartile).
  • Sharpe: 2.44 (lower mid).
  • Information ratio: 0.00 (bottom quartile).
  • Yield to maturity (debt): 7.81% (upper mid).
  • Modified duration: 1.99 yrs (upper mid).

Things to Keep in Mind While Investing

a. Risk

Since these funds are risky, you need to have a high-risk appetite. You should be able to tolerate the risk in this fund.

b. Role of Fund Manager

Always go for an experienced and reputed fund manager. Check the past performance of the schemes managed by that fund manager.

c. Asset Under Management (AUM)

Check the AUM of the fund before investing. Ideally, when you invest in this type of fund, the size of the fund should be big. This is because their greater corpus helps in spreading out the risk and the scope of diversification is better.

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Disclaimer:
All efforts have been made to ensure the information provided here is accurate. However, no guarantees are made regarding correctness of data. Please verify with scheme information document before making any investment.
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