Planning for a long term investment? But, how? Most investors look for the ‘best instrument’ to safeguard their hard earned money. But, before you invest, understanding the importance of the right investment is very significant. So, here is a list of some the best long term investment options with their investment purpose.
Public Provident Fund (PPF) is one of the most popular long term investment options in India. Since it's backed by the Government of India, it is a safe investment with an attractive interest rate. Moreover, it offers tax benefits under Section 80C, of income tax 1961, and also the interest income is exempted from tax.
PPF comes with a maturity period of 15 years, however, it can be extended within a year of maturity for five years and more. Annual deposits of minimum INR 500 to maximum INR 1.5 lakh can be invested in PPF account.
A mutual fund is one of the best long term investment options in India. A Mutual Fund is a collective pool of money with a common objective for purchasing securities (via the fund). Mutual Funds are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and are managed by Asset Management Companies (AMC’s). Mutual Funds have gained immense popularity amongst investors over the past few years.
There are various Types of Mutual Funds like Equity Funds, Debt fund, Money market funds, Hybrid Fund and gold funds. Each has its own investment objective. However, people who look to balance risk and return, generally prefer to invest in equity and bond Mutual Funds.
The Systematic Investment plan (SIP) is also considered to be one of the best long term investment options to invest in a Mutual Fund. SIPs make an excellent tool for Investing hard earned money, especially for those earning salaries. There are various SIP calculators available in the market that try to help investors make investment plans.
Some of the best mutual funds to invest in India having Assets more than 300 Crore
and having best CAGR
returns for last 5 years are :
Fund NAV Net Assets (Cr) 3 MO (%) 6 MO (%) 1 YR (%) 3 YR (%) 5 YR (%) 2024 (%) ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund Growth ₹195.43
↓ -0.96 ₹7,645 -2.1 14.6 0 28.2 37.1 27.4 HDFC Infrastructure Fund Growth ₹47.761
↓ -0.23 ₹2,483 -1.1 13.2 -1.3 27.9 34.5 23 Franklin Build India Fund Growth ₹141.649
↓ -0.83 ₹2,884 -1.5 14.2 -0.7 27.6 33.2 27.8 Bandhan Infrastructure Fund Growth ₹49.411
↓ -0.30 ₹1,613 -4.2 11.8 -8.8 26.3 33.1 39.3 DSP India T.I.G.E.R Fund Growth ₹312.807
↓ -2.15 ₹5,303 -2.3 14.1 -7.6 25.8 32.9 32.4 Motilal Oswal Midcap 30 Fund Growth ₹102.822
↓ -0.74 ₹34,780 -0.2 17.7 -4.1 25.2 32.8 57.1 SBI PSU Fund Growth ₹32.4307
↓ -0.26 ₹5,179 -0.4 11.6 -0.4 30.9 32.7 23.5 Nippon India Small Cap Fund Growth ₹167.809
↓ -0.64 ₹64,821 -2.8 15.1 -5.5 21.8 32.3 26.1 Canara Robeco Infrastructure Growth ₹161.04
↓ -1.50 ₹889 -1.3 17.2 -2 24.9 32.1 35.3 Nippon India Power and Infra Fund Growth ₹346.385
↓ -3.38 ₹7,175 -2.3 14.1 -5.5 27.3 31.7 26.9 Note: Returns up to 1 year are on absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR basis. as on 8 Oct 25 Research Highlights & Commentary of 10 Funds showcased
Commentary ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund HDFC Infrastructure Fund Franklin Build India Fund Bandhan Infrastructure Fund DSP India T.I.G.E.R Fund Motilal Oswal Midcap 30 Fund SBI PSU Fund Nippon India Small Cap Fund Canara Robeco Infrastructure Nippon India Power and Infra Fund Point 1 Upper mid AUM (₹7,645 Cr). Bottom quartile AUM (₹2,483 Cr). Lower mid AUM (₹2,884 Cr). Bottom quartile AUM (₹1,613 Cr). Upper mid AUM (₹5,303 Cr). Top quartile AUM (₹34,780 Cr). Lower mid AUM (₹5,179 Cr). Highest AUM (₹64,821 Cr). Bottom quartile AUM (₹889 Cr). Upper mid AUM (₹7,175 Cr). Point 2 Established history (20+ yrs). Established history (17+ yrs). Established history (16+ yrs). Established history (14+ yrs). Oldest track record among peers (21 yrs). Established history (11+ yrs). Established history (15+ yrs). Established history (15+ yrs). Established history (19+ yrs). Established history (21+ yrs). Point 3 Rating: 3★ (lower mid). Rating: 3★ (lower mid). Top rated. Rating: 5★ (top quartile). Rating: 4★ (upper mid). Rating: 3★ (bottom quartile). Rating: 2★ (bottom quartile). Rating: 4★ (upper mid). Not Rated. Rating: 4★ (upper mid). Point 4 Risk profile: High. Risk profile: High. Risk profile: High. Risk profile: High. Risk profile: High. Risk profile: Moderately High. Risk profile: High. Risk profile: Moderately High. Risk profile: High. Risk profile: High. Point 5 5Y return: 37.12% (top quartile). 5Y return: 34.54% (top quartile). 5Y return: 33.23% (upper mid). 5Y return: 33.05% (upper mid). 5Y return: 32.86% (upper mid). 5Y return: 32.83% (lower mid). 5Y return: 32.72% (lower mid). 5Y return: 32.26% (bottom quartile). 5Y return: 32.07% (bottom quartile). 5Y return: 31.69% (bottom quartile). Point 6 3Y return: 28.20% (top quartile). 3Y return: 27.88% (upper mid). 3Y return: 27.58% (upper mid). 3Y return: 26.32% (lower mid). 3Y return: 25.84% (lower mid). 3Y return: 25.25% (bottom quartile). 3Y return: 30.91% (top quartile). 3Y return: 21.85% (bottom quartile). 3Y return: 24.94% (bottom quartile). 3Y return: 27.30% (upper mid). Point 7 1Y return: -0.03% (top quartile). 1Y return: -1.27% (upper mid). 1Y return: -0.68% (upper mid). 1Y return: -8.77% (bottom quartile). 1Y return: -7.57% (bottom quartile). 1Y return: -4.12% (lower mid). 1Y return: -0.36% (top quartile). 1Y return: -5.45% (lower mid). 1Y return: -2.01% (upper mid). 1Y return: -5.46% (bottom quartile). Point 8 Alpha: 0.00 (top quartile). Alpha: 0.00 (upper mid). Alpha: 0.00 (upper mid). Alpha: 0.00 (upper mid). Alpha: 0.00 (lower mid). Alpha: 4.99 (top quartile). Alpha: -0.35 (bottom quartile). Alpha: -2.55 (bottom quartile). Alpha: 0.00 (lower mid). Alpha: -3.51 (bottom quartile). Point 9 Sharpe: -0.48 (upper mid). Sharpe: -0.64 (upper mid). Sharpe: -0.64 (upper mid). Sharpe: -0.71 (bottom quartile). Sharpe: -0.71 (bottom quartile). Sharpe: -0.18 (top quartile). Sharpe: -0.81 (bottom quartile). Sharpe: -0.65 (lower mid). Sharpe: -0.41 (top quartile). Sharpe: -0.66 (lower mid). Point 10 Information ratio: 0.00 (upper mid). Information ratio: 0.00 (upper mid). Information ratio: 0.00 (lower mid). Information ratio: 0.00 (lower mid). Information ratio: 0.00 (bottom quartile). Information ratio: 0.57 (top quartile). Information ratio: -0.37 (bottom quartile). Information ratio: 0.10 (upper mid). Information ratio: 0.00 (bottom quartile). Information ratio: 0.79 (top quartile). ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund
HDFC Infrastructure Fund
Franklin Build India Fund
Bandhan Infrastructure Fund
DSP India T.I.G.E.R Fund
Motilal Oswal Midcap 30 Fund
SBI PSU Fund
Nippon India Small Cap Fund
Canara Robeco Infrastructure
Nippon India Power and Infra Fund
Post Office Saving Schemes are considered to be one of the best long term investment options for government employees, salaried class and businessmen. They offer a moderate rate of interest and tax benefits under section 80C of Income Tax Act as well.
Some of the most popular Post Office Saving Schemes are as follows-
Bonds are a part of long term investment options. A bond is an investing instrument used to borrow money. It’s a long-term debt instrument, used by the companies to raise Capital from the public. In return, bonds offer a fixed interest rate on investment. The principle amount is paid back to the investor at the maturity period.
So, investing in long-term bonds is considered as a good alternative for earning decent returns on your investment.
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Fixed deposit is a good to go as one of the best long term investment options as it is considered to be the easiest and common instrument. It is yet another option for risk-free investment. Investors can invest any amount in an FD for a maximum period of 10 years. But, the interest varies depending on the amount of investment and also the tenure.
Indian investors often look for Investing in Gold and it's also one of the good long term investment options. Gold is used as an Inflation hedge. Investing in gold can be done via buying physical gold, gold deposit scheme, gold ETF, Gold Bar or gold Mutual Fund. Some of the best underlying Gold ETFs in India are as follows:
Fund NAV Net Assets (Cr) 3 MO (%) 6 MO (%) 1 YR (%) 3 YR (%) 5 YR (%) 2024 (%) IDBI Gold Fund Growth ₹31.9583
↑ 0.72 ₹254 25.1 38.1 59.7 31.5 18.6 18.7 Aditya Birla Sun Life Gold Fund Growth ₹35.7393
↑ 0.77 ₹725 26 38.8 60.2 31.5 18.1 18.7 SBI Gold Fund Growth ₹35.8091
↑ 0.72 ₹5,221 25.6 37.9 59.7 31.5 18 19.6 ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund Growth ₹37.9633
↑ 0.76 ₹2,603 26 38.5 59.8 31.4 18 19.5 HDFC Gold Fund Growth ₹36.5994
↑ 0.69 ₹4,915 25.7 37.9 59.5 31.3 17.9 18.9 Note: Returns up to 1 year are on absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR basis. as on 8 Oct 25 Research Highlights & Commentary of 5 Funds showcased
Commentary IDBI Gold Fund Aditya Birla Sun Life Gold Fund SBI Gold Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund HDFC Gold Fund Point 1 Bottom quartile AUM (₹254 Cr). Bottom quartile AUM (₹725 Cr). Highest AUM (₹5,221 Cr). Lower mid AUM (₹2,603 Cr). Upper mid AUM (₹4,915 Cr). Point 2 Established history (13+ yrs). Established history (13+ yrs). Oldest track record among peers (14 yrs). Established history (14+ yrs). Established history (13+ yrs). Point 3 Not Rated. Top rated. Rating: 2★ (upper mid). Rating: 1★ (lower mid). Rating: 1★ (bottom quartile). Point 4 Risk profile: Moderately High. Risk profile: Moderately High. Risk profile: Moderately High. Risk profile: Moderately High. Risk profile: Moderately High. Point 5 5Y return: 18.60% (top quartile). 5Y return: 18.06% (upper mid). 5Y return: 18.02% (lower mid). 5Y return: 17.95% (bottom quartile). 5Y return: 17.89% (bottom quartile). Point 6 3Y return: 31.49% (top quartile). 3Y return: 31.47% (upper mid). 3Y return: 31.47% (lower mid). 3Y return: 31.44% (bottom quartile). 3Y return: 31.34% (bottom quartile). Point 7 1Y return: 59.69% (bottom quartile). 1Y return: 60.19% (top quartile). 1Y return: 59.73% (lower mid). 1Y return: 59.82% (upper mid). 1Y return: 59.51% (bottom quartile). Point 8 1M return: 14.43% (lower mid). 1M return: 13.14% (bottom quartile). 1M return: 14.54% (upper mid). 1M return: 14.63% (top quartile). 1M return: 12.88% (bottom quartile). Point 9 Alpha: 0.00 (top quartile). Alpha: 0.00 (upper mid). Alpha: 0.00 (lower mid). Alpha: 0.00 (bottom quartile). Alpha: 0.00 (bottom quartile). Point 10 Sharpe: 2.38 (bottom quartile). Sharpe: 2.66 (top quartile). Sharpe: 2.58 (upper mid). Sharpe: 2.55 (lower mid). Sharpe: 2.55 (bottom quartile). IDBI Gold Fund
Aditya Birla Sun Life Gold Fund
SBI Gold Fund
ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund
HDFC Gold Fund
Whether it's buying a house, gold, car or any asset, investing is an important decision of life and also a necessity. While, each long term investment option has its own benefits and risks, plan and explore the best investment options as mentioned above and enhance your financial security.
Keep focused Financial goals and also remember while choosing best long term investment options you have to plan for a diversified investment strategy. This will minimise your risks. So, start investing a good part of your Earnings in long term investment plans!
One looking for Long Term investments in various asset classes as described above. Illustration with timeframe:
Horizon | Asset Class | Risk |
---|---|---|
> 10 Years | Equity Mutual Funds | High |
> 5 Years | Equity Mutual Funds | High |
3 - 5 Years | Bonds/Gold/FD/Debt Mutual Funds | Low |
2 -3 Years | Bonds/Gold/Debt Mutual Funds | Low |
1 - 2 Year | Ultra Short Debt Mutual Funds/ FD | Low |
< 1 Year | Ultra Short/Liquid Debt Mutual Funds / FD | Low |
Best information, Thanks