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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 ₹190.55
↓ -0.94 ₹8,043 6.2 7.6 0.6 29.5 35.9 27.4 HDFC Infrastructure Fund Growth ₹46.767
↓ -0.20 ₹2,591 6.1 7.9 -2.2 29.8 34.1 23 Nippon India Small Cap Fund Growth ₹164.669
↓ -1.81 ₹66,602 7.8 4.1 -4.8 24 34 26.1 Motilal Oswal Midcap 30 Fund Growth ₹99.4516
↓ -2.77 ₹33,053 4.3 2.1 1.8 27.4 33.3 57.1 Bandhan Infrastructure Fund Growth ₹49.006
↓ -0.53 ₹1,749 6.1 5.3 -10.9 27.9 32.9 39.3 Franklin Build India Fund Growth ₹138.945
↓ -1.09 ₹2,968 6.1 8.1 -1 28.8 32.8 27.8 DSP India T.I.G.E.R Fund Growth ₹305.144
↓ -3.22 ₹5,517 7 6.2 -7.5 26.9 32.6 32.4 Canara Robeco Infrastructure Growth ₹157.91
↓ -1.70 ₹932 8.3 10.9 -0.5 25.7 31.6 35.3 HDFC Small Cap Fund Growth ₹138.38
↓ -1.03 ₹35,781 13.6 7.8 2.5 24.1 31.5 20.4 Franklin India Smaller Companies Fund Growth ₹165.7
↓ -1.73 ₹13,995 4.8 0.9 -7.1 23.1 31.3 23.2 Note: Returns up to 1 year are on absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR basis. as on 8 Aug 25 Research Highlights & Commentary of 10 Funds showcased
Commentary ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund HDFC Infrastructure Fund Nippon India Small Cap Fund Motilal Oswal Midcap 30 Fund Bandhan Infrastructure Fund Franklin Build India Fund DSP India T.I.G.E.R Fund Canara Robeco Infrastructure HDFC Small Cap Fund Franklin India Smaller Companies Fund Point 1 Upper mid AUM (₹8,043 Cr). Bottom quartile AUM (₹2,591 Cr). Highest AUM (₹66,602 Cr). Upper mid AUM (₹33,053 Cr). Bottom quartile AUM (₹1,749 Cr). Lower mid AUM (₹2,968 Cr). Lower mid AUM (₹5,517 Cr). Bottom quartile AUM (₹932 Cr). Top quartile AUM (₹35,781 Cr). Upper mid AUM (₹13,995 Cr). Point 2 Established history (19+ yrs). Established history (17+ yrs). Established history (14+ yrs). Established history (11+ yrs). Established history (14+ yrs). Established history (15+ yrs). Oldest track record among peers (21 yrs). Established history (19+ yrs). Established history (17+ yrs). Established history (19+ yrs). Point 3 Rating: 3★ (lower mid). Rating: 3★ (bottom quartile). Rating: 4★ (upper mid). Rating: 3★ (bottom quartile). Top rated. Rating: 5★ (top quartile). Rating: 4★ (upper mid). Not Rated. Rating: 4★ (upper mid). Rating: 4★ (lower mid). Point 4 Risk profile: High. Risk profile: High. Risk profile: Moderately High. Risk profile: Moderately High. Risk profile: High. Risk profile: High. Risk profile: High. Risk profile: High. Risk profile: Moderately High. Risk profile: Moderately High. Point 5 5Y return: 35.89% (top quartile). 5Y return: 34.10% (top quartile). 5Y return: 34.05% (upper mid). 5Y return: 33.29% (upper mid). 5Y return: 32.92% (upper mid). 5Y return: 32.79% (lower mid). 5Y return: 32.58% (lower mid). 5Y return: 31.61% (bottom quartile). 5Y return: 31.53% (bottom quartile). 5Y return: 31.31% (bottom quartile). Point 6 3Y return: 29.47% (top quartile). 3Y return: 29.80% (top quartile). 3Y return: 23.96% (bottom quartile). 3Y return: 27.39% (upper mid). 3Y return: 27.94% (upper mid). 3Y return: 28.76% (upper mid). 3Y return: 26.90% (lower mid). 3Y return: 25.67% (lower mid). 3Y return: 24.13% (bottom quartile). 3Y return: 23.08% (bottom quartile). Point 7 1Y return: 0.64% (upper mid). 1Y return: -2.17% (lower mid). 1Y return: -4.79% (lower mid). 1Y return: 1.83% (top quartile). 1Y return: -10.90% (bottom quartile). 1Y return: -1.01% (upper mid). 1Y return: -7.54% (bottom quartile). 1Y return: -0.49% (upper mid). 1Y return: 2.46% (top quartile). 1Y return: -7.14% (bottom quartile). Point 8 Alpha: 0.00 (top quartile). Alpha: 0.00 (upper mid). Alpha: -2.86 (bottom quartile). Alpha: 3.89 (top quartile). Alpha: 0.00 (upper mid). Alpha: 0.00 (upper mid). Alpha: 0.00 (lower mid). Alpha: 0.00 (lower mid). Alpha: 0.00 (bottom quartile). Alpha: -7.46 (bottom quartile). Point 9 Sharpe: 0.01 (upper mid). Sharpe: -0.23 (lower mid). Sharpe: -0.10 (upper mid). Sharpe: 0.23 (top quartile). Sharpe: -0.29 (bottom quartile). Sharpe: -0.29 (lower mid). Sharpe: -0.36 (bottom quartile). Sharpe: -0.17 (upper mid). Sharpe: 0.07 (top quartile). Sharpe: -0.33 (bottom quartile). Point 10 Information ratio: 0.00 (top quartile). Information ratio: 0.00 (upper mid). Information ratio: -0.10 (bottom quartile). Information ratio: 0.44 (top quartile). 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: -0.13 (bottom quartile). ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund
HDFC Infrastructure Fund
Nippon India Small Cap Fund
Motilal Oswal Midcap 30 Fund
Bandhan Infrastructure Fund
Franklin Build India Fund
DSP India T.I.G.E.R Fund
Canara Robeco Infrastructure
HDFC Small Cap Fund
Franklin India Smaller Companies 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 (%) SBI Gold Fund Growth ₹29.7522
↑ 0.14 ₹4,410 4.2 18 45.2 23.6 11.3 19.6 Aditya Birla Sun Life Gold Fund Growth ₹29.5606
↑ 0.28 ₹636 4.3 17.7 45.4 23.4 11.3 18.7 Axis Gold Fund Growth ₹29.6549
↑ 0.10 ₹1,121 4.3 17.5 44.1 23.4 11.5 19.2 HDFC Gold Fund Growth ₹30.3889
↑ 0.14 ₹4,272 4.1 18 45 23.4 11 18.9 ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund Growth ₹31.5118
↑ 0.14 ₹2,274 4.2 17.9 45.4 23.3 11.2 19.5 Note: Returns up to 1 year are on absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR basis. as on 8 Aug 25 Research Highlights & Commentary of 5 Funds showcased
Commentary SBI Gold Fund Aditya Birla Sun Life Gold Fund Axis Gold Fund HDFC Gold Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund Point 1 Highest AUM (₹4,410 Cr). Bottom quartile AUM (₹636 Cr). Bottom quartile AUM (₹1,121 Cr). Upper mid AUM (₹4,272 Cr). Lower mid AUM (₹2,274 Cr). Point 2 Oldest track record among peers (13 yrs). Established history (13+ yrs). Established history (13+ yrs). Established history (13+ yrs). Established history (13+ yrs). Point 3 Rating: 2★ (upper mid). Top rated. Rating: 1★ (lower mid). Rating: 1★ (bottom quartile). 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: 11.27% (lower mid). 5Y return: 11.33% (upper mid). 5Y return: 11.47% (top quartile). 5Y return: 11.05% (bottom quartile). 5Y return: 11.22% (bottom quartile). Point 6 3Y return: 23.59% (top quartile). 3Y return: 23.44% (upper mid). 3Y return: 23.43% (lower mid). 3Y return: 23.39% (bottom quartile). 3Y return: 23.31% (bottom quartile). Point 7 1Y return: 45.21% (lower mid). 1Y return: 45.36% (top quartile). 1Y return: 44.12% (bottom quartile). 1Y return: 45.00% (bottom quartile). 1Y return: 45.35% (upper mid). Point 8 1M return: 4.37% (lower mid). 1M return: 4.25% (bottom quartile). 1M return: 4.44% (upper mid). 1M return: 4.33% (bottom quartile). 1M return: 4.56% (top 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: 1.73 (upper mid). Sharpe: 1.79 (top quartile). Sharpe: 1.70 (lower mid). Sharpe: 1.69 (bottom quartile). Sharpe: 1.67 (bottom quartile). SBI Gold Fund
Aditya Birla Sun Life Gold Fund
Axis Gold Fund
HDFC Gold Fund
ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings 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