Table of Contents
Why ELSS Over Other Tax Saving Investments
ELSS funds also known as Equity Linked Savings Scheme is an equity-diversified tax saving Mutual Fund that majorly invests its assets in equities or equity-linked instruments like stock markets. The ELSS Mutual Funds offer Market-linked returns, which are volatile and are dependent on the market conditions.
However, financial advisors suggest Investing in ELSS funds for a long duration, as these ELSS Mutual funds generate best returns when invested for a longer duration. In the recent reports, it was seen that ELSS funds generated around 20%-30% returns when invested for 3 years, which is much more than the returns generated by other Mutual Funds.
Comparison Of ELSS & Other Tax Saving Investment Options
The comparison of ELSS and other tax saving is based on parameters like tenure, returns, eligibility for Deduction under 80c, etc.
Let's have a look:
| Parameter | PPF | NSC | FD | ELSS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tenure | 15 years | 6 years | 5 Years | 3 years |
| Returns | 7.60 % (Compounded Annually) | 7.60 % (Compounded Annually) | 7.00 - 8.00 % (Compounded Annually) | No Assured Divividend / Return as it market linked |
| Min. Investment | Rs. 500 | Rs. 100 | Rs. 1000 | Rs. 500 |
| Max. Investment | Rs. 1.5 Lakhs | No Upper Limit | No Upper Limit | No Upper Limit |
| Amount Eligible for Deduction under 80c | Rs. 1.5 Lakhs | Rs. 1.5 Lakhs | Rs. 1.5 Lakhs | Rs. 1.5 Lakhs |
| Taxation for Interest/return | Tax-Free | Interest Taxable | Interest Taxable | Gains up to Rs 1 lakh are free of tax. Tax at 10% applies to gains above Rs 1 lakh |
| Safety/Ratings | Safe | Safe | Safe | Risk |
Top 5 ELSS Funds To Invest In 2025
Below is the list of Fund having Net Assets/AUM between 100 - 200 Crores.
Fund NAV Net Assets (Cr) 3 MO (%) 6 MO (%) 1 YR (%) 3 YR (%) 5 YR (%) 2023 (%) IDBI Equity Advantage Fund Growth ₹43.39
↑ 0.04 ₹485 9.7 15.1 16.9 20.8 10 HDFC Long Term Advantage Fund Growth ₹595.168
↑ 0.28 ₹1,318 1.2 15.4 35.5 20.6 17.4 JM Tax Gain Fund Growth ₹45.1996
↓ -0.84 ₹184 0 -7 5 18.8 26.9 29 Baroda Pioneer ELSS 96 Growth ₹68.6676
↑ 0.33 ₹210 -6.1 -3.5 17.6 16.7 11.6 BNP Paribas Long Term Equity Fund (ELSS) Growth ₹89.6673
↓ -1.33 ₹866 1.3 -3 6.8 16.6 21.5 23.6 Note: Returns up to 1 year are on absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR basis. as on 28 Jul 23
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The Scheme will seek to invest predominantly in a diversified portfolio of equity and equity related instruments with the objective to provide investors with opportunities for capital appreciation and income along with the benefit of income-tax deduction(under section 80C of the Income-tax Act, 1961) on their investments. Investments in this scheme would be subject to a statutory lock-in of 3 years from the date of allotment to be eligible for income-tax benefits under Section 80C. There can be no assurance that the investment objective under the scheme will be realized. IDBI Equity Advantage Fund is a Equity - ELSS fund was launched on 10 Sep 13. It is a fund with Moderately High risk and has given a Below is the key information for IDBI Equity Advantage Fund Returns up to 1 year are on To generate long term capital appreciation from a portfolio that is predominantly in equity and equity related instruments HDFC Long Term Advantage Fund is a Equity - ELSS fund was launched on 2 Jan 01. It is a fund with Moderately High risk and has given a Below is the key information for HDFC Long Term Advantage Fund Returns up to 1 year are on The investment objective is to generate long-term capital growth from a diversified and actively managed portfolio of equity and equity related securities and to enable investors a deduction from total income, as permitted under the Income Tax Act, 1961 from time to time. However, there can be no assurance that the investment objectives of the Scheme will be realized. The Scheme does not guarantee/indicate any returns. JM Tax Gain Fund is a Equity - ELSS fund was launched on 31 Mar 08. It is a fund with Moderately High risk and has given a Below is the key information for JM Tax Gain Fund Returns up to 1 year are on The main objective of the scheme is to provide the investor long term capital growth as also tax benefit under section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Baroda Pioneer ELSS 96 is a Equity - ELSS fund was launched on 2 Mar 15. It is a fund with Moderately High risk and has given a Below is the key information for Baroda Pioneer ELSS 96 Returns up to 1 year are on The investment objective of the Scheme is to generate long-term capital growth from a diversified and actively managed portfolio of equity and equity related securities along with income tax rebate, as may be prevalent fromtime to time. However, there can be no assurance that the investment objective of the Scheme will be achieved. The Scheme does not guarantee / indicate any returns. BNP Paribas Long Term Equity Fund (ELSS) is a Equity - ELSS fund was launched on 5 Jan 06. It is a fund with Moderately High risk and has given a Below is the key information for BNP Paribas Long Term Equity Fund (ELSS) Returns up to 1 year are on 1. IDBI Equity Advantage Fund
CAGR/Annualized return of 16% since its launch. Ranked 21 in ELSS category. . IDBI Equity Advantage Fund
Growth Launch Date 10 Sep 13 NAV (28 Jul 23) ₹43.39 ↑ 0.04 (0.09 %) Net Assets (Cr) ₹485 on 30 Jun 23 Category Equity - ELSS AMC IDBI Asset Management Limited Rating ☆☆☆ Risk Moderately High Expense Ratio 2.39 Sharpe Ratio 1.21 Information Ratio -1.13 Alpha Ratio 1.78 Min Investment 500 Min SIP Investment 500 Exit Load NIL Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.
Date Value 31 Mar 20 ₹10,000 31 Mar 21 ₹14,407 31 Mar 22 ₹17,362 31 Mar 23 ₹17,326 Returns for IDBI Equity Advantage Fund
absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) basis. as on 28 Jul 23 Duration Returns 1 Month 3.1% 3 Month 9.7% 6 Month 15.1% 1 Year 16.9% 3 Year 20.8% 5 Year 10% 10 Year 15 Year Since launch 16% Historical performance (Yearly) on absolute basis
Year Returns 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 Fund Manager information for IDBI Equity Advantage Fund
Name Since Tenure Data below for IDBI Equity Advantage Fund as on 30 Jun 23
Equity Sector Allocation
Sector Value Asset Allocation
Asset Class Value Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
Name Holding Value Quantity 2. HDFC Long Term Advantage Fund
CAGR/Annualized return of 21.4% since its launch. Ranked 23 in ELSS category. . HDFC Long Term Advantage Fund
Growth Launch Date 2 Jan 01 NAV (14 Jan 22) ₹595.168 ↑ 0.28 (0.05 %) Net Assets (Cr) ₹1,318 on 30 Nov 21 Category Equity - ELSS AMC HDFC Asset Management Company Limited Rating ☆☆☆ Risk Moderately High Expense Ratio 2.25 Sharpe Ratio 2.27 Information Ratio -0.15 Alpha Ratio 1.75 Min Investment 500 Min SIP Investment 500 Exit Load NIL Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.
Date Value 31 Mar 20 ₹10,000 31 Mar 21 ₹17,787
Purchase not allowed Returns for HDFC Long Term Advantage Fund
absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) basis. as on 28 Jul 23 Duration Returns 1 Month 4.4% 3 Month 1.2% 6 Month 15.4% 1 Year 35.5% 3 Year 20.6% 5 Year 17.4% 10 Year 15 Year Since launch 21.4% Historical performance (Yearly) on absolute basis
Year Returns 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 Fund Manager information for HDFC Long Term Advantage Fund
Name Since Tenure Data below for HDFC Long Term Advantage Fund as on 30 Nov 21
Equity Sector Allocation
Sector Value Asset Allocation
Asset Class Value Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
Name Holding Value Quantity 3. JM Tax Gain Fund
CAGR/Annualized return of 9.2% since its launch. Ranked 18 in ELSS category. Return for 2024 was 29% , 2023 was 30.9% and 2022 was 0.5% . JM Tax Gain Fund
Growth Launch Date 31 Mar 08 NAV (25 Apr 25) ₹45.1996 ↓ -0.84 (-1.83 %) Net Assets (Cr) ₹184 on 31 Mar 25 Category Equity - ELSS AMC JM Financial Asset Management Limited Rating ☆☆☆ Risk Moderately High Expense Ratio 2.4 Sharpe Ratio 0.26 Information Ratio 0.48 Alpha Ratio 4.69 Min Investment 500 Min SIP Investment 500 Exit Load NIL Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.
Date Value 31 Mar 20 ₹10,000 31 Mar 21 ₹17,396 31 Mar 22 ₹21,099 31 Mar 23 ₹20,935 31 Mar 24 ₹30,269 31 Mar 25 ₹33,442 Returns for JM Tax Gain Fund
absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) basis. as on 28 Jul 23 Duration Returns 1 Month 0.9% 3 Month 0% 6 Month -7% 1 Year 5% 3 Year 18.8% 5 Year 26.9% 10 Year 15 Year Since launch 9.2% Historical performance (Yearly) on absolute basis
Year Returns 2023 29% 2022 30.9% 2021 0.5% 2020 32.2% 2019 18.3% 2018 14.9% 2017 -4.6% 2016 42.6% 2015 5.2% 2014 -0.6% Fund Manager information for JM Tax Gain Fund
Name Since Tenure Satish Ramanathan 1 Oct 24 0.41 Yr. Asit Bhandarkar 31 Dec 21 3.17 Yr. Chaitanya Choksi 18 Jul 14 10.63 Yr. Ruchi Fozdar 4 Oct 24 0.41 Yr. Data below for JM Tax Gain Fund as on 31 Mar 25
Equity Sector Allocation
Sector Value Financial Services 24.93% Consumer Cyclical 16.94% Basic Materials 12.3% Technology 11.78% Industrials 9.75% Health Care 9.45% Consumer Defensive 4.67% Communication Services 2.88% Utility 1.21% Asset Allocation
Asset Class Value Cash 4.75% Equity 95.25% Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
Name Holding Value Quantity ICICI Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 22 | ICICIBANK6% ₹9 Cr 77,975
↑ 20,000 HDFC Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Dec 11 | HDFCBANK6% ₹9 Cr 54,131 Infosys Ltd (Technology)
Equity, Since 31 Aug 18 | INFY5% ₹8 Cr 45,965
↓ -2,500 Bajaj Finserv Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Jan 25 | 5329784% ₹7 Cr 35,500
↑ 3,000 Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (Consumer Cyclical)
Equity, Since 30 Sep 24 | MARUTI3% ₹6 Cr 4,706 Bajaj Auto Ltd (Consumer Cyclical)
Equity, Since 30 Sep 24 | 5329773% ₹5 Cr 6,550 State Bank of India (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Aug 20 | SBIN3% ₹5 Cr 72,900 Bharti Airtel Ltd (Communication Services)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 24 | BHARTIARTL3% ₹5 Cr 30,700 Larsen & Toubro Ltd (Industrials)
Equity, Since 30 Nov 10 | LT3% ₹5 Cr 14,447 CreditAccess Grameen Ltd Ordinary Shares (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 24 | CREDITACC2% ₹4 Cr 43,600 4. Baroda Pioneer ELSS 96
CAGR/Annualized return of 8.4% since its launch. . Baroda Pioneer ELSS 96
Growth Launch Date 2 Mar 15 NAV (11 Mar 22) ₹68.6676 ↑ 0.33 (0.48 %) Net Assets (Cr) ₹210 on 31 Jan 22 Category Equity - ELSS AMC Baroda Pioneer Asset Management Co. Ltd. Rating Risk Moderately High Expense Ratio 2.55 Sharpe Ratio 2.51 Information Ratio -0.09 Alpha Ratio 5.69 Min Investment 500 Min SIP Investment 500 Exit Load NIL Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.
Date Value 31 Mar 20 ₹10,000 31 Mar 21 ₹16,937 Returns for Baroda Pioneer ELSS 96
absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) basis. as on 28 Jul 23 Duration Returns 1 Month -3.9% 3 Month -6.1% 6 Month -3.5% 1 Year 17.6% 3 Year 16.7% 5 Year 11.6% 10 Year 15 Year Since launch 8.4% Historical performance (Yearly) on absolute basis
Year Returns 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 Fund Manager information for Baroda Pioneer ELSS 96
Name Since Tenure Data below for Baroda Pioneer ELSS 96 as on 31 Jan 22
Equity Sector Allocation
Sector Value Asset Allocation
Asset Class Value Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
Name Holding Value Quantity 5. BNP Paribas Long Term Equity Fund (ELSS)
CAGR/Annualized return of 12% since its launch. Ranked 22 in ELSS category. Return for 2024 was 23.6% , 2023 was 31.3% and 2022 was -2.1% . BNP Paribas Long Term Equity Fund (ELSS)
Growth Launch Date 5 Jan 06 NAV (25 Apr 25) ₹89.6673 ↓ -1.33 (-1.46 %) Net Assets (Cr) ₹866 on 31 Mar 25 Category Equity - ELSS AMC BNP Paribas Asset Mgmt India Pvt. Ltd Rating ☆☆☆ Risk Moderately High Expense Ratio 2.29 Sharpe Ratio 0.22 Information Ratio 0.11 Alpha Ratio 3.06 Min Investment 500 Min SIP Investment 500 Exit Load NIL Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.
Date Value 31 Mar 20 ₹10,000 31 Mar 21 ₹15,840 31 Mar 22 ₹18,175 31 Mar 23 ₹17,467 31 Mar 24 ₹24,819 31 Mar 25 ₹27,184 Returns for BNP Paribas Long Term Equity Fund (ELSS)
absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) basis. as on 28 Jul 23 Duration Returns 1 Month 1.5% 3 Month 1.3% 6 Month -3% 1 Year 6.8% 3 Year 16.6% 5 Year 21.5% 10 Year 15 Year Since launch 12% Historical performance (Yearly) on absolute basis
Year Returns 2023 23.6% 2022 31.3% 2021 -2.1% 2020 23.6% 2019 17.8% 2018 14.3% 2017 -9.3% 2016 42.3% 2015 -6.6% 2014 7.7% Fund Manager information for BNP Paribas Long Term Equity Fund (ELSS)
Name Since Tenure Sanjay Chawla 14 Mar 22 2.97 Yr. Pratish Krishnan 14 Mar 22 2.97 Yr. Data below for BNP Paribas Long Term Equity Fund (ELSS) as on 31 Mar 25
Equity Sector Allocation
Sector Value Financial Services 27.76% Industrials 11.82% Consumer Cyclical 11.61% Technology 10.27% Health Care 8.44% Consumer Defensive 7.81% Basic Materials 6.73% Energy 4.19% Utility 3.21% Communication Services 3.1% Asset Allocation
Asset Class Value Cash 4.62% Equity 95.38% Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
Name Holding Value Quantity HDFC Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 08 | HDFCBANK7% ₹57 Cr 328,160 ICICI Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 12 | ICICIBANK6% ₹49 Cr 411,000 Reliance Industries Ltd (Energy)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 18 | RELIANCE4% ₹34 Cr 284,200 Infosys Ltd (Technology)
Equity, Since 29 Feb 24 | INFY3% ₹27 Cr 161,100
↓ -43,900 Bharti Airtel Ltd (Communication Services)
Equity, Since 31 May 19 | BHARTIARTL3% ₹25 Cr 160,566 Zomato Ltd (Consumer Cyclical)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 23 | 5433203% ₹20 Cr 920,813 Larsen & Toubro Ltd (Industrials)
Equity, Since 30 Apr 20 | LT2% ₹20 Cr 64,020 Sagility India Ltd (Healthcare)
Equity, Since 30 Nov 24 | SAGILITY2% ₹20 Cr 4,616,000 Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Co Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 30 Sep 23 | CHOLAFIN2% ₹17 Cr 120,500 State Bank of India (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 22 | SBIN2% ₹17 Cr 243,000
How ELSS Better Than Other Tax Saving Investments?
There are various Tax Saving Investment options in India among which ELSS is one of the best options. How? Here are some of the reasons mentioned.
High Returns over Long-Term
The ELSS funds allocate the highest number of assets in stock market among other tax saving investments. So, these funds earn best Inflation-beating returns amongst all. If invested for a longer duration, the rate of returns of ELSS can easily beat the returns of other traditional debt-oriented investments. Therefore, ELSS Mutual funds provide investors with the best of both worlds- high returns and tax benefits.
Shortest Lock-in Period
The ELSS Mutual Funds have a short lock-in period as compared to the traditional tax saving investment options. The lock-in period of ELSS funds is 3 years while that of PPF is 15 years and of NPS is until retirement. So, by investing in ELSS your money does not get locked for a longer duration and you can stop investing soon after the lock-in is over.
Highly Flexible Investment
The flexibility of ELSS Mutual Funds is much more than all other tax saving investments. Unlike traditional investments, there is no need of investing in only one type of option. ELSS funds enable you to diversify your Portfolio with different kinds of investments. Also, the investors can remain invested in these funds even after the lock-in period is over. So, once the lock-in is over, you can easily choose to remain invested or redeem as per your convenience.
Conclusion
In conclusion, here are a few tips for investors investing in ELSS Funds.
- Start investing in ELSS early
- Invest within your limits
- Do not choose dividend reinvestment
- Redeem slowly and gradually
- Invest via a SIP
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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