ELSS Mutual Funds: When we think about saving tax from our investments, most of the options have a lock-in period of at least five years. There are not many options that provide the option to save up to Rs 1.50 lakh in income tax in a year through deposits under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. Equity Linked Savings Scheme, or ELSS, is one such category of equity mutual funds that provides tax benefits with a three-year lock-in period. That's why these funds are also known as tax-saving funds.

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While people use these funds primarily to save tax, there are many ELSS mutual funds that have given quite high returns in the three-year period.

The ELSS as a category has also performed well, clocking 41.75 per cent returns in the one-year period, 19.79 per cent in the three years, and 19.49 per cent in the five years (As per Value Research data).

Here is a list of the top 5 ELSS mutual funds in the three years and what Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000 monthly SIPs in each of the funds have given in the same time frame.

SBI Long Term Equity Fund - Direct Plan

The ELSS fund from SBI Mutual Fund tops the list with 38.65 per cent annualised SIP returns (XIRR).

The fund has an asset under management (AUM) of Rs 23,888 crore, while its net asset value (NAV) is Rs 451.7710.

Benchmarked against BSE 500 TRI, the 11-year-old has given 17.94 per cent returns since its launch.

The fund has an expense ratio of 0.94 per cent.

The minimum SIP and lump sum investment in the fund are Rs 500 each.

The fund has 90.97 per cent of its investments in equities with 26.69 per cent of them in large-cap stocks.

In a portfolio of 62 stocks, the fund has GE T&D India, HDFC Bank, Torrent Power, Mahindra and Mahindra as its main stocks.   

A Rs 10,000 monthly SIP in the fund in the three-year period, or Rs 3,60,000 investment in total, has given Rs 6,19,482 as of today's date.

On the other hand, a Rs 20,000 monthly SIP in the fund in the three years, or a Rs 7,20,000 investment, has given a total of Rs 12,38,963.

Quant ELSS Tax Saver Fund - Direct Plan

The fund has given 35.97 per cent annualised SIP returns in the three-year period.

The fund's AUM is Rs 9,860 crore, while its NAV is Rs 439.3527.

Benchmarked against NIFTY 500 TRI, the fund has given a 23.45 per cent return since its inception.

At an expense ratio of 0.77 per cent, the fund has Rs 500 as a minimum SIP and lump sum investment.

The fund has 96.47 per cent of its investments in equities, of which 28.75 per cent is in large-cap stocks.

In its 40-stock portfolio, the fund has Reliance Industries Limited, HDFC Bank, Adani Power, Jio Financial Services, and Aurobindo Pharma as its main stocks.

A Rs 10,000 monthly SIP in the fund has given a total of Rs 5,98,430 in the three years.

A Rs 20,000 monthly SIP in the fund has fetched Rs 11,96,860 in the same time frame.

Motilal Oswal ELSS Tax Saver Fund - Direct Plan

The ELSS fund has given 38.09 per cent returns in the three-year period.

It has an AUM of Rs 3,436 crore, while its NAV is worth Rs 54.3278.

Benchmarked against NIFTY 500 TRI, the fund has given 19.64 per cent annual returns since its launch in January 2015.

With an expense ratio of 0.68 per cent, the minimum lump sum and SIP investment in the fund is Rs 500 each.

The fund has 99.3 per cent of its equipment with 19.88 per cent of it in large-cap stocks.

With a portfolio of 30 stocks, the ELSS fund has Zomato, Trent, Prestige Estates, Bharat Dynamics, and Jio Financial as its main stocks. 

A Rs 10,000 monthly SIP in the fund has given a total of Rs 6,15,069 in the three-year period.

A Rs 20,000 monthly SIP in the fund has given a total of Rs 12,30,137 in the same period. 

ITI ELSS Tax Saver Fund - Direct Plan

The fund in the No. 4 position has given 35.71 per cent annualised SIP returns in the three years.

While it has an AUM of Rs 338 crore, its NAV is Rs 26.5845.

Benchmarked against NIFTY 500 TRI, the fund has given a 23.15 per cent return since its inception in October 2019.

The fund has an expense ratio of 0.48 per cent.

The minimum lump sum and SIP investment in the fund are Rs 500 each.

The fund has 99.52 per cent of its investments in equities with 16.98 per cent of them in large-cap firms.

In its 55-stock portfolio, the fund has Bharti Airtel, SBI, Zomato, IndiGo, and Larsen & Toubro as its main stocks.

A Rs 10,000 monthly SIP in the fund has given a total of Rs in the three years.

In the same time period, a Rs 20,000 monthly SIP has given Rs 11,92,762.         
 

Bank of India ELSS Tax Saver Fund - Direct Plan

The fund has given a 35.10 per cent return in the three-year period.

The fund has an AUM of Rs 1,327 crore, while its NAV is worth Rs 196.2300.

Benchmarked against BSE 500 TRI, the fund has given 20.29 per cent annual returns since its inception in January 2013.

The fund's expense ratio is 0.98 per cent.

The minimum lump sum and SIP investment in the fund are Rs 500 each.

The fund has 99.89 per cent of its investments in equities with 27.71 per cent of them in large-cap firms.

In its 62-stock portfolio, the fund has SBI, Vedanta, Hindustan Aeronautics, Oil India, and Canara Bank as its main stocks. 

A Rs 10,000 monthly SIP in the fund has given a total of Rs 5,91,681.  

A Rs 20,000 monthly SIP, meanwhile, has given a total of Rs 11,83,363 in the three-year period.