Best Mutual Funds: These ELSS schemes gave over 20% annualised returns in past 5 years

Mutual Funds: If you are contemplating investing in a mutual fund scheme, it is important to first compare its returns against those of other mutual fund schemes in the same category.

Although past returns do not guarantee future returns, they play a vital role in helping an investor decide whether a scheme is worth investing in.

Here, we list equity-linked savings schemes (ELSS) which have delivered over 20 per cent annualised returns in the past five years.

Minimum 80% investment in stocks

For those who are not aware, ELSS mutual funds invest a minimum of 80 per cent in stocks in accordance with the Equity Linked Saving Scheme, 2005, norms notified by the Ministry of Finance. These mutual funds have a lock-in period of three years, the shortest among all other tax-saving options. Investment in these schemes enables investors to claim income tax deduction under section 80C of the Income Tax Act up to a maximum of ₹1.5 lakh in the old tax regime.

There are a total of 43 schemes in this category (ELSS) with total assets under management of ₹2.48 lakh crore, according to the latest data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), as on July 31, 2025.

(Source: AMFI; regular returns as on 14 August 2025)

As we can see in the table above, there are nearly 18 schemes which have delivered over 20 per cent annualised returns in the past five years.

HDFC ELSS Tax Saver Fund gave 24.76 per cent annualised returns and SBI ELSS Tax Saver Fund gave 24.82 per cent annualised returns. Motilal Oswal ELSS Tax Saver Fund gave a 25.44 per cent annualised returns and JM ELSS Tax Saver Fund gave a 23 per cent annualised returns.

It is noteworthy that the past returns do not determine a scheme’s future returns. In other words, just because a scheme has delivered good performance in the past, it does not mean it will deliver the same – or similar -performance in future as well.

Note: This story is for informational purposes only. Please speak to a SEBI-registered investment advisor before making any investment-related decision.

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