Best ELSS Funds 2017 | Top Tax Saving Mutual Funds

We know that ELSS or tax saving mutual fund is one of the best tax saving option. It has the potential to give best profit. Also, It has the shortest lock in period. So, we want to find out the best ELSS fund as there are more than hundred tax saving mutual funds. A list of chosen top elss funds would be very helpful to the investor who don’t have time to research.

I have personal interest in the best ELSS mutual fund as I also invest into these funds every year. It is my preferred tax saving investment. I like ELSS as it has the potential to give a far better return. However, Investment in tax saving mutual fund is risky and I assume that you understand the risk of mutual funds.

Before every new year, I assess mutual funds to select the best ELSS scheme. The thorough research ensures that I get desired profit from these ELSS funds. I have fixed some parameters and tools to screen the mutual funds. After going through these parameters, I reach to the top ELSS mutual funds.

This year also, I have also selected the best ELSS funds. You can directly access to the list of top mutual funds. 

This website does not compile data of mutual funds thus I have used the data of Morningstar and Valueresearch.

What is a best scheme? 

It is a scheme which fulfills our requirements.  That is why I have fixed some parameters for my best ELSS fund. For me, a best tax saving mutual fund should have following qualities. I hope that my requirement would match you. I have selected the best ELSS on the basis of these requirements.What Do I want in Best ELSS Fund

• The best ELSS should definitely give us more profit than any other tax saving investment.
• There should not be a shock, I dislike losing money.
• The ELSS should not increase my heart beat. The ups and down should not be sharp.

These objectives were the guiding principle of the fund selection process.

How I Selected the Top Tax Saving Mutual Funds

I wish, if I could foresee the performance of ELSS. But it is not possible. We can neither predict the market movement nor the performance of equity mutual funds. Therefore, we have to rely on the present and past performance of the tax saving mutual funds. On the basis of past performance we try to find out the best ELSS fund. Hence, let us assess the mutual funds. My best ELSS should have following qualities.

1. It should beat the average return of the share market and ELSS category. This parameter ensures that a ELSS is a consistent performer.
2. The ELSS should give good return in a longer period.
3. It should not behave erratically. The steady return would is preferred.
4. It should invest in good companies. the portfolio should be inclined towards growth stock.
5. The stock selection of ELSS should be based on proper research and fund should follow the value investing.

Assessed only Regular Growth ELSS

An ELSS fund has four version. The Regular growth, Regular Dividend, Direct Growth and Direct Dividend. Among these four, I have chosen Regular growth as this version is older and gives you the clearer picture.

Top 10 ELSS funds

As performance is key for a tax saving mutual fund, I have started my fund selection with the performance. I can find out the performance of funds during last 1, 3, 5 and 10  years. But, I have overlooked the one year performance as this can be a blip. Thus, I have gone for those funds which has given above category average return during last 3 and 5 years.

Name	3 Year Annualised %	5 Year Annualised %
Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) Fund	26	22.06
DSP BlackRock Tax Saver Fund	22.54	20.87
Axis Long Term Equity	22.23	21.7
Birla Sun Life Tax Relief 96	21.55	19.54
L&T TaxSaver Fund	21.38	17.53
Invesco India Tax Plan	20.98	18.84
Birla Sun Life Tax Plan	20.61	18.99
Franklin India Taxshield Fund	20.55	18.21
ICICI Prudential Long Term Equity Fund (Tax Saving)	18.69	18.65

*MF Investments are subject to market risks. The list here is for the analysis purpose only.