Top 5 ELSS for 2018

Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS) is a type of equity mutual fund in which investments up to Rs1.5 lakh per financial year are tax deductible under section 80C. In other words, investors don’t have to pay tax on investment up to Rs.1.5 lakh in ELSS. By investing in ELSS, an investor in the 30% tax bracket can save Rs.46,350 as tax.

Below table exhibits the amount of tax one can save by investing Rs.1.5 lakh in ELSS for different tax slabs.

*Includes 3% cess also

Besides tax benefits, ELSS investments also offer other benefits discussed below.

1. Wealth creation with tax-saving – Historically, it has been seen that ELSS schemes have given significantly higher returns than other tax saving schemes like PPF, 5-year FD, EPF, etc.
2. Shortest lock-in period – ELSS has a lock-in period of 3 years, which is the shortest among all tax-saving instruments.
3. Tax free capital gains: The long-term capital gains from investment are tax-free.
4. Dividends are tax-free: Dividends received are tax-free in the hands of the investor right from the year of investment.
5. Low investment amount: Investors can start investing with Rs500 in lump sum or via SIP in ELSS. Since it is difficult to invest a lump sum amount in one go, SIP helps a person to invest small amounts at regular intervals. SIP payment is auto-debited from your bank account every month.

ELSS is the best way to save tax and create wealth in the long term. Below are the top 5 recommended ELSS funds.

1 year returns are absolute; 3 year and 5 year returns are CAGR.
AUM as of November 2017, Returns are as on January 02, 2018

Aditya Birla SL Tax Relief ‘96 Fund

• Aditya Birla SL Tax Relief ‘96 Fund does tactical allocation between large cap and mid-= cap stocks to ensure optimal risk reward.
• As of November 2017, the fund has invested ~37% of its AUM in large cap stocks, ~55% in mid cap stocks and ~7% in small cap stocks to generate higher returns.

Axis Long Term Equity Fund

• Axis Long Term Equity mutual fund  invests in companies with sustainable profit growth to generate wealth over 3-4 years.
• Besides, the fund manager follows bottom-up approach to select the companies.
• As of November 2017, the fund has invested ~66% of its AUM in large cap stocks while ~30% in mid cap stocks to generate alpha.

DSPBR Tax Saver Fund

• DSPBR Tax Saver Fund primarily invests in large cap stocks with some tactical allocation to midcap and small cap stocks to generate higher returns.
• The fund manager follows buy-and-hold strategy for majority of the portfolio. He also takes active and tactical calls to exploit the market opportunities.
• As of November 2017, the fund has invested ~71% of its AUM in large cap stocks and ~22% in mid cap stocks to generate higher returns.

IDFC Tax Advantage (ELSS) Fund

• IDFC Tax Advantage (ELSS) Fund does tactical allocation between large cap, mid cap and small cap stocks to generate higher returns.
• As of November 2017, the fund has invested ~46% of its AUM in large cap stocks, 29% in mid cap stocks and 20% in small cap stocks in order to generate higher returns.

Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) Fund

• Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) Fund does tactical allocation between large cap, mid cap and small cap stocks to generate high returns.
• The fund invests in potential leaders with high growth prospects.
• Generally, the fund takes 2-3 sector call at a time and invests in high conviction mid cap stocks.
• As of November 2017, the fund has invested ~60% of its AUM in large cap stocks, 25% in mid cap stocks and 15% in small cap stocks in order to generate higher returns.

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