Choosing the right investment avenue can be a daunting task, especially when considering long-term financial goals like retirement or a child’s education. Two popular options that often come into the spotlight are Equity-Linked Savings Schemes (ELSS) Public Provident Fund (PPF). Both offer tax benefits, but they differ significantly in terms of risk, return potential, and liquidity. In this article, we’ll delve into the key differences between ELSS and PPF to help you make an informed decision. We are not going to discuss here the products, as i think people are aware of the features of both The question was why do people prefer Public provident fund ( PPF) Offer Guaranteed returns Tax benefit under section 80C, when you invest The interest earned was tax free The maturity is tax free As an advisor I have been an advocate of PPF, BUT PPF has underperformed ELSS in a big way. Lets look at the returns made over the years , if person deposits Rs 1,00,000 every year on 31 March , since 2000 to 31 March 2024 , a close 25 years of investment For our article’s sake I have taken the HDFC tax Saver fund Growth Regular plan. The Outperformance 15 years – PPF made Rs 27,78,383.76 vs ELSS Rs85,28,783.14 i.e 3 times of PPF amount 20 Years – PPF made you Rs 47,16,594.97 Vs ELSS Rs 1,68,92,247.22 i.e 3.5 times of PPF amount 25 Years – PPF made Rs 72,73,968.04 vs ELSS Rs 3,80,31,702.24 i.e 5 times of PPF . In my experience people who are investing in PPF Continue with even after maturity, but even 3 times outperformance is just mind boggling The myth of Guaranteed returns vs not guaranteed In this period equity markets had 2 down turns. The lines highlighted in yellow are those years lets see how much did ELSS made you lose in this year vs PPF 10th year – PPF was at Rs 1,464,093.39 vs ELSS Rs 27,80,241, Ohh Still ahead of PPF by 1.89 times of ELSS 21th Year- PPF 51,90,620.96 vs ELSS Rs 1,14,65,714.48 , Again Outperformance by 2.2 times Even during the worst downturns we have seen the ELSS outperformed the PPF. What Next ? The PPF rates at 7.1% are bound to come down in future as and when the rate cuts would start to set in. So the future may hold less earning ELSS provide better liquidity, which missed here ( even though not recommend) ELSS you have to pay tax lets see if tax payment makes it less attractive , equity being taxed at 12.5% , so 15 years – PPF made Rs 27,78,383.76 vs ELSS Rs 74,62,685.12 i.e 2.6 times of PPF amount 20 Years – PPF made you Rs 47,16,594.97 Vs ELSS Rs 1,47,80,716.12 i.e 3.1 times of PPF amount 25 Years – PPF made Rs 72,73,968.04 vs ELSS Rs 3,32,77,739.25 i.e 4.5 times of PPF . Conclusion : Any person who is looking to make an investment in PPF for 15 years should consider how much money he/she is losing in the when he is going to invest in PPF for 15 years .  Learn more about Best ELSS funds.Â
Maximize Returns, Minimize Taxes – Your Wealth, Reimagined! Save big on taxes while securing your future! Explore ELSS for up to 12% returns and tax-saving benefits under 80C. Get health insurance under 80D. Equity-Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS) is an equity mutual fund investment that invests at least 80 per cent of its assets in equity and equity-related instruments. ELSS can be open-ended or close ended. Tax Deduction under Section 80C: This is the main tax benefit of ELSS. Up to ₹1.5 lakh of your investment in ELSS can be deducted from your taxable income under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. Think of it as reducing your taxable income by the amount you invest in ELSS. This translates to a lower tax bill. Lock-in Period: There’s a catch – you can’t withdraw your ELSS investment for at least 3 years. This is called the lock-in period. It’s important to consider your investment horizon (how long you plan to invest) before choosing ELSS. It’s best suited for long-term financial goals. Potential for Higher Returns: ELSS invests in the stock market, which carries risk but also has the potential for higher returns compared to other tax-saving options like PPF or FDs. Lets Look at some of the best ELSS Funds Fund Name Year Of inception Fund rating ( Crisil rated ) Portfolio Size ( In Cr ) Expense ratio PE ratios HDFC ELSS tax saver fund Regular Growth 1996 4 15934.95 1.71 20.97 Franklin India ELSS tax saver fund 1999 4 6832.69 1.80 18.65 Quant ELSS tax saver fund 2000 3 10979.71 1.72 26.52 Kotak ELSS Tax Saver Fund – Growth 2005 3 6148.14 1.76 21.39 HSBC ELSS Tax Saver Fund (G) 2006 4 4253.1 2.47 25.42 SBI long term equity Regular Growth 2007 5 27559.31 1.6 16.72 DSP ELSS tax saver fund 2007 4 16841.49 1.64 17.90 JM ELSS Tax Saver Fund (G) 2008 5 180.9 2.39 26.30 Bank of India ELSS Tax saver fund regular Growth 2009 3 1435.9 1.96 18.32 Axis ELSS Tax saver fund 2009 1 36533.13 1.52 27.75 Motilal Oswal ELSS tax saver fund 2015 5 4073.72 1.83 47.17 Parag Parikh ELSS Tax Saver Fund (G) 2019 3 4273.94 1.72 16.0 HDFC ELSS tax saver fund Regular Growth : The fund was launched in 1996 , a very old fund in the category. The fund is 4 star rated . The fund is managing a decent fund size of 15,934 cr. An expense ratio of 1.71. Fund is decent PE of 20.97. Franklin India ELSS tax saver fund: The fund was launched in the year 1999, Rated at 4 stars. The fund size is very small at 6,832.69 cr. Expense ratio of the fund is 1.8. A great PE of 18.65. Quant ELSS tax saver fund : The fund was launched in the year 2000, The fund is CRISIL rated 3 stars, the fund is decent size now 10,979 cr. The expense ratio of 1.72. The PE of the fund is 26.52. Kotak ELSS Tax Saver Fund – Growth: The fund was launched in 2005, rated as 3 star by CRISIL, fund is small size of 6148.14cr, the expense ratio for the fund is 1.76. The PE of the fund is 21.39. HSBC ELSS Tax Saver Fund (G): The fund was launched in the year 2006, The fund is 4 star rated as per CRISIL. Very small fund size of 2.47. HIgh PE of 25.422 and expense ratio of 2.47. SBI long term equity Regular Growth : The fund was launched in the year 2007, it is currently rated 5 star. Fund size of 27,559.31 cr. Expense ratio of 1.6 . Very low PE of 16.72. DSP ELSS tax saver fund: The fund was launched in 2007. It is currently rated as 4 star by CRISIL. Decent fund size of 16,841 cr. Expense ratio of 1.64. PE of 17.90. JM ELSS Tax Saver Fund (G): The fund was launched in the year 2008, Currency CRISIL rated 5. Very very small size of 180 cr. High expense ratio of 2.39. PE of 26.30. Bank of India ELSS Tax saver fund regular (G): The fund was launched in 2009. Crisil has rated the fund as 3 star. Small fund size of 1435.9 Cr. Expense ratio of the fund is 1.96. PE of the fund is 18.32. Axis ELSS Tax saver fund (G) : The fund was launched in the year 2009, Currently rated as 1 star by CRISIL. The fund has one of the largest fund sizes of 26,533.13 cr. With a 1.52 expense ratio. The PE of the fund is 27.75. Motilal Oswal ELSS tax saver fund (G) : The fund was launched in 2015, it is rated 5 star by CRISIL. The fund size is not too large at 4,073.73 cr. The PE of the fund is 47.17. Expense ratio is 1.83. Parag Parikh ELSS Tax Saver Fund (G) : The fund was launched in the year 2019. Currently rated as 2 star. The size of the fund is not big at 4,273 cr. The PE of the fund is 16. And the Expense ratio is 1.72. Trailing Returns : Scheme 1 year 2 year 3 years 5 years 7 years 10 years 15 years Quant ELSS Tax Saver Fund (G) 23.87 19.71 17.56 29.85 21.11 20.84 14.9 Parag Parikh ELSS Tax Saver Fund (G) 27.28 22.09 17.91 23.11 0 0 0 SBI Long Term Equity Fund Reg (G) 40.99 33.58 23.6 24.25 16.48 14.66 14.52 Motilal Oswal ELSS Tax Saver Fund Reg(G) 50.78 37.72 24.49 23.11 17.03 0 0 Franklin India ELSS Tax Saver Fund (G) 32.99 25.33 18.19 20.51 14.7 13.8 15.24 HDFC ELSS Tax saver Reg (G) 34.7 26.84 21.65 20.89 13.53 12.72 13.82 Kotak ELSS Tax Saver Fund (G) 29.67 22.29 16.57 19.99 15.25 14.5 13.87 DSP ELSS Tax Saver Fund Reg Fund (G) 36.95 26.81 18.66 21.48 16.17 15.88 15.88 Bank of India ELSS Tax Saver Fund Reg (G) 33.03 27.1 18 24.92 17.3 16.28 14.32 JM ELSS Tax Saver
Rating : 2 star Fund size : 7332.91 cr Expense ratio : 1.72% , seems a bit higher Trailing Returns  Based on the past returns we see that it has been giving good returns Rolling Returns Rolling returns show that for around 77% of times the fund has given returns more than 12 % and around 50% of times returns more than 15 % for a rolling period of 5 years. Which is a normal result. It is to be observed that the fund has never given negative returns in 5 years period. The average returns is also decent for the fund at 14% Benchmark return : The fund is benchmarked against S&P BSE 500 TRI. The fund started with weak performance but had recovered since then. And has been above the benchmark for all these years. Vs Other ELSS fund : When we see the performance compared with other funds we see that the fund is not performing as compared Ratios The fund has std. deviation of 12.46 which shows the returns are stable, the beta is high of 0.91 but the fund has not been able to deliver any alpha, which is negative. The Sortino ratio which shows how much the downside the fund can protect is not good. Fund manager : The fund had a lot of changes in fund manager till 2020 , which may have caused a lot of trouble for the fund. The new fund manager seems to be loaded with a lot of funds to manage . Only Vishal Mishra even though new is trying to manage the fund. But his fund performance is still below the benchmarks. Fund strategy and fund style : Fund is growth oriented fund with fair orientation to large caps , limited allocation to id cap and very small allocation to small. So it may be one reason that it has underperformed the other ELSS funds in the market. This is the reason for the fund to be much more stable. The sector allocation of the fund is aligned with the benchmark to financial , technology and Automobiles. Conclusion The fund has some stable results and can be part of portfolio if you do not want to take much risk in your portfolio. But still better ELSS fund are available in the market.