Three years is the lock-in
An ELSS fund locks each investment for three years, so the three-year return is the one an ELSS investor actually lives through. Of the 36 open-ended ELSS funds with a three-year record, these returned the most: Motilal Oswal ELSS Tax Saver, JM ELSS Tax Saver and WhiteOak Capital ELSS Tax Saver.
There is a fourth fund in this comparison for a reason. SBI Long Term Advantage Fund Series V returned 19.47% a year over the same three years, which would rank it second. It is a ten-year closed-ended ELSS, allotted in March 2018 and due to mature on 27 March 2028, and it takes no new money. It is here as a contrast, not a choice.
Every figure is for the Direct plan, Growth option, from NAVs to Friday 9 October 2026.
Returns
| Fund | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Motilal Oswal | 6.17% | 20.47% | 16.59% | 16.54% |
| JM | 3.09% | 15.50% | 12.59% | 15.38% |
| WhiteOak Capital | 0.51% | 15.26% | – | – |
| SBI LTA Series V (closed) | −1.22% | 19.47% | 14.01% | – |
| Open-ended median | −4.02% | 10.06% | 9.42% |
Returns of a year or more are compounded annual rates. WhiteOak Capital's fund launched in October 2022. ₹1 lakh put into Motilal Oswal's fund three years ago, and now just free of its lock-in, is worth about ₹1.75 lakh; in JM's about ₹1.54 lakh, and at the median about ₹1.33 lakh. Motilal Oswal also has the best five-year return of the 29 open-ended funds with one.
All four clear the 15% three-year bar of the ELSS tax-savers screen. The calendar years are less tidy.
| Year | JM | Motilal Oswal | WhiteOak | SBI LTA V |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 33.15% | 33.77% | 34.93% | |
| 2022 | 1.47% | 3.03% | 2.44% | |
| 2023 | 32.19% | 38.71% | 34.58% | 17.08% |
| 2024 | 30.64% | 49.50% | 30.34% | 43.70% |
| 2025 | 3.83% | −8.00% | 4.95% | 11.05% |
| 2026 to 9 Oct | 1.36% | 9.90% | −1.32% | −0.46% |
Most of Motilal Oswal's lead was made in one year, 2024, and it then lost 8.00% in 2025, the only fall in a full year in the table. JM and WhiteOak Capital tracked each other closely from 2023. JM against WhiteOak Capital is 0.24 points apart on three years.
Risk
| Fund | Volatility | Worst fall | Sharpe | Down capture |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Motilal Oswal | 19.36% | −27.71% | 0.72 | 114.2% |
| JM | 16.24% | −20.85% | 0.55 | 95.4% |
| WhiteOak Capital | 14.33% | −16.36% | 0.61 | 88.9% |
| SBI LTA Series V | 15.03% | −16.19% | 0.86 | 81.2% |
| Open-ended median | 14.16% | −18.23% | 0.26 |
All columns cover the last three years. Volatility is the annualised swing in daily returns, the worst fall is the deepest peak-to-trough drop, and Sharpe is return above a 6.5% risk-free rate per unit of volatility. Down capture compares each fund with the Nifty 500 TRI in the months that index fell.
Motilal Oswal's fund was the most volatile of all 36 open-ended ELSS funds, and its fall of 27.71%, from 16 December 2024 to 3 March 2025, was the second deepest. In down months it lost more than the index. Motilal Oswal against WhiteOak Capital is the sharpest contrast: five points more return a year for five points more volatility and an eleven-point deeper fall. The closed SBI series had the best Sharpe ratio of the four, which Motilal Oswal against SBI Series V shows side by side.
Fees, size and portfolio
| JM | Motilal Oswal | WhiteOak | SBI LTA V | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct expense ratio | 1.34% | 0.96% | 0.86% | 1.27% |
| Average AUM, Jul–Sep 2026 | ₹243 crore | ₹4,948 crore | ₹494 crore | ₹376 crore |
| Stocks held | 53 | 30 | 141 | 31 |
| Top 10 holdings | 26.7% | 44.7% | 34.0% | 46.1% |
| Portfolio P/E | 29.1 | 39.1 | 23.2 | 25.3 |
| Turnover, as reported | 61% | 68% | 35% | 64% |
Expense ratios are AMFI's, dated 7 and 8 October 2026; AUM is AMFI's quarterly average for all plans. Holdings are from each house's disclosure for 30 September 2026.
JM's fund is the smallest of the four and the dearest: JM against Motilal Oswal is a 0.38-point gap, about ₹3,800 a year on ₹10 lakh. WhiteOak Capital's is the cheapest and by far the most spread out, at 141 stocks.
The portfolios barely meet. Motilal Oswal's top holdings are Multi Commodity Exchange at 5.74% and PTC Industries at 5.23%, and its book is the dearest at 39 times earnings; WhiteOak Capital's largest is ICICI Bank at 8.15%. Weight for weight, Motilal Oswal shares 10.3% of its portfolio with JM and 2.3% with WhiteOak Capital. The closest pair is JM and WhiteOak Capital, at 29.1%. JM against SBI Series V overlaps by 16.6%, and SBI Series V against WhiteOak Capital by 12.8%.
Managers, and the rules that apply to all four
| Fund | Lead manager | Since |
|---|---|---|
| Motilal Oswal | Ajay Khandelwal, with three co-managers | December 2023 |
| JM | Deepak Gupta, with three co-managers | April 2025 |
| WhiteOak Capital | Ramesh Mantri, with a team of four | October 2022 |
| SBI LTA Series V | Mohan Lal | May 2024 |
Managers are from each fund's latest Scheme Summary Document or SID. Ramesh Mantri has run WhiteOak Capital's fund since launch, and Ajay Khandelwal took over at Motilal Oswal two months into its three-year window. At JM, about half of the three-year record came before Deepak Gupta. The houses' pages list their other schemes: Motilal Oswal, JM Financial, WhiteOak Capital and SBI.
There is no exit load on any of them; the lock-in does that job, and it applies to each SIP instalment from its own date. Investments of up to ₹1.5 lakh a year qualify under Section 80C, renumbered section 123 by the Income-tax Act 2025, but only for those filing under the old regime. The guide to ELSS and 80C and the old vs new regime calculator help decide whether the deduction is worth anything to you; the Income Tax Department has the rules.
What this does not tell you
These are the three best three-year records, picked after the fact; the median open-ended ELSS fund made 10.06% a year over the same span. The October look at all ELSS returns covers the whole category, including how often a three-year lock-in has ended in a loss.
None of this is a recommendation of any fund. Official expense ratios and AUM are published on the AMFI site.
Frequently asked questions
Which ELSS fund has the best 3-year return?
To 9 October 2026, Motilal Oswal ELSS Tax Saver Fund's Direct Growth plan returned 20.47% a year over three years, the highest of 36 open-ended ELSS funds with a three-year record. JM ELSS Tax Saver was second at 15.50% and WhiteOak Capital ELSS Tax Saver third at 15.26%; the median was 10.06%.
Can I invest in SBI Long Term Advantage Fund Series V?
No. It is a ten-year closed-ended ELSS allotted in March 2018, its Scheme Summary Document gives a maturity date of 27 March 2028, and it takes no new money. Its 19.47% three-year return to 9 October 2026 is a record only its existing unitholders can use.
Is Motilal Oswal ELSS Tax Saver riskier than other ELSS funds?
On three years of data it was the most volatile of 36 open-ended ELSS funds, at 19.36% a year, and its worst fall, 27.71% between December 2024 and March 2025, was the second deepest. WhiteOak Capital's fund had volatility of 14.33% and a worst fall of 16.36%.
This is commentary on published data, not investment advice. WealthTicker is not a SEBI-registered adviser or distributor. Figures are WealthTicker’s own calculations from public data — AMFI’s fund NAVs and disclosures, NSE’s index and FII/DII files, and the fund houses’ monthly portfolios (how we calculate). They are as of the dates stated and can be revised by their source.
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