Three parts, four ways
An equity savings fund mixes three things: shares it owns outright, shares it owns but hedges with futures, and bonds. The hedged part earns roughly what an arbitrage fund does. The unhedged part is what moves with the market. How much of each a fund holds decides how it behaves, and the four funds here hold quite different amounts:
- Kotak Equity Savings, by far the largest
- Edelweiss Equity Savings
- Mirae Asset Equity Savings
- HSBC Equity Savings
All figures are for the Direct plan, Growth option, from NAVs to Friday 9 October 2026, unless stated.
Size, cost and exit rules
| Kotak | Edelweiss | Mirae Asset | HSBC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average AUM, Jul–Sep 2026 | ₹10,518 crore | ₹1,592 crore | ₹2,018 crore | ₹1,388 crore |
| Growth since Jan–Mar 2026 | 8.4% | 28.6% | 7.3% | 80.1% |
| Direct expense ratio | 1.09% | 1.11% | 0.73% | 1.41% |
| Exit load | 1% on more than 8% withdrawn within 90 days | 0.25% within 30 days | 1% within 90 days | 0.50% on units above 10% sold within a month |
| Minimum SIP | ₹100 | ₹100 | ₹500 | ₹500 |
AUM is AMFI's quarterly average across all plans. Mirae Asset's fund is the cheapest at 0.73%; HSBC's the dearest at 1.41%, and HSBC's assets grew fastest, by 80.1% in two quarters. Mirae waives the load on up to 15% of units for investors drawing an income through an SWP.
Returns and risk
| 1 year | 3 years, a year | 5 years, a year | Volatility, 3 years | Worst fall, 3 years | Sharpe | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kotak | 2.31% | 9.74% | 9.60% | 5.71% | −5.97% | 0.57 |
| Edelweiss | 6.75% | 11.01% | 9.30% | 3.97% | −3.45% | 1.14 |
| Mirae Asset | 3.67% | 9.74% | 8.58% | 5.73% | −5.13% | 0.57 |
| HSBC | 6.11% | 12.45% | 7.26% | −11.53% | 0.82 | |
| Equity savings median | 2.54% | 8.23% | 4.79% | −4.83% | ||
| Arbitrage median | 6.60% | 7.24% |
Returns over a year are annualised. The Sharpe ratio is the three-year return above 6.5% divided by volatility. Medians cover 23 equity savings funds over one year and 20 over three, and 34 and 26 arbitrage funds.
All four beat both medians over three years. Over the past year only Edelweiss beat the arbitrage median, by 0.15 points, while the Nifty 50 price index fell 10.57% and the Nifty 500 5.92%.
Edelweiss has the best balance. It has the lowest volatility and the shallowest fall of the four, and the second-highest return. Its Sharpe ratio, 1.14, is twice Kotak's and Mirae Asset's.
HSBC has the highest return and the deepest fall. It lost 11.53% between 2 January and 28 February 2025, deeper than the median balanced advantage fund's worst three-year fall, 9.26%. HSBC's scheme dates from 2011, when it was L&T's; its NAV record here starts in November 2022, so it has no five-year figure.
Kotak and Mirae Asset are almost twins. Same three-year return to two decimals, the same volatility within 0.02 points, similar falls.
How much is really in the market
| Equity, gross | Hedged with futures | Unhedged | Beta to Nifty 500 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kotak, 30 Sep | 66.35% | 32.06% | 34.29% | 0.39 |
| Edelweiss, 31 Aug | 67.79% | 40.03% | 27.76% | 0.26 |
| Mirae Asset, 30 Sep | 64.89% | not in the parsed file | 0.40 | |
| HSBC, 31 Aug | 77.33% | not in the parsed file | 0.41 |
Gross equity and the hedges come from each house's latest portfolio disclosure. Mirae Asset's and HSBC's files, as we read them, list their shares but not the futures sold against them, so their split is missing. Beta fills the gap: it is our calculation from 36 monthly returns to September 2026 against the Nifty 500 price index, and where both are known it lines up with the unhedged share. Kotak, with 34% unhedged, has a beta of 0.39; Edelweiss, with 28%, 0.26.
By beta, Mirae Asset and HSBC run about as much market risk as Kotak. HSBC's monthly returns, though, have followed the Nifty 500 less closely than the others' (a correlation of 0.78, against 0.95 to 0.98), which fits a portfolio that strays further from the broad market. The stated ranges allow this: 15% to 40% unhedged for Kotak and Mirae Asset, 15% to 45% for HSBC.
The rest is mostly debt: 29.66% in bonds for Mirae Asset, 20.66% for HSBC, and for Kotak and Edelweiss a mix of bonds and units of their own liquid and short-term debt funds.
2026 in three legs
| 31 Dec to 30 Mar | 30 Mar to 3 Aug | 3 Aug to 9 Oct | 2026 so far | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kotak | −4.81% | +7.37% | −1.81% | +0.35% |
| Edelweiss | −2.71% | +7.83% | +0.02% | +4.92% |
| Mirae Asset | −4.26% | +7.65% | −1.91% | +1.11% |
| HSBC | −1.60% | +10.08% | −1.56% | +6.64% |
| Nifty 50 | −14.54% | +10.94% | −9.10% | −13.81% |
HSBC, with the worst three-year fall, has had the best 2026: the smallest loss in the first fall and the biggest gain in the rally. Edelweiss was flat through the second fall. Kotak lost most in the first fall and Mirae Asset in the second.
Who runs them
Kotak's summary document names three managers, with Abhishek Bisen on the fund since September 2014. Edelweiss names four, led by Bharat Lahoti, there since September 2017. Mirae Asset names four, with Harshad Borawake and Vrijesh Kasera there since October 2019. HSBC names five, among them Cheenu Gupta.
Every pairing
- Kotak vs Edelweiss
- Kotak vs Mirae Asset
- Kotak vs HSBC
- Edelweiss vs Mirae Asset
- Edelweiss vs HSBC
- Mirae Asset vs HSBC
What this does not tell you
The hedge ratio moves. A fund can shift between its stated ranges from one month to the next, and two of these portfolios are from August.
One window, one ranking. HSBC's fall in early 2025 dominates its risk figures. Over a different window the order could change.
Tax is equity tax. These funds count hedged shares toward the 65% equity test, so their gains are taxed as equity gains. The arbitrage funds guide explains how the hedge works.
None of this is a recommendation. The equity savings fund page lists the whole category, and our September look at the category sets it against arbitrage and conservative hybrid funds.
Frequently asked questions
Which equity savings fund has the best 3-year return?
Of these four, HSBC Equity Savings, at 12.45% a year in the Direct Growth plan to 9 October 2026. Edelweiss returned 11.01%, and Kotak and Mirae Asset 9.74% each. The category median was 8.23%.
How much of an equity savings fund is actually exposed to the stock market?
Less than its equity figure suggests. Kotak Equity Savings held 66.35% in shares on 30 September 2026 but had sold futures against 32.06%, leaving about 34% unhedged. Edelweiss held 67.79% at the end of August with 40.03% hedged, leaving about 28%.
Are equity savings funds taxed as equity funds?
Generally yes, because hedged shares count toward the 65% equity test. Gains on units held over a year are taxed at 12.5% above ₹1.25 lakh a year, and within a year at 20%. Each fund's page states which rule applies to it.
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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