The number
The median overnight fund returned 5.25% over the year to 9 October 2026. Thirty-five funds have a full year of history, and the best and worst are only 0.52 percentage points apart: 5.47% at the top, 4.95% at the bottom.
An overnight fund lends for one day at a time, so it has no bond price risk and almost no credit risk. What is left to separate the funds is cost, the date of the last rate change they captured, and small differences in how the day's lending is done.
All figures are for the Direct plan, Growth option, computed from daily NAVs to 9 October 2026. Returns of a year or more are compounded annual rates. Separate "unclaimed" plans that some houses run alongside the main fund are left out.
The spread
| Measure | 1 year | 3 years a year | 5 years a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median fund | 5.25% | 6.04% | 5.74% |
| Best fund | 5.47% | 6.17% | 5.86% |
| Worst fund | 4.95% | 5.80% | 5.54% |
| Nifty 1D Rate Index | 5.22% | 6.04% | 5.77% |
The three-year median is 6.04% a year across 31 funds, and the five-year median 5.74% across 26. The best three-year fund is Bank of India Overnight Fund at 6.17%. The index of overnight rates, published by NSE, returned almost exactly the median fund in every period.
The recent pace is slower than the year as a whole. The median fund gained 0.41% in the last month and 2.56% in the six months to 9 October, the equivalent of about 5.0% and 5.2% a year. The year's 5.25% therefore includes a slightly higher stretch earlier on.
Where cost enters
AMFI publishes each fund's total expense ratio, and our data holds it for every Direct plan. Sorting the funds by cost gives a clear picture. Bajaj Finserv, which lists two Direct growth plans, is left out of this table because we cannot tell which ratio applies to which.
| Direct plan expense ratio | Funds | Average 1-year return | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.09% or less | 17 | about 5.27% | 5.19% to 5.47% |
| 0.10% to 0.14% | 12 | about 5.22% | 5.09% to 5.30% |
| 0.15% or more | 6 | about 5.05% | 4.95% to 5.15% |
The six at 0.15% or more are ITI (0.15%), Groww (0.16%), PGIM India (0.18%), Helios (0.17%), quant (0.19%) and Samco (0.23%). Every one of them finished below 5.16%, and the two highest-cost funds, quant and Samco, were at 5.03% and 4.95%.
The gap between the cheapest and costliest groups, about 0.2 points, is wider than the difference in their average fees, which is about 0.1 points. Cost does not explain all of it; the likely extras are smaller scale and the instruments each fund lends against, though our data does not show which. In the middle group JM Overnight Fund and TRUSTMF Overnight Fund both charge 0.11% yet returned 5.09% and 5.11%, which is a reminder that cost is not the whole story either.
What the best and worst look like
| Fund | Direct expense ratio | 1 year | 3 years a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of India Overnight Fund | 0.09% | 5.47% | 6.17% |
| Franklin India Overnight Fund | 0.07% | 5.31% | 6.04% |
| Tata Overnight Fund | 0.09% | 5.29% | 6.07% |
| HSBC Overnight Fund | 0.07% | 5.25% | 6.04% |
| HDFC Overnight Fund | 0.11% | 5.22% | 5.99% |
| ITI Overnight Fund | 0.15% | 4.97% | 5.80% |
| Samco Overnight Fund | 0.23% | 4.95% | 5.80% |
Bank of India's number comes from a NAV dated 8 October, a day earlier than most, so its lead over its peers is slightly flattered.
The practical point
On a one-lakh balance, the difference between 5.47% and 4.95% is about 520 rupees a year. For a corporate treasury moving crores overnight it matters; for a household parking a month's spending it hardly does.
If you hold an overnight fund as a place to park cash, the sensible filter is a low expense ratio and a house you recognise. You can sort the category by cost on the screener. To see how overnight funds compare with their neighbours, read overnight vs liquid funds, and for the next step up in risk, short duration fund returns.
Frequently asked questions
What have overnight funds returned over the last year?
The median overnight fund (Direct plan, Growth option) returned 5.25% in the year to 9 October 2026, across 35 funds. The range ran from 4.95% (Samco Overnight Fund) to 5.47% (Bank of India Overnight Fund, whose last NAV in our data is 8 October).
Does the expense ratio matter in an overnight fund?
More than in most categories, because the gross return is almost the same for every fund. The 17 funds with a Direct plan expense ratio of 0.09% or less averaged about 5.27% over the year. The six charging 0.15% or more averaged about 5.05%.
How much did an overnight fund earn last month?
The median overnight fund gained 0.41% between 9 September and 9 October 2026, which is roughly 5.0% a year if the pace continued. Over the previous six months the median was 2.56%.
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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