Four funds, two kinds
A children's fund is defined by its lock-in, not its portfolio. Our earlier look at the label showed how much the category varies. This post puts four of its funds side by side, Direct plan, Growth option, on NAVs to Friday 9 October 2026:
- SBI Children's Fund, Investment Plan, mostly shares
- SBI Children's Fund, Savings Plan, mostly bonds
- ICICI Prudential Children's Fund, mostly shares
- Aditya Birla Sun Life Bal Bhavishya, mostly shares
The SBI Savings Plan is the odd one in. Its mandate is 75% to 100% debt, so it belongs in this comparison only because it carries the same lock-in and the same label.
The lock-in, and the rules around it
All four state the same lock-in: at least five years, or until the child turns 18, whichever is earlier. It runs from each purchase's own date, as with an ELSS, so every SIP instalment has its own clock.
| SBI Investment | SBI Savings | ICICI Prudential | Aditya Birla SL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exit load | 3% within 1 year, 2% within 2, 1% within 3 | Same as Investment | Nil | Nil |
| Minimum SIP | ₹500 | ₹500 | ₹100 | ₹500 |
| Average AUM, Jul–Sep 2026 | ₹7,530 crore | ₹148 crore | ₹1,426 crore | ₹1,242 crore |
| Direct expense ratio | 1.06% | 0.91% | see below | 1.17% |
| Riskometer | Very high | Moderately high | Very high | Very high |
SBI's exit load can only bite when the lock-in ends early, that is, when a child turns 18 less than three years after the money went in. For a younger child, the five-year lock-in outlasts it.
The expense ratios are the direct-plan figures filed with AMFI in October. ICICI Prudential's filing reads 2.35% for the direct plan, against 1.46% in the fund's own summary document for July 2025. We could not reconcile the two, so check the current factsheet before relying on either.
SBI's Investment Plan has grown fastest by far: its average assets rose 44.0% between January–March and July–September 2026.
Returns and risk
| To 9 Oct 2026 | 1 year | 3 years, a year | 5 years, a year | Volatility, 3 years | Worst fall, 3 years | Sharpe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SBI Investment | 13.58% | 20.77% | 18.42% | 12.48% | −15.74% | 1.14 |
| SBI Savings | 9.03% | 11.34% | 10.26% | 4.24% | −4.49% | 1.14 |
| ICICI Prudential | −4.40% | 11.82% | 10.78% | 13.47% | −15.45% | 0.40 |
| Aditya Birla SL | 0.36% | 9.89% | 8.53% | 14.80% | −18.93% | 0.23 |
| Children's fund median | −2.25% | 8.41% | 8.53% | 12.67% | −15.74% |
Returns over a year are annualised. The Sharpe ratio is the three-year return above 6.5% divided by volatility. Medians cover the 11 children's funds with a year of history and the 9 with three and five years.
With a five-year lock-in, the five-year column is the one that matches how the money is actually held. ₹1 lakh invested on 8 October 2021 was worth, on 9 October 2026:
| Value of ₹1 lakh | |
|---|---|
| SBI Investment | ₹2.33 lakh |
| ICICI Prudential | ₹1.67 lakh |
| SBI Savings | ₹1.63 lakh |
| Aditya Birla SL | ₹1.51 lakh |
The striking line is SBI's Savings Plan. With roughly a third of the others' volatility, it finished within ₹4,000 of ICICI Prudential's equity-heavy fund and ahead of Aditya Birla Sun Life's. Over the same five years the Nifty 500 price index rose 7.31% a year.
2026 in three legs
| 31 Dec to 30 Mar | 30 Mar to 3 Aug | 3 Aug to 9 Oct | 2026 so far | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SBI Investment | −9.32% | +25.14% | −1.33% | +11.97% |
| SBI Savings | −1.77% | +9.23% | +0.62% | +7.95% |
| ICICI Prudential | −11.24% | +14.16% | −6.55% | −5.31% |
| Aditya Birla SL | −14.00% | +20.45% | −6.59% | −3.24% |
| Nifty 500 | −14.01% | +15.95% | −8.13% | −8.40% |
Aditya Birla Sun Life's fund moved almost exactly with the Nifty 500 in the first fall, which fits its beta of 0.97 to that index's TRI. SBI's Investment Plan gained 25.14% in the rally, closer to the Nifty Smallcap 250's 27.14% than to the broad market, and then barely fell in the second leg.
What they hold
| 30 Sep 2026 | Indian shares | Foreign shares | Debt | Cash and other |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SBI Investment | 74.50% | 12.25% | 0.37% | 12.88% |
| SBI Savings | 21.97% | 71.88% | 6.15% | |
| ICICI Prudential | 79.95% | 13.09% | 6.97% |
SBI's Investment Plan holds 37 stocks, leaning to smaller companies and with a foreign sleeve, led by Alphabet at 5.40%, Thangamayil Jewellery at 4.46% and State Bank of India at 4.35%. Its Savings Plan holds government and corporate bonds, some rated AA, with 21 stocks, most of them smaller companies, on top. ICICI Prudential spreads 79.95% across 57 stocks. We hold no portfolio disclosure for Aditya Birla Sun Life's scheme; its mandate allows 65% to 100% in shares, and its beta says it uses most of that.
Who runs them
At SBI, R Srinivasan has run the Investment Plan since its launch in September 2020; Lokesh Mallya, named on both plans, joined in July 2025. ICICI Prudential's 2025 summary document names three, among them Darshil Dedhia. Aditya Birla Sun Life names Harshil Suvarnkar, since March 2021, and Chanchal Khandelwal, since October 2024.
Every pairing
- SBI Savings vs SBI Investment
- ICICI Prudential vs SBI Investment
- Aditya Birla SL vs SBI Investment
- SBI Savings vs ICICI Prudential
- SBI Savings vs Aditya Birla SL
- ICICI Prudential vs Aditya Birla SL
What this does not tell you
Five years is one window. SBI's Investment Plan has existed only since 2020, and it leans to smaller companies, which had a strong five years: the Nifty Smallcap 250 rose 12.65% a year, against 7.31% for the Nifty 500.
Tax differs between the plans. The three equity-heavy funds' mandates keep at least 65% in shares, which normally means equity taxation. A fund holding more than 65% in debt, as SBI's Savings Plan does, is taxed at your slab rate however long you hold it. How hybrid funds are taxed has the detail.
The label does not plan anything. A lock-in keeps money invested; it does not decide how much to save or when to move it to safety. Our guide to investing for children's education covers that, and the child education calculator works out the monthly amount.
None of this is a recommendation. The children's fund page lists every scheme in the category.
Frequently asked questions
Which children's mutual fund has given the best returns?
Over five years to 9 October 2026, SBI Children's Fund Investment Plan, Direct Growth, returned 18.42% a year, turning ₹1 lakh into ₹2.33 lakh. ICICI Prudential Children's returned 10.78%, SBI's Savings Plan 10.26% and Aditya Birla Sun Life Bal Bhavishya 8.53%. Past returns do not predict future ones.
What is the lock-in period of a children's fund?
All four funds here lock money in for at least five years or until the child turns 18, whichever comes first. SBI's two plans also charge an exit load of 3%, 2% or 1% on money withdrawn within one, two or three years, which matters only if the lock-in ends that early.
Is SBI Children's Fund Savings Plan an equity fund?
No. Its mandate puts 75% to 100% in debt and up to 25% in shares. On 30 September 2026 it held 71.88% in bonds and 21.97% in shares, and its three-year volatility was 4.24%, against 12.48% to 14.80% for the other three.
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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