Children's funds in India
12 live funds in the Children's category, ordered by 5-year return, highest first; SBI Children's Fund - Investment leads. Funds younger than five years follow by name. Returns are for the plan each fund's page leads with, Direct where the fund has one, to each fund's latest NAV, the newest of them on 27 Oct 2026; 3 and 5 year returns are a year, compounded.
- Category median, 1 yearCategory median, 1 year. The middle return among the Children's category's funds, each over the same window to its own latest NAV, on their Direct plans.
- −4.41%Middle of 12 funds
- Category median, 3 yearsCategory median, 3 years. The middle return among the Children's category's funds, each over the same window to its own latest NAV, on their Direct plans; a year, compounded.
- +8.23%Middle of 10 funds
- Category median, 5 yearsCategory median, 5 years. The middle return among the Children's category's funds, each over the same window to its own latest NAV, on their Direct plans; a year, compounded.
- +7.31%Middle of 10 funds
Children's funds
Size is the average money the fund managed over its latest quarter. Cost is its yearly expense ratio.Filter them in the screener
SBI Children's Fund - InvestmentSBI Mutual FundNAV₹51.216626 Oct 20261Y+7.00%3Y+20.24%5Y+17.69%Size₹7,530 CrCost1.05%- SBI Children's Fund - SavingsSBI Mutual FundNAV₹128.57731Y+7.01%3Y+10.58%5Y+9.88%Size₹148 CrCost0.91%
ICICI Prudential Children's FundICICI Prudential Mutual FundNAV₹338.77001Y−7.58%3Y+11.66%5Y+9.85%Size₹1,426 CrCost2.36%
HDFC Childrens FundHDFC Mutual FundNAV₹311.10001Y−6.11%3Y+8.00%5Y+8.87%Size₹10,584 CrCost1.03%
Aditya Birla Sun Life BAL BHAVISHYA YOJNAAditya Birla Sun Life Mutual FundNAV₹22.18001Y−3.14%3Y+10.38%5Y+8.28%Size₹1,242 CrCost1.17%
LIC MF Children's FundLIC Mutual FundNAV₹36.35641Y−1.56%3Y+7.86%5Y+6.34%Size₹16 CrCost2.10%
UTI Children's Hybrid FundUTI Mutual FundNAV₹40.190923 Oct 20261Y−4.00%3Y+6.01%5Y+5.58%Size₹4,385 CrCost1.51%- UTI Children's Equity FundUTI Mutual FundNAV₹85.71021Y−11.27%3Y+6.99%5Y+5.16%Size₹1,122 CrCost1.39%
Axis Children's FundAxis Mutual FundNAV₹28.93011Y−4.83%3Y+8.47%5Y+4.93%Size₹899 CrCost1.49%
Tata Childrens FundTata Mutual FundNAV₹58.63361Y−14.79%3Y+3.74%5Y+4.63%Size₹332 CrCost1.84%
Baroda BNP Paribas Children's FundBaroda BNP Paribas Mutual FundNAV₹10.83301Y−3.49%3Y–5Y–Size₹126 CrCost1.29%
Union Children's FundUnion Mutual FundNAV₹12.37001Y−6.00%3Y–5Y–Size₹93 CrCost1.45%
Tax on children's funds
Tax depends on the fund's own mix. With 65% or more in shares of listed Indian companies, gains on units held over 12 months are taxed at 12.5% above ₹1.25 lakh a year, and gains on units held 12 months or less at 20%; with more than 65% in debt and money market instruments, gains on units bought on or after 1 Apr 2023 are taxed at the income tax slab rate however long they are held, and on units bought earlier at 12.5% after 24 months; otherwise, gains on units held over 24 months are taxed at 12.5%, and gains on units held 24 months or less at the income tax slab rate.
Rules in force from 1 Apr 2025, checked 27 Oct 2026. Surcharge and cess are not included.
About children's funds in India
Children's funds in India are open-ended mutual funds meant for a child's future needs, with a lock-in of at least 5 years or until the child reaches the age of majority, whichever is earlier. SEBI listed them under solution oriented schemes. This page lists the live funds, ranked by 5-year return.
What SEBI requires
SEBI's 2017 categorisation defined a children's fund as an open-ended fund for investment for children, with a lock-in of at least 5 years or until the child attains the age of majority, whichever is earlier. Lock-in means units cannot be redeemed during that period. SEBI set no equity or debt percentages for the category, so each fund states its own mix in its scheme document, and some are mostly equity while others are hybrids weighted to debt.
SEBI's circular of 26 Feb 2026 discontinued the solution oriented category, with existing schemes to stop subscriptions and merge into similar schemes. The Master Circular for Mutual Funds of 20 Mar 2026 lets an asset management company (AMC) either continue its Children's Fund or discontinue it, stop subscriptions and merge it.
Life cycle funds
The 2026 framework added life cycle funds, which carry a maturity year in the name, such as Life Cycle Fund 2045, and reduce their equity share on a fixed schedule as that year nears. A fund house that keeps its Children's Fund may not launch the 20-year life cycle fund.
How it differs from a retirement fund
A retirement fund has the same structure, with a lock-in of at least 5 years or until retirement age, whichever is earlier. The goal differs: a children's fund is tied to the child's majority, a retirement fund to the investor's retirement. Both sat under solution oriented schemes and face the same choice: the fund house may continue the fund or stop subscriptions and merge it.
Reading the median
Equity shares range from mostly equity to hybrids weighted to debt, so the category median on the page is a middle point across different mixes, and each fund's place in the 5-year ranking reflects its own mix.
Tax follows the same split: a fund with at least 65% in shares of listed Indian companies is taxed as an equity fund, and the page's tax note gives the rates for each case.