Long duration funds in India
11 live funds in the Long Duration category, ordered by 5-year return, highest first; Nippon India Nivesh Lakshya Long Term Fund 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 Long Duration category's funds, each over the same window to its own latest NAV, on their Direct plans.
- −0.50%Middle of 11 funds
- Category median, 3 yearsCategory median, 3 years. The middle return among the Long Duration category's funds, each over the same window to its own latest NAV, on their Direct plans; a year, compounded.
- +5.68%Middle of 7 funds
Long Duration funds
Size is the average money the fund managed over its latest quarter. Cost is its yearly expense ratio.Filter them in the screener
Nippon India Nivesh Lakshya Long Term FundNippon India Mutual FundNAV₹18.16521Y−1.09%3Y+5.68%5Y+5.22%Size₹6,198 CrCost0.33%
ICICI Prudential Long Term FundICICI Prudential Mutual FundNAV₹98.59211Y−0.75%3Y+5.93%5Y+4.98%Size₹839 CrCost0.43%
Aditya Birla Sun Life Long Term FundAditya Birla Sun Life Mutual FundNAV₹13.17821Y+0.51%3Y+6.29%5Y–Size₹102 CrCost0.43%
Axis Long Term FundAxis Mutual FundNAV₹1,235.15001Y−0.50%3Y+5.44%5Y–Size₹171 CrCost0.33%
Bandhan Long Term FundBandhan Mutual FundNAV₹11.24711Y+1.06%3Y–5Y–Size₹51 CrCost0.28%
Franklin India Long Term FundFranklin Templeton Mutual FundNAV₹10.74681Y+1.75%3Y–5Y–Size₹46 CrCost0.36%
HDFC Long Term FundHDFC Mutual FundNAV₹12.23421Y−0.97%3Y+5.55%5Y–Size₹2,794 CrCost0.28%
Kotak Long Term FundKotak Mahindra Mutual FundNAV₹10.96841Y−0.72%3Y–5Y–Size₹59 CrCost0.32%
Mirae Asset Long Term FundMirae Asset Mutual FundNAV₹10.29011Y−0.46%3Y–5Y–Size₹21 CrCost0.20%
SBI Long Term FundSBI Mutual FundNAV₹12.55261Y+0.34%3Y+5.99%5Y–Size₹1,380 CrCost0.32%
UTI Long Term FundUTI Mutual FundNAV₹12.02101Y−0.83%3Y+5.07%5Y–Size₹79 CrCost0.09%
Tax on long duration funds
Gains on units bought on or after 1 Apr 2023 are taxed at the income tax slab rate however long they are held; gains on units bought earlier are taxed at 12.5% when held over 24 months, or over 12 months for a listed fund such as an ETF, and at the slab rate otherwise.
Rules in force from 23 Jul 2024, checked 27 Oct 2026. Surcharge and cess are not included.
About long duration funds in India
Long duration funds in India are open-ended debt mutual funds that invest so that the Macaulay duration of the portfolio is greater than 7 years. They hold long-dated bonds, mainly government securities, and their value moves sharply when interest rates change.
What SEBI requires
SEBI defines a long duration fund as an open-ended debt scheme investing in instruments such that the Macaulay duration of the portfolio is greater than 7 years. Macaulay duration is the weighted average time, in years, to receive a bond's cash flows, with each payment weighted by its present value. For a fund it is measured across all the bonds it holds, not for any single bond or for an investor's holding period.
Since SEBI's circular of 26 Feb 2026 the category is named Long Term Fund, and each scheme carries that name.
Interest rate risk
When market interest rates rise, the price of existing bonds falls, and the fall is larger for a longer duration. As a rough guide, a fund with a duration of 7 years loses about 7% of its value for a one percentage point rise in yields, before interest income. A fall in rates lifts the value by a similar amount.
SEBI's potential risk class matrix sorts debt funds by the most interest rate risk each may take, and any fund allowed a Macaulay duration above 3 years sits in the highest class, Class III. A 1-year return can be negative even though the bonds pay interest.
How the funds are run
The fund manager mostly picks between government securities, state development loans and corporate bonds and sets the portfolio's duration. A manager expecting rates to fall may lengthen it, and one expecting a rise may shorten it, though it stays above 7 years. Funds in the category are usually measured against a long duration debt index.
Neighbouring categories
Medium to long term funds (formerly medium to long duration) hold a Macaulay duration of 4 to 7 years, so long duration begins where that band ends. Gilt funds invest at least 80% of assets in government securities of any maturity, and 10-year constant maturity gilt funds invest at least 80% in government securities with the portfolio's duration held at exactly 10 years. A long duration fund is not limited to government securities.
Ranking and medians
The page ranks funds by 5-year return on the Direct plan where one exists. Funds with less than five years of history follow by name, and each category median counts only the funds with a return for that window, so the longer medians can rest on fewer funds than the 1-year one.