Medium duration funds in India
13 live funds in the Medium Duration category, ordered by 5-year return, highest first; Aditya Birla Sun Life Medium 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 Medium Duration category's funds, each over the same window to its own latest NAV, on their Direct plans.
- +4.88%Middle of 13 funds
- Category median, 3 yearsCategory median, 3 years. The middle return among the Medium Duration category's funds, each over the same window to its own latest NAV, on their Direct plans; a year, compounded.
- +7.48%Middle of 13 funds
- Category median, 5 yearsCategory median, 5 years. The middle return among the Medium Duration category's funds, each over the same window to its own latest NAV, on their Direct plans; a year, compounded.
- +6.61%Middle of 13 funds
Medium 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
Aditya Birla Sun Life Medium Term FundAditya Birla Sun Life Mutual FundNAV₹47.82301Y+7.34%3Y+10.33%5Y+12.48%Size₹3,308 CrCost0.83%
ICICI Prudential Medium Term FundICICI Prudential Mutual FundNAV₹53.46601Y+5.50%3Y+8.09%5Y+7.16%Size₹5,447 CrCost0.73%
Axis Medium Term FundAxis Mutual FundNAV₹33.22921Y+5.32%3Y+8.12%5Y+7.15%Size₹2,092 CrCost0.71%
Kotak Medium Term FundKotak Mahindra Mutual FundNAV₹27.35751Y+4.81%3Y+8.54%5Y+7.13%Size₹1,916 CrCost0.67%
Nippon India Medium Term FundNippon India Mutual FundNAV₹18.31301Y+4.88%3Y+8.21%5Y+6.73%Size₹148 CrCost0.50%
HDFC Medium Term FundHDFC Mutual FundNAV₹65.81441Y+5.29%3Y+7.66%5Y+6.63%Size₹3,602 CrCost0.70%
SBI Medium Term FundSBI Mutual FundNAV₹59.35061Y+5.13%3Y+7.42%5Y+6.61%Size₹6,483 CrCost0.72%
HSBC Medium Term FundHSBC Mutual FundNAV₹23.75491Y+4.13%3Y+7.46%5Y+6.50%Size₹686 CrCost0.41%
Bandhan Medium Term FundBandhan Mutual FundNAV₹53.37731Y+5.21%3Y+7.48%5Y+5.97%Size₹1,269 CrCost0.66%
DSP Medium Term FundDSP Mutual FundNAV₹91.41871Y+2.86%3Y+6.69%5Y+5.94%Size₹252 CrCost0.41%
Invesco India Medium Term FundInvesco Mutual FundNAV₹1,349.04221Y+3.47%3Y+6.84%5Y+5.84%Size₹157 CrCost0.32%
UTI Medium Term FundUTI Mutual FundNAV₹20.57911Y+3.25%3Y+6.55%5Y+5.70%Size₹37 CrCost0.94%
Sundaram Medium Term FundSundaram Mutual FundNAV₹80.11371Y+2.38%3Y+5.72%5Y+4.71%Size₹33 CrCost1.17%
Tax on medium 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 medium duration funds in India
Medium duration funds in India are debt mutual funds whose portfolio has a Macaulay duration of 3 to 4 years. Macaulay duration measures, in years, how long a bond portfolio takes on average to return its money through interest and repayment. SEBI's current name for the category is Medium Term Fund.
What SEBI requires
SEBI's category rule sets the Macaulay duration of the whole portfolio between 3 years and 4 years, invested in debt and money market instruments. The test applies to the portfolio, not to each bond. The category sets no rating limit.
The rule carries one exception. When the fund manager expects adverse market conditions, the portfolio duration may be cut to as low as 1 year. The categorisation circular of 26 Feb 2026 gave the category that name and kept the band.
Duration and interest rates
Duration estimates how much a fund's NAV (net asset value, the price of one unit) falls when yields rise. A portfolio with a duration of 3.5 years loses roughly 3.5% of value for each 1 percentage point rise in yields, and gains about the same when yields fall.
The 3 to 4 year band makes these funds react to rate moves more than short term funds (1 to 3 years) and less than medium to long term funds (4 to 7 years, which may also cut to 1 year).
When duration is cut
When a fund goes below the 3 year floor, its asset management company must record the reasons in writing and place them before the trustees at their next meeting. The trustees review the portfolio and report on it to SEBI in their half-yearly report.
Tax on gains
Gains on units bought on or after 1 Apr 2023 are added to the holder's income and taxed at the slab rate, whatever the holding period, because the fund holds more than 65% in debt and money market instruments. There is no indexation, and units bought earlier follow the older rules.
How the page lists funds
The page lists every live fund in the category with its latest NAV, returns over 1, 3 and 5 years, size and cost. Each fund is shown by its lead plan, the Direct plan where one exists. The 3-year and 5-year returns are annualised, meaning compounded per year.
Funds are sorted by 5-year return, highest first. Size is the average money the fund managed over its latest quarter, and cost is its yearly expense ratio. Category medians are the middle return of the funds that have that period.