What are the top performing Medium to Long Duration funds?

Based on 1-year returns, the top performing Medium to Long Duration funds are ICICI Prudential Diversified Debt Strategy Active FoF - Direct Plan with 3.93% return, Bandhan Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan with 2.46% return, and Franklin India Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan with 2.44% return. The category average 1-year return is 1.71%.

Which Medium to Long Duration funds have given the best returns over 3 years?

Over a 3-year period, the best performing Medium to Long Duration funds are ICICI Prudential Diversified Debt Strategy Active FoF - Direct Plan with a 7.05% CAGR, Bandhan Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan with 6.82% CAGR, and Franklin India Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan with 6.80% CAGR. The category average 3-year return stands at 6.28% CAGR.

What are the largest Medium to Long Duration mutual funds by assets?

The largest Medium to Long Duration funds by Assets Under Management (AUM) are ICICI Prudential Bond Fund - Direct Plan with ₹ 2,700.19 crore, SBI Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan with ₹ 2,024.11 crore, and Kotak Bond Fund - Direct Plan with ₹ 1,882.05 crore. Together, there are 15 Medium to Long Duration funds available in India.

What is the minimum amount to invest in Medium to Long Duration funds?

You can start investing in Medium to Long Duration funds with a minimum SIP of ₹100 per month or a minimum lumpsum of ₹100. The minimum investment varies across fund houses — some funds allow even lower entry points.

How are Medium to Long Duration fund returns taxed?

All gains from Medium to Long Duration funds — regardless of holding period — are added to your income and taxed at your applicable income tax slab rate.

Which Medium to Long Duration funds have the lowest expense ratio?

Among Medium to Long Duration funds, LIC MF Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan has the lowest expense ratio at 0.21% (Direct Plan), followed by Franklin India Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan at 0.34%. Lower expense ratios directly improve your net returns over the long term.

How many Medium to Long Duration mutual funds are available in India?

There are currently 15 Medium to Long Duration mutual funds available in India across different fund houses. You can compare all 15 funds on Sharpely based on returns, risk, AUM, and expense ratio to find the one that suits your investment goals.

mutual funds category

Medium To Long Duration

Medium to Long Duration Funds

Medium to long-duration debt funds invests in debt & money market instruments with a weighted average maturity (Macaulay duration) between 4 to 7 years.

Total Schemes

No. of schemes

Total AUM

₹ 0.11Lakh Cr

As on latest

Category Return (5Y)

5.93 %

CAGR

Benchmark Data

This category currently has no benchmark assigned.

Category Returns (%)

Period	1M	6M	1Y	3Y CAGR	5Y CAGR	10Y CAGR	YTD
Medium to Long Duration	0.25 %	1.01 %	1.71 %	6.28 %	5.93 %	6.81 %	0.71 %
Benchmark Not Available No benchmark assigned	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Top Medium to Long Duration Funds (by AUM)

Fund Name	AUM (₹ Cr)	1Y Return	3Y CAGR	5Y CAGR	Expense Ratio
ICICI Prudential Bond Fund - Direct PlanNAV: ₹43.78	2,700.19 Cr	2.09%	6.82%	6.18%	0.54%
SBI Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct PlanNAV: ₹78.34	2,024.11 Cr	2.07%	6.49%	6.12%	0.78%
Kotak Bond Fund - Direct PlanNAV: ₹88.15	1,882.05 Cr	1.47%	6.57%	6.08%	0.72%
Aditya Birla Sun Life Income Fund - Direct PlanNAV: ₹137.13	1,761.48 Cr	0.44%	5.74%	5.47%	0.69%
HDFC Income Fund - Direct PlanNAV: ₹65.67	826.32 Cr	0.94%	6.17%	5.61%	0.80%
Bandhan Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct PlanNAV: ₹72.98	426.23 Cr	2.46%	5.81%	5.05%	1.29%
Nippon India Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct PlanNAV: ₹102.42	364.40 Cr	1.46%	6.23%	6.01%	0.67%
UTI Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct PlanNAV: ₹81.58	299.70 Cr	1.13%	5.86%	8.35%	1.30%
LIC MF Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct PlanNAV: ₹80.14	187.08 Cr	1.83%	6.80%	5.93%	0.21%
Canara Robeco Income Fund - Direct PlanNAV: ₹63.44	112.76 Cr	1.49%	5.85%	5.31%	0.78%
ICICI Prudential Diversified Debt Strategy Active FoF - Direct PlanNAV: ₹42.85	105.30 Cr	3.93%	7.05%	6.34%	0.51%
HSBC Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct PlanNAV: ₹47.74	47.93 Cr	0.60%	5.98%	5.18%	0.76%
Franklin India Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct PlanNAV: ₹11.00	46.37 Cr	2.44%	-	-	0.34%
JM Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct PlanNAV: ₹70.83	29.81 Cr	1.56%	6.22%	5.41%	0.59%
UTI Medium to Long Duration Fund Segregated Portfolio - Direct PlanNAV: ₹7.35	16.71 Cr	-	-	-	-

About Medium to Long Duration Funds

What is it?

Medium to long-duration debt funds invests in debt & money market instruments with a weighted average maturity (Macaulay duration) between 4 to 7 years.

Objective

The objective of these funds is to generate stable returns with lower volatility over the medium term. The medium to long-duration debt funds will provide stable returns during the period of falling interest rates.

Suitability and opinion

These funds are suitable for risk-averse investors who are seeking to generate stable returns to fulfill their medium-term goals and for aggressive investors looking to diversify some portion of their portfolio into stable assets. We believe that these funds have a far lower risk compared to equity funds but their prices can fluctuate moderately if interest rates change. We feel that investors can avoid investing in this category and opt for short-duration debt funds if they want some debt exposure in their portfolio. This category has been adversely affected by the government's decision to remove indexation benefits.

Medium to Long Duration vs Other Categories

5Y CAGR Return Comparison

6.09%

5.93%

5.58%

5.55%

Liquid

Banking and PSU

Medium to Long Duration

Overnight

Gilt

Key Insights

Medium to Long Duration delivered 5.93% CAGR over the last 5 years.

It ranks #14 out of 18 categories based on 5Y performance.

Below the category average return of 6.35%.

13 categories outperform it, while 4 categories have lower returns.

Top performer: Credit Risk (9.97%).

Lowest performer: Long Duration (5.32%).

Let's have a closer look

Now let us jump and check about these top 15 mutual fund schemes.

ICICI Prudential Bond Fund - Direct Plan

Fund Performance: ICICI Prudential Bond Fund - Direct Plan has given 6.82% annualized returns in the past three years and 6.18% in the last 5 years. The ICICI Prudential Bond Fund - Direct Plan comes under the Debt category of ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund.

Minimum Investment Amount: The minimum amount required to invest in ICICI Prudential Bond Fund - Direct Plan via lump sum is ₹ 5,000.00 and via SIP is ₹ 1,000.00.

Min Investment Amt

₹ 5,000.00

AUM

₹ 2,700.19Cr

1Y Returns

2.09%

Expense Ratio

0.54%

SBI Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan

Fund Performance: SBI Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan has given 6.49% annualized returns in the past three years and 6.12% in the last 5 years. The SBI Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan comes under the Debt category of SBI Mutual Fund.

Minimum Investment Amount: The minimum amount required to invest in SBI Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan via lump sum is ₹ 5,000.00 and via SIP is ₹ 500.00.

Min Investment Amt

₹ 5,000.00

AUM

₹ 2,024.11Cr

1Y Returns

2.07%

Expense Ratio

0.78%

Kotak Bond Fund - Direct Plan

Fund Performance: Kotak Bond Fund - Direct Plan has given 6.57% annualized returns in the past three years and 6.08% in the last 5 years. The Kotak Bond Fund - Direct Plan comes under the Debt category of Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund.

Minimum Investment Amount: The minimum amount required to invest in Kotak Bond Fund - Direct Plan via lump sum is ₹ 100.00 and via SIP is ₹ 100.00.

Min Investment Amt

₹ 100.00

AUM

₹ 1,882.05Cr

1Y Returns

1.47%

Expense Ratio

0.72%

Aditya Birla Sun Life Income Fund - Direct Plan

Fund Performance: Aditya Birla Sun Life Income Fund - Direct Plan has given 5.74% annualized returns in the past three years and 5.47% in the last 5 years. The Aditya Birla Sun Life Income Fund - Direct Plan comes under the Debt category of Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund.

Minimum Investment Amount: The minimum amount required to invest in Aditya Birla Sun Life Income Fund - Direct Plan via lump sum is ₹ 5,000.00 and via SIP is ₹ 1,000.00.

Min Investment Amt

₹ 5,000.00

AUM

₹ 1,761.48Cr

1Y Returns

0.44%

Expense Ratio

0.69%

HDFC Income Fund - Direct Plan

Fund Performance: HDFC Income Fund - Direct Plan has given 6.17% annualized returns in the past three years and 5.61% in the last 5 years. The HDFC Income Fund - Direct Plan comes under the Debt category of HDFC Mutual Fund.

Minimum Investment Amount: The minimum amount required to invest in HDFC Income Fund - Direct Plan via lump sum is ₹ 100.00 and via SIP is ₹ 100.00.

Min Investment Amt

₹ 100.00

AUM

₹ 826.32Cr

1Y Returns

0.94%

Expense Ratio

0.80%

Bandhan Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan

Fund Performance: Bandhan Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan has given 5.81% annualized returns in the past three years and 5.05% in the last 5 years. The Bandhan Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan comes under the Debt category of Bandhan Mutual Fund.

Minimum Investment Amount: The minimum amount required to invest in Bandhan Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan via lump sum is ₹ 1,000.00 and via SIP is ₹ 100.00.

Min Investment Amt

₹ 1,000.00

AUM

₹ 426.23Cr

1Y Returns

2.46%

Expense Ratio

1.29%

Nippon India Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan

Fund Performance: Nippon India Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan has given 6.23% annualized returns in the past three years and 6.01% in the last 5 years. The Nippon India Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan comes under the Debt category of Nippon India Mutual Fund.

Minimum Investment Amount: The minimum amount required to invest in Nippon India Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan via lump sum is ₹ 5,000.00 and via SIP is ₹ 100.00.

Min Investment Amt

₹ 5,000.00

AUM

₹ 364.40Cr

1Y Returns

1.46%

Expense Ratio

0.67%

UTI Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan

Fund Performance: UTI Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan has given 5.86% annualized returns in the past three years and 8.35% in the last 5 years. The UTI Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan comes under the Debt category of UTI Mutual Fund.

Minimum Investment Amount: The minimum amount required to invest in UTI Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan via lump sum is ₹ 500.00 and via SIP is ₹ 500.00.

Min Investment Amt

₹ 500.00

AUM

₹ 299.70Cr

1Y Returns

1.13%

Expense Ratio

1.30%

LIC MF Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan

Fund Performance: LIC MF Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan has given 6.80% annualized returns in the past three years and 5.93% in the last 5 years. The LIC MF Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan comes under the Debt category of LIC Mutual Fund.

Minimum Investment Amount: The minimum amount required to invest in LIC MF Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan via lump sum is ₹ 5,000.00 and via SIP is ₹ 200.00.

Min Investment Amt

₹ 5,000.00

AUM

₹ 187.08Cr

1Y Returns

1.83%

Expense Ratio

0.21%

Canara Robeco Income Fund - Direct Plan

Fund Performance: Canara Robeco Income Fund - Direct Plan has given 5.85% annualized returns in the past three years and 5.31% in the last 5 years. The Canara Robeco Income Fund - Direct Plan comes under the Debt category of Canara Robeco Mutual Fund.

Minimum Investment Amount: The minimum amount required to invest in Canara Robeco Income Fund - Direct Plan via lump sum is ₹ 5,000.00 and via SIP is ₹ 1,000.00.

Min Investment Amt

₹ 5,000.00

AUM

₹ 112.76Cr

1Y Returns

1.49%

Expense Ratio

0.78%

ICICI Prudential Diversified Debt Strategy Active FoF - Direct Plan

Fund Performance: ICICI Prudential Diversified Debt Strategy Active FoF - Direct Plan has given 7.05% annualized returns in the past three years and 6.34% in the last 5 years. The ICICI Prudential Diversified Debt Strategy Active FoF - Direct Plan comes under the Debt category of ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund.

Minimum Investment Amount: The minimum amount required to invest in ICICI Prudential Diversified Debt Strategy Active FoF - Direct Plan via lump sum is ₹ 100.00 and via SIP is ₹ 100.00.

Min Investment Amt

₹ 100.00

AUM

₹ 105.30Cr

1Y Returns

3.93%

Expense Ratio

0.51%

HSBC Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan

Fund Performance: HSBC Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan has given 5.98% annualized returns in the past three years and 5.18% in the last 5 years. The HSBC Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan comes under the Debt category of HSBC Mutual Fund.

Minimum Investment Amount: The minimum amount required to invest in HSBC Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan via lump sum is ₹ 5,000.00 and via SIP is ₹ 1,000.00.

Min Investment Amt

₹ 5,000.00

AUM

₹ 47.93Cr

1Y Returns

0.60%

Expense Ratio

0.76%

Franklin India Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan

Fund Performance: The Franklin India Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan comes under the Debt category of Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund.

Minimum Investment Amount: The minimum amount required to invest in Franklin India Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan via lump sum is ₹ 5,000.00 and via SIP is ₹ 500.00.

Min Investment Amt

₹ 5,000.00

AUM

₹ 46.37Cr

1Y Returns

2.44%

Expense Ratio

0.34%

JM Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan

Fund Performance: JM Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan has given 6.22% annualized returns in the past three years and 5.41% in the last 5 years. The JM Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan comes under the Debt category of JM Financial Mutual Fund.

Minimum Investment Amount: The minimum amount required to invest in JM Medium to Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan via lump sum is ₹ 1,000.00 and via SIP is ₹ 100.00.

Min Investment Amt

₹ 1,000.00

AUM

₹ 29.81Cr

1Y Returns

1.56%

Expense Ratio

0.59%

UTI Medium to Long Duration Fund Segregated Portfolio - Direct Plan

Fund Performance: The UTI Medium to Long Duration Fund Segregated Portfolio - Direct Plan comes under the Debt category of UTI Mutual Fund.

Minimum Investment Amount: The minimum amount required to invest in UTI Medium to Long Duration Fund Segregated Portfolio - Direct Plan via lump sum is ₹ 1,000.00.

Min Investment Amt

₹ 1,000.00

AUM

₹ 16.71Cr

1Y Returns

Expense Ratio