
Radhika Gupta, MD & CEO of Edelweiss Mutual Fund, recently turned the spotlight on a mutual fund category that often flies under the radar — the Equity Savings Funds. Sharing her personal connection to this segment, Gupta revealed on the social media platform X that her mother-in-law’s favourite fund happens to be the Edelweiss Equity Savings Fund.
“What underrated category is this? Only 20-25% net equity exposure. Less than 4% standard deviation. No negative rolling returns in 3Y. And equity taxation! An efficient way to earn decent returns with low risk. My mom-in-law's favourite fund!” Gupta posted on X, emphasizing the unique balance that equity savings funds strike between risk and reward.
Equity Savings Funds typically allocate 20-25% of their assets to net equity positions, with the rest invested in arbitrage opportunities and debt instruments. This structure gives them the advantage of equity taxation while keeping volatility low. The category has delivered less than 4% standard deviation and has not posted negative rolling returns over the past three years—a key point Gupta highlighted as a mark of stability in turbulent markets.
Adding numbers to her claim, Gupta shared a comparative image indicating that the Edelweiss Equity Savings Fund has delivered a minimum return of 4.51% over the past three years, while its benchmark, the NIFTY 50 Equity Savings Index, offered just 1.28% at its lowest point. At the higher end, the fund delivered 13.86% compared to the benchmark’s 14.48%. Notably, both the fund and its benchmark have managed to avoid negative returns in the past three years, underlining the resilience of the equity savings category.
In terms of consistency, the Edelweiss Equity Savings Fund has posted returns exceeding 7% approximately 94.99% of the time in the last three years. By contrast, its benchmark crossed the same threshold 81.72% of the time, showcasing the fund’s strong performance relative to its index.
Launched on 22 September 2014, the Edelweiss Equity Savings Fund Direct-Growth has been in existence for nearly 11 years and currently manages an asset base of Rs 639 crore as of 31 March 2025. It falls into the medium-sized bracket within its category. As of 3 July 2025, its Net Asset Value (NAV) stands at Rs 27.88. The fund’s expense ratio is 0.6%, which aligns with most other equity savings funds in the market.
The fund’s portfolio is diversified across equity and debt, with an approximate allocation of 25.47% to equity and 32.36% to debt instruments. The equity portion predominantly invests in sectors like Financials, Energy, Materials, Services, and Communication. Notably, the fund has adopted a slightly lower exposure to Financial and Energy sectors compared to its peers. However, its debt portion leans towards lower credit quality instruments, which suggests a certain level of credit risk in pursuit of higher yields.
Top equity holdings include blue-chip names such as Reliance Industries Ltd. (6.9%), HDFC Bank Ltd. (5.25%), Bharti Airtel Ltd. (3.45%), ICICI Bank Ltd. (2.95%), and Ambuja Cements Ltd. (1.62%).
Performance-wise, Edelweiss Equity Savings Fund has clocked 9.91% returns in the last one year, 13.57% over three years, 12.52% over five years, and 9.95% over ten years. Since its inception, it has delivered a robust annualized return of 10.03%, doubling invested capital every six years.
However, for investors evaluating options in this category, a closer look at peers reveals competitive alternatives. While Edelweiss has delivered strong and stable performance, funds like Sundaram and Kotak Equity Savings have posted slightly higher returns in certain timeframes, reflecting the variety of choices available for conservative investors seeking tax efficiency with moderate growth potential.
Here’s how Edelweiss Equity Savings Fund stacks up against some of its prominent peers: