Best Long Duration Funds in India
11 long duration funds in India, of which 6 meet the eligibility criteria, ranked on Sharpe ratio. Income with less volatility than equity?
Ranked on risk-adjusted return, not raw return — the point of this group is smoother outcomes.
Long Duration Funds ranked by Sharpe ratio
| # | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ICICI Prudential Long Term Bond Fund - Direct Plan - GrowthGold | 0.28 | -12.0% | +8.37% | 73% | +4.49% | ₹843 Cr | 0.43% |
| 2 | Nippon India Nivesh Lakshya Long Duration Fund- Direct Plan- Growth OptionSilver | 0.20 | -5.8% | +6.96% | 54% | +4.19% | ₹6,249 Cr | 0.33% |
| 3 | Aditya Birla Sun Life Long Duration Fund-Direct GrowthGold | — | -3.3% | +7.80% | 82% | +4.83% | ₹105 Cr | 0.43% |
| 4 | HDFC Long Duration Debt Fund - Growth Option - Direct PlanBronze | — | -6.0% | +6.60% | 40% | +4.70% | ₹2,788 Cr | 0.28% |
| 5 | Axis Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan - Growth | — | -5.6% | +6.53% | 33% | +4.61% | ₹174 Cr | 0.33% |
| 6 | SBI Long Duration Fund - Direct Plan - GrowthBronze | — | -4.5% | +6.76% | 50% | +4.59% | ₹1,424 Cr | 0.32% |
Badges are our own quality tiers — Platinum (top 10%), Gold (25%), Silver (50%), Bronze (75%) — scored within each sub-category, so they compare a fund with its peers and not with funds of a different type. “3Y typical” is the median annualised return across every 3-year holding period the fund has lived through, not a single 3-year figure; “3Y loss odds” is the share of those periods that ended down. “Beat peers” is the share in which it beat its category's median, and “worst fall” is its deepest peak-to-trough drop. Open a fund for the full distribution. Click any column heading to re-sort — including the fund name, which groups a house’s funds together. Funds with no value for a column sort last. Returns over 1 year are annualised (CAGR). Past performance does not indicate future returns. Eligibility: Direct, Growth only, minimum AUM ₹100 Cr, at least 1 year(s) old. Past performance. Returns for 3y/5y are annualised (CAGR) and are withheld where the NAV series does not support the period.
Long Duration Funds — FAQs
Why rank these on risk-adjusted return?
The purpose of this group is a smoother path, not the highest possible number. A fund that earned slightly less with much less volatility is doing the job better, which is what a risk-adjusted measure captures and a raw return does not.
What risks do debt funds carry?
Two main ones. Interest-rate risk: when yields rise, existing bonds fall in value, and longer-duration funds move more. Credit risk: a borrower may be downgraded or default, which affects the NAV directly. Categories differ substantially in how much of each they take.