Steady, lower risk

Income with less volatility than equity?

Ranked on risk-adjusted return, not raw return — the point of this group is smoother outcomes.

372 funds in this group. Showing the top 100 by Sharpe ratio — pick a sub-category below for the complete list.

Top 100 funds, ranked by Sharpe ratio

#
1Nippon India Credit Risk Fund - Direct Plan - Growth PlanGoldCredit Risk Fund2.87-13.8%+8.75%56%+8.27%₹1,556 Cr0.61%
2Baroda BNP Paribas Credit Risk Fund -Direct-Growth OptionGoldCredit Risk Fund2.61-8.1%+8.67%66%+7.18%₹178 Cr0.82%
3ICICI Prudential Credit Risk Fund - Direct Plan - GrowthGoldCredit Risk Fund2.55-2.9%+8.81%76%+9.19%₹6,320 Cr0.80%
4Axis Credit Risk Fund - Direct Plan - GrowthGoldCredit Risk Fund2.49-3.5%+7.39%35%+9.15%₹375 Cr0.82%
5SBI CREDIT RISK FUND - DIRECT PLAN -GROWTHSilverCredit Risk Fund2.26-1.4%+7.60%37%+8.68%₹2,181 Cr0.91%
6Aditya Birla Sun Life Credit Risk Fund - Direct Plan - GrowthPlatinumCredit Risk Fund2.25-3.9%+8.24%52%+13.23%₹1,532 Cr0.80%
7ICICI Prudential Floating Interest Fund - Direct Plan - GrowthPlatinumFloater Fund2.23-1.8%+8.30%71%+7.09%₹8,464 Cr0.29%
8Aditya Birla Sun Life Medium Term Plan - Growth - Direct PlanGoldMedium Duration Fund2.19-12.7%+10.37%69%+9.77%₹3,280 Cr0.83%
9SBI Floating Rate Debt Fund - Direct Plan - GrowthFloater Fund2.14-0.6%+7.23%41%+6.67%₹685 Cr0.28%
10DSP Floater Fund - Direct Plan - GrowthFloater Fund2.12-0.5%+7.95%55%+6.17%₹329 Cr0.29%
11Aditya Birla Sun Life Floating Rate Fund-Direct Plan-GrowthGoldFloater Fund2.09-1.8%+7.92%61%+6.35%₹13,215 Cr0.25%
12Franklin India Floating Rate Fund - Direct - GrowthSilverFloater Fund1.99-1.3%+7.04%13%+6.57%₹290 Cr0.38%
13WhiteOak Capital Multi Asset Allocation Fund Direct Plan GrowthGoldMulti Asset Allocation1.95-6.1%+15.15%₹8,187 Cr0.64%
14HDFC Floating Rate Debt Fund - Direct Plan - Growth OptionPlatinumFloater Fund1.83-1.3%+7.85%63%+6.51%₹16,409 Cr0.27%
15UTI Credit Risk Fund - Direct Plan - Growth OptionSilverCredit Risk Fund1.83-34.4%+8.06%46%+7.12%₹253 Cr1.04%
16Invesco India Credit Risk Fund - Direct Plan - GrowthSilverCredit Risk Fund1.83-8.0%+6.19%31%+8.59%₹166 Cr0.28%
17KOTAK FLOATING RATE FUND-DIRECT PLAN-GROWTH OPTIONGoldFloater Fund1.78-2.0%+6.63%30%+6.39%₹3,438 Cr0.24%
18HDFC Credit Risk Debt Fund - Growth Option - Direct PlanBronzeCredit Risk Fund1.78-2.6%+8.18%50%+8.03%₹7,666 Cr1.01%
19BANDHAN FLOATER FUND - DIRECT PLAN GROWTHGoldFloater Fund1.76-0.7%+7.61%48%+7.22%₹224 Cr0.10%
20ICICI Prudential Medium Term Bond Fund - Direct Plan - GrowthPlatinumMedium Duration Fund1.73-5.1%+8.35%64%+8.44%₹5,481 Cr0.73%
21Parag Parikh Conservative Hybrid Fund - Direct Plan - GrowthGoldConservative Hybrid Fund1.72-2.3%+11.50%100%+6.12%₹3,473 Cr0.31%
22ICICI Prudential Short Term Fund - Direct Plan - Growth OptionPlatinumShort Duration Fund1.67-3.4%+8.46%73%+6.80%₹19,260 Cr0.45%
23Kotak Medium Term Fund - Direct GrowthGoldMedium Duration Fund1.67-5.2%+7.66%42%+8.40%₹1,915 Cr0.67%
24Axis Strategic Bond Fund - Direct Plan - Growth OptionPlatinumMedium Duration Fund1.64-7.3%+8.50%65%+7.49%₹2,098 Cr0.71%
25Kotak Credit Risk Fund - Growth - DirectSilverCredit Risk Fund1.62-3.9%+8.23%52%+8.48%₹770 Cr0.81%
Showing 25 of 100; sorting covers all of them.

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, short-duration categories included. Past performance. Returns for 3y/5y are annualised (CAGR) and are withheld where the NAV series does not support the period.

Steady, lower risk — 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.