SBI Long Term Equity Fund, previously known as SBI Magnum Taxgain Scheme, is an ELSS scheme from India’s largest fund house. The fund has completed 32 years. The tax-saving fund is one of India’s oldest equity-linked savings schemes, which comes with a lock-in period of 3 years and tax benefits. If an investor had done an SIP of Rs 1,000 every month in this scheme, their current fund value would have reached more than Rs 1.5 crore.
The fund was launched on March 31, 1993, with IDCW Option (earlier known as Dividend Option) and the Growth Option was introduced later on May 7, 2007. The scheme is benchmarked against BSE 500 TRI.
As the scheme was launched before the launch of the benchmark index, benchmark index performance since inception is not available. The scheme is now available in both plans – Direct and Regular. Since the direct plan of the scheme was launched in January 2013, the returns in the story are reviewed for the regular plan.
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Assets under management (AUM) and performance of the fund
As of March 31, 2025, the AUM of this scheme has reached Rs 27,730.33 crore. Dinesh Balachandran is the fund manager of this scheme since September 2016. The scheme invests more than 90% in equity and equity-related instruments, while up to 10% is invested in money market instruments.
As of April 3, 2025, the NAV of SBI Long-Term Equity Fund stood at Rs 405.87. The expense ratio of the regular scheme is 1.6% and the expense ratio of the direct scheme is 1.07%.
SBI Long Term Equity Fund SIP returns
If an investor had done a SIP of Rs 10,000 every month in this scheme from the beginning till now, then by March 28, 2025, his fund value would have been Rs 14.44 crore. That is, an annual compounded return (CAGR) of 17.94% was received on an investment of Rs 38.5 lakh. On this basis, the current fund value of a SIP of Rs 1,000 was Rs 1.44 crore.
This scheme has outperformed its benchmark (BSE 500 TRI) over different time periods:
3-year average annual return stood at 23.42% against the benchmark’s 13.89%
5-year average annual return stood at 24.31% against the benchmark’s 17.17%
10-year average annual return stood at 17.59% against the benchmark’s 15.14%
15-year average annual return stood at 16.03% against the benchmark’s 14.30%
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D P Singh, Deputy Managing Director and Joint CEO of SBI Mutual Fund, said “With a 32-year track record, the SBI Long Term Equity Fund remains a viable option, offering equity market-linked returns suitable for those aiming for long-term wealth creation.”
For whom is this SBI scheme suitable?
SBI Long Term Equity Fund is an excellent option for investors who want long-term wealth creation as well as tax savings. It offers tax exemption of up to Rs 1.5 lakh under section 80C in the old tax regime.
What to keep in mind before investing?
This is an equity-based scheme, so it is subject to market risk.
There is no guarantee that past returns of equity funds will continue in the future.
Evaluate your financial goals and risk-taking ability before investing.
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Summing up
SBI Long Term Equity Fund has given excellent returns over 32 years and can be a good option for long-term investment and tax saving. However, investors should invest in it keeping in mind the market risk and with a long-term perspective.