Fund Radar: Say goodbye to ELSS?

ELSS (equity-linked savings scheme), also known as tax-saving mutual funds, are having their 'Kodak' moment. Just like the advent of digital photography was a kiss of death for Kodak's decades-old film-based business model, ELSS have been in the midst of a severe existential crisis due to the Indian government's tacit phasing away of the old tax regime. While Kodak's downfall was due to its own handiwork of not moving with time, ELSS' shine has dulled due to external factors, namely the government's push to make the new tax regime a better option for most taxpayers. So, what do existing ELSS investors do, especially if they have completed their mandatory three-year lock-in period? Should they liquidate their investments and look for greener pastures? How have ELSS fared in the past? Over any three-year period (in the last decade), ELSS have delivered average returns of 14.24 per cent per annum. Their worst three-year annualised return was -7.2 per cent. When we exte