SEBI sub-category

Liquid Fund funds

Funds

Direct plans only

Category 1Y avg

+5.37%

Category 5Y CAGR

+5.47%

Direct vs Regular

Direct Regular

5-Year return distribution

How the 44 Liquid Fund funds spread across return buckets. Taller bars = more funds in that band.

Risk vs Return — Liquid Fund

Each dot is a fund. Up-and-left = high return for low risk (the sweet spot). Down-and-right = under-performing with high volatility. Colour = 5-year peer quartile.

Q1 (top 25%) Q2 Q3 Q4 (bottom 25%) 36 funds plotted

All Liquid Fund funds

Sort by: 1Y 3Y 5Y 7Y 10Y

#	Scheme	NAV	1Y	3Y	5Y	7Y	10Y	Peer Q (5Y)	Sharpe	Max DD
1	Canara Robeco Liquid Fund -Unclaimed Redemption and Dividend Plan -Direct Growth Option Canara Robeco	1,824.76	+6.28%	+7.03%	+6.21%	+5.63%	+6.06%	Q1	—	-0.0%
2	Aditya Birla Sun Life Liquid Fund - Growth - Direct Plan Aditya Birla Sun Life	450.62	+6.28%	+7.01%	+6.20%	+5.76%	+6.19%	Q1	—	-0.0%
3	Mahindra Manulife Liquid Fund - Direct Plan -Growth Mahindra Manulife	1,816.73	+6.26%	+6.99%	+6.19%	+5.76%	+6.15%	Q1	—	-0.0%
4	Edelweiss Liquid Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option Edelweiss	3,605.59	+6.28%	+7.01%	+6.19%	+5.76%	—	Q1	—	-0.0%
5	Axis Liquid Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option Axis	3,103.19	+6.29%	+7.00%	+6.19%	+5.73%	+6.18%	Q1	—	-0.0%
6	PGIM India Liquid Fund - Direct Plan - Growth PGIM India	363.95	+6.25%	+6.99%	+6.18%	+5.74%	+6.18%	Q1	—	-0.0%
7	Union Liquid Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option Union	2,690.60	+6.25%	+6.98%	+6.18%	+5.72%	+5.75%	Q1	—	-0.0%
8	BANK OF INDIA Liquid Fund- Direct Plan- Growth Bank of India	3,211.91	+6.22%	+6.97%	+6.17%	+5.67%	+6.13%	Q1	—	-0.0%
9	Nippon India Liquid Fund - Direct Plan Growth Plan - Growth Option Nippon India	6,828.46	+6.26%	+6.98%	+6.17%	+5.73%	+6.18%	Q1	—	-0.0%
10	UTI- Liquid Cash Plan - Direct Plan - Growth Option UTI	4,573.19	+6.26%	+6.97%	+6.17%	+5.70%	+6.15%	Q1	—	-0.0%
11	Baroda BNP Paribas LIQUID FUND - DIRECT PLAN - GROWTH OPTION Baroda BNP Paribas	3,214.68	+6.19%	+6.94%	+6.16%	+5.71%	+6.17%	Q2	—	-0.0%
12	HSBC Liquid Fund - Growth Direct HSBC	2,778.68	+6.20%	+6.96%	+6.16%	+5.68%	+6.13%	Q2	—	-0.0%
13	Mirae Asset Liquid Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Mirae Asset	2,945.00	+6.19%	+6.96%	+6.16%	+5.70%	+6.12%	Q2	—	-0.0%
14	DSP Liquidity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth DSP	3,988.30	+6.26%	+6.98%	+6.16%	+5.69%	+6.14%	Q2	—	-0.0%
15	Franklin India Liquid Fund - Super Institutional - Direct - Growth Franklin India	4,191.35	+6.25%	+6.98%	+6.15%	+5.74%	+6.19%	Q2	—	-0.0%
16	Tata Liquid Fund- Direct Plan-Growth Option Tata	4,403.09	+6.25%	+6.98%	+6.15%	+5.71%	+6.16%	Q2	—	-0.0%
17	CANARA ROBECO LIQUID FUND - DIRECT PLAN - GROWTH OPTION Canara Robeco	3,343.71	+6.24%	+6.97%	+6.15%	+5.57%	+6.01%	Q2	—	-0.0%
18	quant Liquid Fund - Growth Option - Direct Plan Quant	44.71	+5.99%	+6.81%	+6.14%	+6.00%	+6.38%	Q2	—	-0.0%
19	LIC MF Liquid Fund-Direct Plan-Growth LIC	5,063.52	+6.24%	+6.95%	+6.14%	+5.71%	+6.15%	Q2	—	-0.0%
20	BANDHAN LIQUID Fund -Direct Plan-Growth Bandhan	3,368.19	+6.21%	+6.95%	+6.14%	+5.63%	+6.07%	Q2	—	-0.0%
21	Kotak Liquid Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Kotak	5,634.64	+6.22%	+6.95%	+6.13%	+5.66%	+6.09%	Q3	—	-0.0%
22	Invesco India Liquid Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Invesco	3,827.65	+6.21%	+6.94%	+6.13%	+5.64%	+6.11%	Q3	—	-0.0%
23	ICICI Prudential Liquid Fund - Direct Plan - Growth ICICI Prudential	412.70	+6.19%	+6.94%	+6.13%	+5.69%	+6.13%	Q3	—	-0.0%
24	HDFC Liquid Fund - Growth Option - Direct Plan HDFC	5,476.95	+6.21%	+6.93%	+6.12%	+5.65%	+6.08%	Q3	—	-0.0%
25	SBI Liquid Fund - DIRECT PLAN -Growth SBI	4,359.95	+6.19%	+6.91%	+6.11%	+5.65%	+6.08%	Q3	—	-0.0%
26	TRUSTMF Liquid Fund-Direct Plan-Growth —	1,350.05	+6.17%	+6.90%	+6.11%	—	—	Q3	—	-0.5%
27	JM Liquid Fund (Direct) - Growth Option —	76.09	+6.13%	+6.88%	+6.10%	+5.62%	+6.11%	Q3	—	-0.0%
28	Groww Liquid Fund ( formerly known as Indiabulls Liquid )Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option Groww	2,704.07	+6.26%	+6.98%	+6.04%	+5.57%	+6.07%	Q3	—	-0.0%
29	360 ONE LIQUID FUND DIRECT PLAN GROWTH 360 ONE	2,136.21	+6.06%	+6.78%	+5.97%	+5.38%	+5.75%	Q3	—	-0.0%
30	WhiteOak Capital Liquid Fund- Direct plan-Growth Option WhiteOak Capital	1,492.87	+6.12%	+6.85%	+5.95%	+5.46%	—	Q3	—	-0.0%
31	ITI Liquid Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option ITI	1,449.21	+6.13%	+6.75%	+5.94%	+5.32%	—	Q4	—	-0.0%
32	Navi Liquid Fund-Direct Plan-Growth Option Navi	30.15	+5.72%	+6.49%	+5.92%	+5.39%	+5.96%	Q4	—	-0.0%
33	Parag Parikh Liquid Fund- Direct Plan- Growth Parag Parikh	1,542.41	+6.14%	+6.68%	+5.87%	+5.37%	—	Q4	—	-0.0%
34	Motilal Oswal Liquid Fund - Direct Growth Motilal Oswal	14.70	+5.88%	+6.57%	+5.78%	+5.23%	—	Q4	—	-0.0%
35	JM Liquid Fund - Unclaimed Application Refund Amount I.E.F. (Direct) - Growth Plan —	41.44	+0.00%	+0.00%	+0.00%	—	—	Q4	—	-0.0%
36	JM Liquid Fund - Unclaimed Brokerage I.E.F. (Direct) - Growth Plan —	41.44	+0.00%	+0.00%	+0.00%	—	—	Q4	—	-0.0%
37	Abakkus Liquid Fund - Direct Plan - Growth —	102.67	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
38	Bajaj Finserv Liquid Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Bajaj Finserv	1,217.25	+6.22%	+6.76%	—	—	—	—	—	—
39	Capitalmind Liquid Fund - Direct-Growth —	1,034.57	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
40	JioBlackRock Liquid Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option —	1,057.57	+5.65%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
41	Shriram Liquid Fund - Direct Plan Growth Option Shriram	1,101.71	+6.06%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
42	Sundaram Liquid Fund (Formerly Known as Principal Cash Management Fund) - Direct Plan - Growth Option Sundaram	2,464.17	+6.21%	+6.97%	—	—	—	—	—	-0.0%
43	THE WEALTH COMPANY LIQUID FUND DIRECT GROWTH —	1,041.34	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
44	Unifi Liquid Fund- Direct Growth —	1,059.92	+5.91%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Direct plans typically outperform Regular plans by around 50 basis points per year because they carry no distributor commission. The "Peer Q (5Y)" column shows the fund's quartile within this category over the 5-year window: Q1 = top 25%.

Frequently asked questions

Generated from this category's live aggregates — average returns, fund counts, quartile spreads. Updated daily.

Liquid Funds invest in debt instruments maturing in ≤91 days. Lowest-risk debt category, used as a parking lot for emergency cash. Returns track call-money rates (typically 6-7% p.a. in normal times). No exit load after 7 days.

We currently track 44 active Liquid Fund schemes (Direct plan, Growth option). The list updates daily after AMFI publishes new NAVs and SEBI re-classifies schemes. 10 of them sit in the top quartile by 5-year CAGR.

Over the last 5 years, the average Liquid Fund (Direct plan) has returned 5.47% CAGR — that turns ₹1 lakh into roughly ₹130,529. Over the last 12 months the category averaged 5.37%. Top-quartile funds in this category typically beat the average by 3-6 percentage points per year — fund selection within a category matters more than the category choice itself.

Over the trailing 5-year window, the highest-returning Liquid Fund in our database is **Canara Robeco Liquid Fund -Unclaimed Redemption and Dividend Plan -Direct Growth Option** (Canara Robeco) with a CAGR of 6.21%. The category average is 5.47%. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns — top-quartile funds in one window often slip in the next.

The best 1-year return in the Liquid Fund category right now is **Axis Liquid Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option** (Axis) at 6.29%. 1-year numbers are noisy and shouldn't be the sole basis for picking — cross-check rolling returns and 5-year CAGR before deciding.

Across all Liquid Fund schemes with 5 years of history, the 5-year CAGR ranges from 0.00% (worst) to 6.21% (best), with a median of 6.14%. That spread of about 6 percentage points between top and bottom is a useful gauge of how much fund selection matters in this category.

On ProfitGuruOnline you can browse either Liquid Fund Direct plans (lower expense ratio, no broker commission baked in) or Regular plans (sold through distributors). Use the filter on the category page. Direct typically outperforms Regular by 0.5-1% per year in the same scheme — meaningful over 10+ years.

Liquid Fund is a Debt scheme. For units bought on or after 1 April 2023, all gains are taxed at slab rate, no indexation. Pre-Apr-2023 holdings keep the old rules (20% LTCG with indexation if held over 36 months).

Less critical. Debt funds have low day-to-day volatility, so lumpsum and SIP outcomes converge. SIP still works for discipline, especially if your savings flow is monthly.

Liquid Fund schemes are designed for very short horizons (a few days to a few months). They're not for capital growth — just better-than-savings yield on idle cash.

Lower risk than equity but not zero — credit-risk funds can lose 10-20% from a single corporate default; long-duration funds lose 5-10% if rates spike. Liquid and overnight funds are the safest debt sub-categories.

Two or three schemes from different AMCs is usually enough for a single category. Beyond that you'd be re-creating the category average minus your selection cost. Focus on consistency (% of rolling-return windows that ended positive) over chasing top performers — top quartile rarely repeats.

Quarterly is plenty for monitoring NAVs and aggregate gain; annually (or after major regulatory changes like Budget 2024) is the right cadence for re-evaluating against alternatives. Don't churn based on 1-month or even 1-year underperformance — equity funds need 3-5 year horizons to fairly judge.

We rank funds within each category by point-to-point CAGR over the chosen window (1Y, 3Y, 5Y, 7Y, 10Y, since inception), then assign quartile and decile bands so any fund's standing relative to peers is one click away. Numbers are recomputed nightly after AMFI's NAV publish.

Daily NAVs are pulled directly from AMFI's published feed. Category classification uses SEBI's October-2017 mutual-fund categorisation circular. We compute returns, rolling-window stats, SIP backtests, drawdowns and Sharpe ratios in-house — no third-party feeds, no hidden adjustments.

Educational content only — not investment advice. Tax rules summarised above reflect Budget 2024; consult a qualified adviser before transacting.