Don't let poor three-year returns deter you from investing in ELSS

If your equity exposure is low, invest in them for tax saving purpose

Investing for tax saving is likely to be one of your top priorities in the coming days. These investments should not be deferred entirely till the fourth quarter as you could come under finan­cial pressure then. One of the options you should consider is tax-saver mutual funds (also called equity-linked saving schemes or ELSS). At 4.3 per cent, the category average return from these funds has been disappointing over the past three years. This figure has recovered to 8.9 per cent for the past year. Nonetheless, if you are unsure about whether these funds are a good bet, read on.