Motilal Oswal BSE Low Volatility Index Fund-Direct plan

Motilal Oswal BSE Low Volatility Index Fund-Direct plan sits in the middle of the pack for Index Funds funds, currently carrying a 2-star rating. TopFund's composite Health Score, which weighs rating, 3-year CAGR, expense ratio and fund size, puts it at 62/100.

Cost: At 0.46%, the expense ratio runs 12% above the Index Funds category average of 0.41%. That gap is worth weighing against the fund's actual performance versus cheaper peers before committing to a long SIP.

Risk-adjusted performance: Over the trailing 1-year period, the fund shows a negative Sharpe ratio of -0.61 — over the past year, returns haven't kept pace with the volatility involved, even before accounting for the risk-free rate. Separately, annualised volatility of 12.01% is fairly typical for actively managed equity funds.

Who should invest: This fund is best suited to cost-conscious investors happy to simply match the market rather than try to beat it. The High risk rating means near-term volatility should be expected — this isn't a fund to check daily.