Why am I losing money in Aditya Birla Sun Life Tax Relief 96?

I have invested in Aditya Birla Tax Relief '96 and another ELSS fund from Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund. It has been two years now. Instead of growing, the money seems to be depreciating. When do you see returns in this fund?
--Akshata

Since you have not shared the details of your investing, it is not possible to offer you a personalised advice. Aditya Birla Sun Life Tax Relief 96 has underperformed its benchmark and category in the last one year. Like most tax-saving mutual fund schemes, the scheme was hit by the market in the previous year, too. However, the scheme did better than its category during that period. The persistent underperformance of Aditya Birla Sun Life Tax Relief 96 could be attributed to its large exposure to mid cap stocks (43%) and small cap stocks (11%), and minuscule investments in large cap stocks. The scheme may be able to stage a comeback only when both the mid cap and small cap stocks bounce back as part of a broad-based rally expected in the market once the economic scenario improves.

Stay put with your investments. Since ELSS funds come with a mandatory lock-in period of three years, you have no option to get out of these schemes. Though these schemes come with a mandatory lock-in period of only three years, you should always invest in them with a horizon of at least five to seven years.