How Motilal Oswal ELSS Tax Saver Fund survived The 2015-16 China Slowdown
China devalued the yuan, crude collapsed, and global growth fears dragged the Sensex down 23% over 11 slow, grinding months. No single dramatic day — just a long test of patience that shook out momentum chasers.
The fall
-18.2%
10 Aug 2015 → 25 Feb 2016
Index fell
-23%
Sensex, peak to trough
Recovery time
4 mo
peak regained 4 Jul 2016
₹1L at the peak → today
₹4,70,515
worst-possible timing, held on
The full round trip
NAV from 2 Mar 2015 to 4 Jul 2016 — peak ₹11.8268, bottom ₹9.6786, peak regained 4 Jul 2016.
The ₹1 lakh stress test — invested at the worst possible moment
| Invested at the pre-crash peak (10 Aug 2015) | ₹1,00,000 |
| Value at the bottom (25 Feb 2016) | ₹81,836 |
| Value one year after the peak | ₹1,03,829 |
| Value today (3 Jul 2026) | ₹4,70,515 |
The lesson isn't that crashes don't hurt — it's that selling at the bottom turns a temporary fall into a permanent loss. The investor who bought at the absolute worst day and simply held is in profit today.
The unluckiest SIP experiment
Imagine starting a ₹10,000/month SIP on the exact peak day — the single unluckiest start date possible — and continuing for 24 months straight through the crash:
Invested
₹2,40,000
Worth today
₹10,90,452
Return
+354%
Crash-month installments bought units cheap — that's the whole SIP thesis, demonstrated with real data instead of a brochure.
This fund in other crashes
Other ELSS Tax Saver funds in this crash
All figures computed from published AMFI NAV history for Motilal Oswal ELSS Tax Saver Fund. Past performance — including past recoveries — does not guarantee future results. This is educational research, not investment advice. Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks.