Bond defaults and downgrades are becoming daily occurrences and these would only increase if we do not see corporate earnings driven stock market movement. The latest is Reliance Home Fin & Reliance Commercial Fin. Each time there is a change in the credit rating of a bond, the NAV of the debt funds that hold…

The one big difference between a mutual fund and other conventional investment products is their so-called market-linked nature. We take this for granted when it comes to equity mutual funds but must be reminded with respect to debt mutual funds. With the ongoing FMP crisis, it appears as if the AMCs need to be reminded…

Gilt mutual funds are those that predominantly invest in government bonds (gilts).For a citizen, such bonds carry no credit risk, that is the risk of perceived or actual delay or default in interest payment*. However, this brings to the table a new of problems that investors need to know of. If you cannot stomach the possibility…

Imagine that you are a risk-averse investor and wanted to “park” some money for a few days, and desired to earn a bit more than a savings bank account, an overnight mutual fund is a reasonable choice. If you wanted to extend the investment duration to a few months, a liquid mutual fund is not bad…

Here is how one can choose a liquid fund in 2019 by minimizing credit risk. The recipe is simple: stop chasing returns; stop using star ratings and understand investment strategies.  In the past couple of years, we have seen huge losses in liquid funds – something that was considered to be impossible. So we would…

Every time debt mutual funds face credit risk – a sharp drop in NAV due to the credit rating downgrade of a bond – investors get spooked. Credit risk is part and parcel of fixed income and debt mutual fund investing and one cannot run away from it. However, after the SEBI categorization rules, I…

After the IL&FS bond downgrade, it should be clear to all debt mutual fund investors that a high credit rating does not mean much. Even a small degrade will affect the NAV. While I am firm of the opinion that such credit risk NAV falls are part and parcel of debt mutual fund investing, many…

Last weekend, rating agency ICRA downgraded bonds of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) . The long-term bond ratings went from AA(+) to BB. That is a huge downgrade! We need to stop and count this! AA(+) –> AA –> AA(-) –> A(+) –> A –> A(-) –> BBB(+) –> BBB –> BBB(-) —> BB(+) —> BB….

A fixed deposit is one of the simplest instruments to understand. However, make the FD tradeable mid duration then all sorts of complications will arise. You will lose money if you try and sell when interests increase or if the bank suffers financial trouble and drops in credit ratings. It is no secret that debt…

SEBI’s Mutual Fund Scheme Categorization requires fund houses to use a term known as Macaulay Duration to differentiate among debt mutual funds. Here is a simple explanation of what is Macaulay Duration and the more important modified duration and why you need to understand their significance if your mutual fund invests in bonds (debt mutual…