There are several misconceptions surrounding debt mutual fund selection. We shall discuss a couple of them in this article. Many investors believe dynamic bond funds are better than gilt mutual funds because of active fund manager calls on the portfolio’s duration. Investors also believe that corporate bond funds (or banking and PSU funds) are less…

On June 7th 2021, SEBI introduced a  “potential Risk Class Matrix for debt schemes based on Interest Rate Risk and Credit Risk” In this article, we explain what it is and discuss if it helps investors. The new rule comes into effect from 1st Dec 2021 but can be implemented immediately by fund houses if…

In this article, we provide a step-by-step guide to choose a gilt mutual fund. Gilt mutual funds are those that invest a minimum of 80% of their portfolio in government securities (Gsecs or gilts). We have already discussed the basics of gilt mutual funds and when to invest in a two-part FAQ. We recommend newbie…

Shushanth asks, “dear Pattu Sir, thank you for the recent articles about gilt mutual funds, but I think they are too volatile for me. Can I use banking and PSU funds instead of gilt funds for long-term goals?” The underlying assumption here seems that Banking and PSU debt funds are “safe” and less volatile than…

We answer a set of questions on gilt mutual funds asked by investors. Interest in gilt mutual funds has increased for two reasons: credit events in debt funds and a gradual reduction in PPF interest rate. We wanted to write an article on selecting gilt mutual funds but realised that before we get into the…

Generally, debt products are expected to have lower volatility than equity mutual funds. However, many investors find that debt fund volatility is a lot higher than what they anticipated. This is because of incorrect expectations and a poor understanding of the factors that influence debt fund returns. In this article, we discuss a simple way…

A sentiment that has gained popularity after the Franklin debt funds fiasco is, “avoid all kinds of risk in debt funds”. Now I notice investors preferring liquid funds even for long-term goals stating they cannot tolerate any NAV fluctuations. Does it make sense to use such short-term funds like liquid funds even for long-term goals?…

In the past week,  gilt mutual funds fell between 1-2%. Dynamic bond funds fell 0.8% to 1%, Banking and PSU funds, corporate bond funds and all categories of debt funds holding medium to long term bonds fell by varying extents. Why did this happen? Will it impact the stock? What it means to your investments.

Franklin Templeton AMC has received 1252.44 crores from Vodafone Idea towards full principal and interest dues for the period June 12 to July 9, 2020. The AMC will now close the segregated portfolios (side-pocket) and payout investors. Here how this payout will be taxed. Thanks to an amendment in budget 2020, the taxation of segregated…