Skip to main content

Mutual Funds: Liquid and Ultra Short-Term Bond Funds



Investors use the category of mutual fund schemes called liquid funds (also known as money market funds) for short-term parking, as these funds are most stable in returns. There is another category of funds known as ultra short-term bond funds (earlier known as liquid plus), which are managed in a manner similar to liquid funds. It is necessary that investors are aware of both types of funds and their respective advantages that will aide in making informed decisions.


Liquid funds are those that are defined as money market funds in the offer document and invest in money market instruments of residual maturity up to 91 days. What sets liquid funds apart in terms of lowest volatility in returns among all categories of funds is that there is no mark-to market (MTM) of the portfolio on a daily basis unless there is a trade in the secondary market in the underlying security (or securities). Practically there is no trade in money-market instruments and valuation of daily NAV happens on an accrual basis i.e., by adding the coupon accrued for the day without any mark-to-market impact.

 

Ultra short-term bond funds (USTBs) are defined as debt funds in the offer document and the fund manager is free to take securities of maturity longer than 91 days, but there is no compulsion to do the same. Valuation of daily NAV happens as per the valuation matrix provided by the rating agencies, hence there could be a mark-to-market impact. However, the component of securities with residual maturity more than 91 days (for which the valuation matrix is published) is maintained on the lower side, so that the volatility in returns is limited.


Returns in USTBs are marginally higher than liquids by virtue of the marginally higher portfolio maturity. Normally, the longer the maturity of the instrument, the higher is the yield on that instrument (time value of money). USTBs have the liberty to purchase securities with maturity of more than 91 days and on an average, the portfolio maturity is longer than liquids funds. This leads to a higher accrual rate on the portfolio of USTBs. The volatility of returns in USTBs is marginally higher than liquids funds due to the small MTM component.

OPERATIONAL ASPECTS:

In liquid funds, purchase is T-1 i.e., cleared funds are given to the AMC by the cut-off time of 2 pm and availing of previous day's NAV. Redemption is T+1 i.e., the redemption request is placed within the cut-off time of 3 pm and the proceeds are received the next day.


In USTBs, purchase is on a T+0 basis i.e. that day's NAV would be applicable. If the amount is more than . 1 crore, clear funds have to be given to the AMC by the cut-off time of 3 pm, otherwise the NAV of the day on which clear funds are being given will be applicable. Redemption is T+1 for USTBs as well. For both fund categories the application should be submitted and time stamped at the AMCs'/RTA's office within the cut-off time.

TAXATION DIFFERENCES:

While dividends are tax-free in the hands of the investor, there is a dividend distribution tax (DDT) that is deducted by the AMC on behalf of the investor and passed on to the government.

 

The rate of DDT in case of liquid funds is 25% (plus surcharge/cess). From June 1, 2011, the DDT rate for corporate investors will go up to 30%.

 

In case of USTBs, there are two rates of DDT: for individual investors, it is 12.5% (plus surcharge/cess) and for corporate investors the rate is 20% (plus surcharge/cess). From June 1, the DDT rate for corporate investors will go up to 30%.


The advantages of liquid funds are that they provide stable returns and T-1 purchase. Another advantage is the declaration of NAVs on Sundays/holidays as well, which means redemption request put in on Friday (within the cut-off time) for proceeds on Monday would be at Sunday's NAV.


In USTBs, this redemption will take place at Friday's NAV (since there is no NAV on holidays), which means no accrual income for two days. The advantages of USTB funds are marginally higher returns than liquid funds and tax efficiency over liquid funds i.e., lower DDT rate for individuals. For a horizon of more than two weeks, investors can avail of the relatively higher returns and tax efficiency of USTBs and for a short horizon of a few days, liquid funds are safer. Both the fund categories can be used for systematic investments into equity funds.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------

 

Also, know how to buy mutual funds online:

 

1) DSP BlackRock Mutual Funds:

http://prajnacapital.blogspot.com/2011/05/buying-dsp-blackrock-mutual-funds.html

 

2) Reliance Mutual Funds:

http://prajnacapital.blogspot.com/2011/06/buying-reliance-mutual-funds-online.html

 

3) Birla Sunlife Mutual Funds:

http://prajnacapital.blogspot.com/2011/06/buying-birla-sunlife-mutual-funds.html

 

4) UTI Mutual Funds:

http://prajnacapital.blogspot.com/2011/06/buying-uti-mutual-funds-online.html

  

5) SBI Mutual Funds:

http://prajnacapital.blogspot.com/2011/06/buying-sbi-mutual-funds-online.html

 

6) Edelweiss Mutual Funds:

http://prajnacapital.blogspot.com/2011/06/buying-edelweiss-mutual-funds-online.html

 

7) IDFC Mutual Funds:

http://prajnacapital.blogspot.com/2011/06/buying-idfc-mutual-funds-online.html

 

Popular posts from this blog

Mutual Fund Review: Religare Tax Plan

Tax Plan is one of the better performing schemes from Religare Asset Management. Existing investors can redeem their investment after three years. But given the scheme's performance, they can continue to stay invested   Given the mandated lock-in period of three years, tax saving schemes give the fund manager the leeway to invest in ideas that may take time to nurture. Religare Tax Plan's investment ideas revolve around 'High Growth', which the fund manager has aimed to achieve by digging out promising stories/businesses in the mid-cap segment. Within the space, consumer staples has been the centre of attention for the last couple of years and can be seen as one of the key reasons for the scheme's outperformance as compared to the broader market. It has, however, tweaked its focus and reduced exposure in midcaps as they were commanding a high premium. The strategy seems to have worked as it returned a 22% gain last year. Religare Tax Plan has outperformed BSE 100...
Read more

Good time to invest in Infrastructure Funds

Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Application Forms Invest In Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online Buy Gold Mutual Funds Leave a missed Call on 94 8300 8300   Good time to invest in infrastructure The Sensex has gained almost 10 per cent from May 15 till date, while the CNX Infrastructure Index has gained almost 17 per cent in the period. The price to earnings ( P/ E) ratio of the BSE Sensex is 18.96; for the CNX Infrastructure Index, it is 24.57. The estimated P/ E for next year is 14.04 for the Sensex. Of the 24 companies that make up the CNX Infrastructure Index, six have a P/ E higher than 20. Does this mean infrastructure is fairly valued? Or, has it run up quite a bit? According to experts, barring stray companies, the infra sector is fairly valued and it is a good time to invest. Even if some companies are facing debt restructuring problems, once interest rates come down and regulatory norms become flexible, they will start giving good re...
Read more

TDS Rate and Personal Account Number(PAN)

    The TDS rate doubles to 20% from 10% if you fail to mention your Personal Account Number   IF you run a glance through your pay slip, you will come across something called TDS, which is tax deduction at source. In most cases, the employer deducts this amount at the time of payment of salary itself and pays the total tax amount to the government on behalf of all the employees. If you are a self- employed or practicing professional s, you have to pay this amount yourself.    Tax deducted at source is one of the modes of income tax collection by the government. Under the income-tax laws, income tax at specified rates is required to be deducted while making certain payments.    The rate of deduction of tax at source on interest and rent payment is 10%. For salary payments, the employers deduct income tax at source on a monthly basis after computing income tax liability on estimated annual taxable income of the employee. Tax benefits on housing loan, investments, etc are consid...
Read more

Tax Planning: Income tax and Section 80C

In order to encourage savings, the government gives tax breaks on certain financial products under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. Investments made under such schemes are referred to as 80C investments. Under this section, you can invest a maximum of Rs l lakh and if you are in the highest tax bracket of 30%, you save a tax of Rs 30,000. The various investment options under this section include:   Provident Fund (PF) & Voluntary Provident Fund (VPF) Provident Fund is deducted directly from your salary by your employer. The deducted amount goes into a retirement account along with your employer's contribution. While employer's contribution is exempt from tax, your contribution (i.e., employee's contribution) is counted towards section 80C investments. You can also contribute additional amount through voluntary contributions (VPF). The current rate of interest is 8.5% per annum and interest earned is tax-free. Public Provident Fund (PPF) An account can be opened wi...
Read more

Fortis Mutual Fund

Fortis Mutual Fund, a relatively new player, it is still to prove its case and define its position in the industry. In September 2004, it came onto the scene with a bang - three debt schemes, one MIP and one diversified equity scheme. And investors flocked to it. Going by the standards at that time, it had a great start in terms of garnering money. Mopping up over Rs 2,000 crore in five schemes was not bad at all. The fund house has not been too successful in the equity arena, in terms of assets. Though it has seven equity schemes, it is debt and cash funds that corner the major portion of the assets. Most of the schemes are pretty new, and the two that have been around for a while have a 3-star rating each. The last two were Fortis Sustainable Development (April 2007), which received a rather poor response, and Fortis China India (October 2007). Fortis Flexi Debt has been one of the better performing funds, after a dismal performance in 2005. It currently has a 5-star rating. None ...
Read more
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Invest in Tax Saving Mutual Funds Download Any Applications
Transact Mutual Funds Online Invest Online
Buy Gold Mutual Funds Invest Now