Skip to main content

How to select a debt mutual fund?

Invest In Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online

Call 0 94 8300 8300 (India)

 

Numerous factors affect the returns of debt funds. But should they be of concern to you

 

There are some questions that are very difficult to answer. And the ones mentioned above fall bang into that category. Yet, we cannot ignore them because an overwhelming number of reader queries to Value Research have taken on this tilt. Now we certainly understand why readers would want an answer. If you knew interest rates are going to inch upwards, you would put your money in short-term debt funds. Conversely, if they were going to head south, you would lock your money in long-term debt funds. Hence the question: where are interest rates headed?

 

There are way too many variables that go into determining the direction of interest rates -domestic and international. It is difficult for an experienced debt fund manager to make such a call, so one cannot expect a retail investor to even venture into that zone. If the days of easy predictability of bond prices and interest rates are over, how should an investor decide where to invest? Purely on the basis of his time frame and his preference for risk. Don't even try to guess where interest rates are headed, just look solely at your requirements and leave the rest to the fund manager's skill. Too much has been communicated to the investor on the interest-rate cycle. Investors must look at debt funds solely on the basis of their investment horizon and accordingly narrow down on the right.

 

Pointers to keep in mind when selecting a debt fund


Duration:

First see if the fund manager's mandate is what suits you. You cannot have an investment horizon of 45 days and invest in a long-term debt fund.


Returns:

Is the fund generating higher returns than its peers? Check the portfolio. It could well be that the fund manager is compromising on quality of paper to generate those extra returns.


Size:

 

In the debt market, on an average, the minimum lot size is around Rs 5 crore while the minimum ticket size in a primary issue could be Rs 50 crore. Hence a very small fund is at a distinct disadvantage. On the other hand, a large-sized fund may be in a position to strike better deals but if faced with huge redemptions, the market might not have adequate depth to bail it out. Avoid the two extremes.


Costs:

Expenses have a significant impact on the relative performance of debt funds. It's important to see that your debt fund does not have the highest expense ratio while delivering just about average or below-average returns. The spread of returns, especially in big short-term fund categories, is very narrow. A small difference in return can significantly change the ranking. For example, among liquid funds, 1-year returns of around 59 of the 112 funds is stacked in a range of 0.50 per cent.

Happy Investing!!

We can help. Call 0 94 8300 8300 (India)

Leave your comment with mail ID and we will answer them

OR

You can write back to us at PrajnaCapital [at] Gmail [dot] Com

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

Invest in Tax Saving Mutual Funds ( ELSS Mutual Funds ) to upto Rs 1 lakh and Save tax under Section 80C.

Invest Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online

Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online

These links can be used to Purchase Mutual Funds Online that are regular also (Investment, non-tax saving)

Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs

Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Applications

These Application Forms can be used for buying regular mutual funds also

Some of the best Tax Saving Mutual Funds available ( ELSS Mutual Funds )

  1. ICICI Prudential Tax Plan Invest Online
  2. HDFC TaxSaver Invest Online
  3. DSP BlackRock Tax Saver Fund Invest Online
  4. Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) Fund Invest Online
  5. Birla Sun Life Tax Relief '96 Invest Online
  6. IDFC Tax Advantage (ELSS) Fund Invest Online
  7. SBI Magnum Tax Gain Scheme 1993 Invest Online
  8. Sundaram Tax Saver Invest Online
  9. Edelweiss ELSS Invest Online

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

Best Performing Mutual Funds

    1. Largecap Funds Invest Online
      1. DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund
      2. ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund
      3. Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund
    2. Large and Midcap Funds Invest Online
      1. ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan
      2. HDFC Top 200 Fund
      3. UTI Dividend Yield Fund
    1. Mid and SmallCap Funds Invest Online
      1. Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund
      2. DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund
      3. Sundaram Select Midcap
      4. IDFC Premier Equity Fund
    1. Small and MicroCap Funds Invest Online
      1. DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund
    1. Sector Funds Invest Online
      1. Reliance Banking Fund
      2. Reliance Banking Fund
    1. Tax Saver MutualFunds Invest Online
      1. ICICI Prudential Tax Plan
      2. HDFC Taxsaver
      3. DSP BlackRock Tax Saver Fund
      4. Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) Fund
    2. Gold Mutual Funds Invest Online
      1. Relaince Gold Savings Fund
      2. ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund
      3. HDFC Gold Fund

Popular posts from this blog

Understanding Your Cibil Credit Information Report

   WE ARE all familiar with the anxiety and uncertainty that we feel when applying for a loan. After all, it's the lender who decides whether we can own our dream home, our first car, or whether our children can pursue higher education. In a nutshell, a better life depends on the lender's decisions.    While other factors do play a part in the lender's decision, the Cibil Credit Information Report ( CIR ) plays a crucial role in a lender's decision to approve a loan application.    Previously, lenders would treat all loan seekers equally. Each applicant, if approved by the lender's internal credit policy, would be charged at the same interest rate for a particular loan size and purpose. The lenders would charge a higher interest rate to all the borrowers, in order to compensate for the possible default of a small portion of the loan disbursed. In other words, it's like a professor (the lender) punishing an entire class (borrowers) for the mischief played b...
Read more

What are the factors affect the changes in Interest Rate of Fixed Deposits?

  What are the factors affect the changes in rate of Fixed Deposits? Fixed Deposits are now considered to be a very old fashioned method of saving, but still attract many investors since they have guaranteed returns at the end of the tenure of the investment at a decent interest rate. There are various factors that affect the rates of interest for a Fixed Deposit. Policies of the Reserve Bank of India   - The several norms and restrictions posed by the Reserve Bank of India , in order to gain optimum control over credit and inflow and outflow of fund throughout the country. The repo rate changes, cash reserve ration tends to change and these changes affect the banking products like Fixed Deposits, loans etc. Recession   - When unemployment in a country crosses the benchmark set Recession hits, and slowly the country faces an economic slow movement, affecting the purchasing power of the people in the country, forcing the Reserve Bank of India to release more funds in the financial marke...
Read more

Capital Protection Oriented 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   Capital Protection Oriented Funds   Erosion of capital is one of the key concerns for investors wanting to invest in equity mutual funds. To address this concern, asset management companies have launched Capital Protection Oriented Funds (CPOFs). What are CPOFs? CPOFs are generally three to five-year, closed-ended funds where 70-80% of the portfolio is invested in fixed income securities, which mature on or before the scheme's tenure. The investment in fixed income securities grows to 100% at the end of the tenure, providing the investor with capital protection. The remaining portion (20-30%) is used to take exposure to equity, which provides the upside. Exposure to equities is either by directly buying equity stocks (plain vanilla CPOFs) or by b...
Read more

Mutual Fund Review: ING Dividend Yield

  ING Dividend Yield's small assets enable the fund manager to churn in impressive returns… Strategy The aim of the fund is to invest in stocks which offer a high dividend yield. This fund deploys a value based strategy which aims to gain from investing in fundamentally strong and free cash flow generating businesses. The scheme focuses not only on growth but also on the cash generated by the business, which mostly leads to stable returns even in volatile markets. This fund has a low volatility because of its investment in high yielding stocks. The scheme tries to include stocks that yield dividend above the dividend yield of the Nifty and stocks with liquidity, which throws up a universe of 150 stocks.   Our View Launched in October 2005, this fund invests at least 65 per cent of its assets in high dividend yield stocks. The fund has consistently maintained a mix of stocks across varying market capitalisation, with a higher tilt to mid caps compared to small caps. Howev...
Read more

SBI Small Cap Fund

SBI Small Cap Fund scheme seeks to provide investors with opportunities for long-term growth in capital along with the liquidity of an open-ended scheme by investing predominantly in a well diversified basket of equity stocks of small cap companies. SBI Small Cap Fund has widened its margin of outperformance relative to its category and benchmark in the last one year, earning itself a five-star rating. The fund shows a hefty 18 percentage-point outperformance relative to its peers in the last one year, 5 percentage points over three years and 4 percentage points over five years. Needless to say, it has also outpaced its benchmark to deliver convincing five-year annualised returns of 37 per cent. A believer in the credo that a small market cap does not reflect business quality, the fund looks for five attributes in the stocks it buys: competitive advantage, return on capital, growth, management and valuation. SBI Small Cap Fund is among the few in this space to remain at quite a man...
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