Articles

Fixed Income

Debt Fund

How to invest?

FD are offered by most of the banks

You could visit or contact a Mutual Fund house when required to invest in a direct plan

Also, one can also invest online through brokerage houses, like ICICI, Kotak etc., or through agents. However, this will charge commission around 0.5 per cent.

Liquidity

Moderate:Generally, premature withdrawal is allowed but it usually comes with a penalty of 1 per cent on the interest rates for which the deposit is kept

An investor can seek a loan against FD

High: Redemption can be made any day. Usually, there are no charges for redemptions after 1 year. However, an exit load of 1 per cent is generally applicable if the units are redeemed before 1 year

Taxation

As per the current tax slabs (10, 20 or 30 percent)

If your interest income exceeds 10,000 a year, the bank will deduct 10.3% from this income

Minimum 10 per cent flat or 20 per cent with indexation (explained earlier)

Returns

Interest rates on bank fixed deposits (FDs) have touched 7.5-9.0%

The average short-term debt fund has given 9.8% returns in the past year, some long-term bond funds have shot up by 14-15% during the same period. However, returns in the short term could also be negative

Commission/Charges

NIL

A MF usually has a fund management charge of around 0.5%. This can be reduced by investing in direct plans. However, if you have invested through a broker, the broker may also charge you around 0.5%

Interest Rate

Fixed for the entire tenure (Present 7.5-9.0%)

MFs are actively managed and the fund usually seeks to generate returns from various instruments offering different interest rates as per the interest cycles

Underlying Assets

NA

Government bonds, treasury bills, bank bonds, corporate CDs, etc.

Guaranteed Returns

Yes

Theoretically, no, as these funds are linked to the market and subject to interest rate and credit risks. However, chances of a default are very minimal and hence debts funds are practically safe and give positive returns.

Fixed deposit (FD)

Debt fund

Invested amount

10,000

10,000

Interest after 3 years

3,331

-

Capital gain after 3 years

-

3,331

Indexed cost*

-

13,044

Taxable capital gain (13,331 - 13,044)

-

287

Tax to be paid:

As per income slab

20% after indexation

10% Slab

333.1

57.4

20% Slab

666.2

57.4

30% Slab

999.3

57.4

Overall Return (20% slab)

12,664.6

13273.6