Joydeep Sen News Today

Actively managed debt funds with the flexibility to go long on duration made a strong comeback on the returns chart in 2023, thanks to softening bond yields. The average one-year returns of floater, long-duration, gilt, and dynamic bond funds, which ranged between 2.3 per cent and 4.5 per cent at the end of 2022, now stand at over 7.2 per cent, with some schemes delivering over 8.5 per cent, according to data from Value Research. Debt fund returns are inversely related to yields of underlying in...

The value factor tends to outperform when the market is recovering from a bear market phase

Higher risk weights mean that banks and NBFCs will have to set aside more capital for every such loan they extend. The days of easy credit may well become a thing of the past.

Floating-rate mutual funds are back in demand after a year-long period of consistent outflows. In the past three months, investors have poured over Rs 6,100 crore into these debt schemes, indicating a reversal in fortunes for the category that recorded outflows for 11 consecutive months (May 2022 to March 2023), totalling Rs 32,250 crore. Floating-rate funds invest at least 65 per cent in floating-rate instruments, which have their interest rates linked to the Reserve Bank of India repo rate.

Though inflation is not expected to pick up materially, rate cuts may still take time. So this could be a good time to invest in debt funds

A rising credit quality index indicates that companies are more likely to service their loans on time. This means investors can expect attractive yields at lower risk. However, tread carefully when it comes to credit risk funds.

SEBI had first allowed the participation of mutual funds in repo in corporate debt securities in 2011. The fund houses were then allowed to participate in repo transactions only in AAA-rated corporate debt securities.

Though many experts see a rate cut by the RBI soon, dynamic bond fund managers have mixed views and are not going all out on long duration portfolio that stands to gain in a falling rate scenario.

In a big blow to mutual fund (MF) investors, capital gains from debt funds and certain other categories of non-equity MFs are set to be taxed at a higher rate.

Sequoia's Surge has launched its seventh cohort featuring 15 early stage startups from India and Southeast Asia.