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Gilt funds are not recommended to regular debt investors because they are risky and volatile. Gilt funds suffer the most when the rates go up. The bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. When the rates go up, bond prices come down. This drag down the NAVs of schemes.
Mutual fund advisors say banking & PSU debt schemes are ‘relatively safe because these schemes invest only in bonds and papers of banks and public sector companies. Since most of these entities are government-backed, they dont have the credit risk.
These schemes invest at least 80% of their corpus in the papers of the highest-rated companies. This makes them relatively safer than other debt schemes such as credit risk funds. They are also safer than gilt funds and long term debt funds that are highly sensitive to interest rate changes in the economy.
Flexi cap mutual funds offer the fund managers the freedom to invest across market capitalisations and sectors/themes. It means the fund managers can invest anywhere based on his outlook on the market. Flexi cap schemes are typically recommended to moderate investors to create wealth over a long period of time. Ideally, one should invest in these schemes with an investment horizon of five to seven years.
Tax saving mutual funds or ELSSs invest in stocks. Therefore, they have a very high risk. You should be aware of this aspect, especially if you are a first-time investor in equity mutual funds. Compared to your usual investments like Public Provident Fund or National Savings Certificate, etc, ELSSs do not offer guaranteed returns. You may even suffer losses in a bad market.