Top 6 Best Gilt Funds To Invest In 2024

Want to invest during falling interest rates? Gilt Funds in India are an answer to this!

Gilt Mutual Funds provide good returns during times of falling interest rates depending upon its maturity (or duration). Investors Investing in these funds need to have enough time for tracking their investments since the NAVs of these funds move very sharply with movement in interest rates.

Gilts funds are often used by two kinds of investors. Firstly, those who primarily want little or no credit risk, since the securities are backed by the government of India (or the government of the country they belong to) hence they carry least possible credit risk.

How To Choose Best Gilt Debt Mutual Funds?

1. Duration And Average Maturity

When investing in gilt Debt fund, it becomes necessary to determine the average maturity and the duration of the fund. This can be obtained in the fact sheet of the fund, the average maturity relates to the average time taken for securities to mature. The higher the average maturity (or duration), the higher the sensitivity to interest rate movement. While a downward movement is positive to the NAV of the fund (and hence returns), and upward (or increase) movement of interest rates will impact the NAV negatively resulting in a loss.

Duration refers to the weighted average maturity of the securities in a Portfolio. It is a prime parameter used by analysts and others to determine the interest rate sensitivity of the mutual fund. If the funds are held for the time of duration of the portfolio and the fund manager does not do anything, then the investor will generate the yield on the portfolio, without being subjected to interest rate movements. Gilts funds are often used by two kinds of investors. Firstly, those who primarily want little or no credit risk, since the securities are backed by the government of India (or the government of the country they belong to), these investors invest for the yield and not for a view on interest rates. The other kind of investors who invest in Gilt Funds are the ones who take a view on interest rates, they would typically look at the maturity or duration of the portfolio and invest accordingly.

There are primarily three kinds of gilt funds that exist, short term, medium term and long term. Short term gilt funds have a low duration, typically less than a year. Long-term gilt funds can have a very high maturity period, at times going up to 10 to 15 years also. Long-term gilt funds are invested in for yield as well as playing the interest rate view by investors.

2. Interest Rate Risk

Gilt funds and interest rates are archrivals. There is an inverse relationship between Gilt debt funds and interest rates. An increase or decrease in the interest rate causes the NAV of the fund to fall or rise. This results in the fluctuation in the fund’s return. In fact, such extreme Volatility in returns of the gilt funds makes them the riskiest in the debt mutual category. The impact is so profound that it may drive the yields to negative in the short run. Therefore, one should consider investing in gilt funds when Inflation is near its peak and the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) is not likely to raise the interest rate immediately. This would ensure there no downward movement in the NAV and hence returns. Any fall in interest rates would add to the returns of the fund.

A newbie investor should avoid investing in gilt mutual funds without a robust strategy.

Moreover, there are some other quantitative parameters that investors need to analyse before selecting the best Gilt Funds:

• Look for a Gilt Fund that gives the most stable and consistent returns year-after-year. A fund having lesser volatility would be consistent. Volatility can be determined using the Beta and Standard Deviation (SD). Beta indicates how much fund’s return is sensitive to index movements. A beta of 1 signifies that the mutual fund NAV moves in line with the relevant benchmark, a beta of a greater than 1 designates that the NAV moves more than the relevant benchmark of the fund, and a beta of less than 1 means NAV moves less than the benchmark. Investors should decide before getting into a fund whether they want higher beta or low beta.Coming to SD, it is a statistical measure representing the volatility or risk of a fund. The higher the SD, higher will be the fluctuations in the returns. Ideally, investors look for funds with a lower standard deviation. However, if the investor is clear on the reason of investing and has reviewed the fund performance as well as portfolio & related parameters (yield, duration, maturity etc), this is something one can overlook.

• The expense ratio is also one of the parameters to check your fund returns. It is advisable to go for a fund with a lower expense ratio in the same category. This is because the returns are derived after deducting expense ratio from the fund’s Total Return. Thus, the lower the expense ratio, the better returns it can deliver.

One needs to be careful in the entry and exit of their investments accurately. More importantly, considering important parameters to shortlist or invest in the best Gilt funds can be an optimal way to strengthen your portfolio. We take you to some of those parameters, following the best Gilt funds or Best Performing Mutual Funds to Invest in 2024.

Best Gilt Funds To Invest In FY 24 - 25

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Conclusion

If you want to invest in gilt mutual funds, then you need to invest opportunistically. An essential thing about investing in the best Gilt Funds is to strategies well. Having a strategy would help you to avoid perilous situations. Investing in these funds demands an ability to take a view on what the RBI may do in its credit risk policy and a Call on interest rate movements.

FAQs

1. Who releases the gilt funds?

A: The gilt funds are in the form of securities released by the Reserve Bank of India. The RBI releases the g-sec or the securities, which are in the form of funds. These, when matured, are distributed amongst the investors in the form of payouts.

2. What are the returns that I can expect on the gilt funds?

A: Gilt funds are one of the safest investments, and you can expect good returns. However, the interest payable is dependent upon the Market conditions. You can expect returns of up to 12% on your investments.

3. Do gilt funds have an expense ratio?

A: Gilt funds behave like mutual funds, and hence, there is an expense ratio. In other words, there will be certain operational costs that the investor has to bear when it comes to gilt funds. The expense ratio will be a percentage of the total investment value. Your fund manager can tell you about the amount of money that will be considered expense ratio.

4. Is there a specific time limit for which I should hold my gilt funds?

A: Like any other mutual fund, it is a good idea to hold your investment in gilt funds for 3-5 years. This is adequate time for you to realize your investment.

5. Can I create wealth by investing in gilt funds?

A: You can invest in the gilt funds and generate wealth over a medium to moderate period. After that, you can divert your Earnings into other investments. Thus, gilt funds can be used to create wealth as these are known to generate wealth.

6. What financial goal can gilt funds help me achieve?

A: If you are looking to earn on your investments over a reasonable period and increase your wealth in the medium-term, it is good to invest in gilt funds. These funds do not need you to invest in the long-term, and you can realize your investments in 3-5 years.

7. Is a gilt fund taxable?

A: You will have to pay tax on long-term Capital gains if you sell the gilt funds before maturity. The Capital Gain from the fund is also taxable. If you stay invested in the fun for a short period, which is three years, then you will have to pay Taxes for short-term capital gains. If you stay invested in the gilt fund for the given amount of time, you will have to pay tax under long-term capital gains.