Gilt Short Term Funds Serve as Secured Investment Option in Short Span
Gilt funds are the funds which invest only in government securities and bonds, thus, Short-term Gilt Funds are the mutual funds which invest in government bonds and securities for a short period (say less than 3 years). The Short-term Gilt Funds have been introduced for the clients who want to invest in secure funds for a short period of time. You might get confused with Short-term Gilt Fund and debt fund. Both seem to have similar definitions. But, they are very different. On one hand, where debt fund invest in bonds and securities of government as well as corporate sector. The Gilt Short-term Fund on the other hand, invests only in government bond and securities. Thus, we can easily conclude that Short-term Gilt Fund is more secure than any other type of scheme.
It would be better to understand Short-term Gilt Fund with an appropriate example. Suppose, Mr. A is having surplus money. But, he fears investing it in the equity market and at the same time he wants the money back in 2 years for his son’s education. Now, Mr. A is in dilemma regarding where to invest the money. The solution to all his problems lies in one single scheme- Short-Term Gilt Fund. Let us take the problems of Mr A one by one.
- Short-term investment. This problem can easily be given through Short-Term Gilt Fund because main motive of the scheme is to invest for shorter period (less than 2 years). So, Mr. A can get the money back after two years.
- No equity-oriented investment. Mr. A doesn’t want to invest in the equity-oriented schemes. So, this problem is also solved by investing in Short-Term Gilt Fund. This scheme invests only in government bonds and securities. We all know there is no better security than government security. Hence, Mr. A can wave off his worries about insecurity.
More insights of Short Term Gilt Fund
Apart from the security and short-term view there are a few more advantages to Gilt Short-Term Fund. They are:
- Tax-benefit: If you redeem Short-Term Gilt Fund, before one year from the date of commencement of the fund, then you will have to pay the tax as per the tax-slab under which your income falls. But, if you keep it till maturity then you will have to pay 10-20% depending upon the indexation. Also you have to pay an exit load of 1% on Short-Term Gilt Fund, if you redeem it before one year from the date of commencement. No such amount is to be paid if the Short-Term Gilt Fund matures at the stipulated time.
- Investment strategy: The best time to invest in Short-Term Gilt Fund is when the inflation is on its peak. The reason behind it is that, during the time of inflation, RBI (Reserve Bank of India) doesn’t tend to rise the interest rate in order to increase liquidity in the market. Now you must be thinking how interest rates are linked to Short-Term Gilt Fund. There is an inverse relationship between interest rate and Gilt Short-Term Fund. Therefore, when the interest rate increases the value of the government securities tend to fall and vise-versa.
You can easily win over the fear of investment like Mr. A, through the expert advise of our financial analysts. Guiding you through each and every step of sip investment our financial experts team will help you touch the pinnacle of success. You can also calculate the return for your investment at SIP Calculator .
