Why SIP in Debt
Funds Is Better Than Starting Recurring Deposits…..???
Let us
start with basics. This article will mostly revolve around three things i.e,
SIP, Debt Mutual Funds, and Bank Recurring Deposits.
And
this why it is imperative for us to get an understanding of them.
When it comes to systematic investment planning in mutual funds
of any kind many of us have a basic idea about its way of operation,
advantages, and disadvantages associated with it. But still, some get confused
as to what exactly it is and how it works.
Systematic
Investment Plan (SIP)
So a systematic investment planning allows you as an investor to
invest a fixed amount regularly in mutual fund schemes which are mostly related
to equity mutual funds.
Now what it does to you is it helps you in different ways which
we will soon discuss and compare with the benefits associated with the bank
recurring deposits.
Recurring
Deposits (RD)
Recurring deposits are term deposits where people with a regular
income can deposit a fixed amount every month for a particular period of time
and on maturity get the principal plus the interest.
Although both of them seem similar, there are a lot of
differences between the two which we will unfold later.
Debt
Mutual Funds
The third item in our list is the debt mutual funds.
The sole purpose of this article is to talk about the reasons
why an SIP in debt funds are better than bank recurring deposit and to do this
we need to understand what exactly debt mutual funds are.
Debt mutual funds are mutual funds that invest mainly in a
combination of debt or fixed income securities such as, Government Securities,
Treasury Bills, Money Market instruments, Corporate Bonds and other debt
securities of different time periods as per the convenience of the investor.
SIP
in Debt Funds Over Bank Recurring Deposits
#1: Returns
SIP in debt funds can provide an investor with a return of
around 7-8% on an average.
Whereas a bank recurring deposit would provide a return of 4-5%
to the investor.
Considering that the risk factor of both the type of investment
is similar, a higher return provided by debt funds is more preferable than the
investment in bank recurring deposits.
#2: Customization
Although most SIPs require investing a fixed amount every
month, the additional feature that comes with SIP’s is that one can
customize it according to their requirements.
You can easily start SIP for additional amounts or cancel an
existing SIP and start a new SIP with a newer amount.
This is not possible in case of recurring deposits where only a
fixed amount is invested every month and the interest is paid along with the
principal at maturity.
Also if any of the installment is delayed, there will be a
reduction in the interest payable in the account and that will not be enough or
sufficient to reach the maturity value.
Therefore, there will be a penalty and the difference in interest
from the maturity value will be deducted. The rate of penalty is fixed.
So if you are looking for customization, SIP in debt funds are a
better option than bank recurring deposits.
#3: Rupee Cost Averaging
Another feature of the SIPs is that they help the investors to
average their purchase cost and maximize returns accordingly.
When the investors invest regularly over a period of time
irrespective of the conditions the market is in, what happens is they get more
units when the market conditions are not good and less units when the market is
booming.
In the process what happens is that the purchase cost of your
mutual fund units is averaged out.
#4: Liquidity
SIP in debt funds will provide you with the option of more
liquidity as compared to bank recurring deposits.
As discussed earlier recurring deposit is liquid but premature
withdrawal would incur a penalty with a fixed rate.
Money can be withdrawn from SIP in debt funds without incurring
a penalty on it and the SIP can be closed.
In terms of liquidity, a SIP in debt funds is a better option
when compared to RD.
#5: Lower Taxes
Up to 3 years, the taxation on debt funds and RD is similar.
However, after 3 years from investment, the tax on debt funds is
significantly lower than the tax on RD.
After 3 years from investment, the tax on debt funds is 10%
without indexation plus 3% cess.
At the same time, RD keep attracting the same rate as before 3
years from investment – which depends on your income tax bracket.
#6: Section 80C Deduction
Another important feature of investing in SIP in debt funds are
that capital gains from the investment can be exempted from tax if the debt
fund in which the money is invested in is an ELSS (Equity Linked Saving Scheme)
fund.
Although there is a lock in period of 3 years in this case.
Whereas recurring deposit amount or the interest earned from it
are not exempted from tax. This is another advantage of investing in SIP in
debt funds over bank recurring deposit.
#7: Compounding
Another benefit of SIP in debt funds is also known as the eighth
wonder of the world that is the power of compounding.
Investing over a long period in a SIP can make the investor earn
returns on the returns earned by the investment and before they realize the
invested money starts compounding.
This enables the investors to build a large corpus that will be
sufficient to achieve their long-term financial goals with small but regular
investments.
Although interest is also
compounded on the quarterly basis in the recurring deposit, it cannot be matched with SIP in
debt funds simply because the returns offered by debt funds are much higher –
so over time, the difference in returns is greater too.
Understanding
Debt Funds in Greater Detail
In general, debt securities come with a fixed maturity date
& pay a fixed rate of interest. Credit ratings are also assigned to debt
securities.
These credit ratings help the investors to understand the
ability of the issuer of the securities or bonds to repay their debt, over a
certain time horizon.
There are different rating organizations such as CRISIL, CARE,
FITCH, Brickwork, and ICRA that are responsible for issuing the rating to the
securities.
Fund houses use the ratings to evaluate the ability of the
issuer of the security to repay their debts or the creditworthiness of issuers
of debt securities.
So a simpler way to understand debt funds will be to consider
them as a way of passing through the interest income that they receive from the
bonds they invest in.
But that is not as simple as it looks and there are still some
complexities involved it.
Debt Mutual Funds, unlike the FDs that individuals invest in,
makes investments in bonds or securities that are tradable, just like shares in
stock markets are tradable.
And similarly to stock markets, the prices of different bonds on
the debt markets can rise or fall according to the market conditions prevailing
at the time.
Read: 10 Debt
Funds That Gave Better Returns Than FD
And according to the market conditions the mutual fund house can
decide to buy a bond or sell it and if its price subsequently rises, then they
can make money over and above what the fund house or the investor could have
made out of the interest income.
This, in turn, will result in higher return for investors. But a
question would have popped into your mind as to why would bond prices rise or
fall?
What makes them volatile just like the share prices of the
company?
So there can be a lot of reasons behind it. But the most
important one is change in interest rates.
Not even the actual change but the expectation of such a change
could result in rising or falling in bonds or security prices in the debt
market.
Let us suppose that there is a bond that currently pays out
interest at a rate of 9% per annum.
Now due to changing market conditions, the interest rates of the
economy falls and newer bonds that are issued pay out interest at 8%.
This makes the first bond worth more than earlier as the given
amount of money invested in it can earn more money due to higher interest
payment and subsequently its price would now rise.
Mutual fund houses that keep holding this bond would find their
holdings worth more and this would enable them to make additional profits by
selling this bond.
Conclusion
Having seen all the advantages that investment in SIP has over
bank recurring deposits it becomes clear on what to choose when you are
confused on what to invest in do make sure to do a thorough analysis before
investing in any scheme.
Happy investing!
Disclaimer: the views expressed
here are of the author and do not reflect those of
IMPERIAL FINSOL