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An active strategy for fixed deposits
Bonds & Deposits
Aarati Krishnan

An active strategy for fixed deposits

It is the fashion for personal finance gurus and social media influencers to begin their talks by dissing FDs. FDs are dumb investments, they say, before urging you to migrate to equities, or exotic things like options trading or covered bonds.
But the humble fixed deposit can serve a very useful purpose in your portfolio by acting as a source of ready liquidity and acting as a bedrock for your safe money. Thatโ€™s why we have Prime Deposits, our list of FD recommendations. It is quite possible to generate positive real returns on your FDs through an active strategy. But can an active strategy really go with FDs? Of course! Hereโ€™s how you can do it.

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Are SDLs safe? And other questions
Bonds & Deposits
Aarati Krishnan

Are SDLs safe? And other questions

Whenever we recommend SDLs, our readers raise many queries like “Are SDLs safe?” and more about the difficulty of choosing them. In this FAQ, we try and address all of your niggling doubts about SDLs.

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NHIT NCD - Five reasons to skip the NCD
Bonds & Deposits
Aarati Krishnan

Should you invest in NHIT’s NCD offer?

With interest rates on fixed income options hitting rock-bottom in recent years, debt investors have been starved for reasonable yields. This is perhaps why the issue of Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) from National Highways Infra Trust (NHIT NCD), offering a yield which is a tad over 8%, is seeing such enthusiastic reception from investors, bond platforms and some advisors too.ย 

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short term money
Bonds & Deposits
Aarati Krishnan

Have short term money to park? Hereโ€™s a cast iron option

Lately, it is not just Indiaโ€™s stock market that has been hopping all over the place like an impatient child. The bond market has been doing it too! Indiaโ€™s 10-year government bond yield, which sets the benchmark for all other debt instruments, climbed vertically from 5.8% in July 2020 to 7.61% in June 2022. But after that, it has been unable to make up its mind on whether to climb higher or pause for breath.ย 

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How are deposits, bonds and debt funds taxed?
Taxes
Pavithra Jaivant

How are deposits, bonds and debt funds taxed?

Deposits, bonds and debt funds are great ways to diversify oneโ€™s portfolio. But the taxation on these instruments can decide whether an option is attractive or unattractive on a post-tax basis. Taxation, though varies across instruments and can be quite complex. The fact that not all debt instruments are taxed in the same way compounds the decision making dilemma on which option to choose. This write-up will break down the taxation aspect of popular debt instruments for resident individuals.

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Prime Review: TN Power Finance and Infrastructure Fixed Deposit
Bonds & Deposits
Aarati Krishnan

Prime Review: TN Power Finance and Infrastructure Fixed Deposit

When interest rates on bank deposits hit rock-bottom in the last few years, the fixed deposit (FD) programme from Tamil Nadu Power Finance and Infrastructure Corporation (TNPFIC) turned quite a hit. This NBFC owned by the Tamil Nadu Government offers high interest rates of 7-8% on FDs and has a friendly online interface, making it very popular with fixed income seekers and seniors. We have received a number of queries from many of you, about this deposit.ย ย 

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6 ways to identify deposit scams
Bonds & Deposits
Aarati Krishnan

6 ways to identify deposit scams

Some folks still have a fatal fascination for โ€˜better-than-FDโ€™ returns advertised by unregulated entities – whether it is cryptocurrency exchanges offering interest rates of 12-14% on staking oneโ€™s crypto holdings, or peer-to-peer lending platforms promising you a 14% return from becoming part of a lending club. Informal entities ranging from unregistered chit funds run to the street corner jeweller tempt you to โ€˜depositโ€™ money with them promising high returns.ย 

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Higher rates offer a window of opportunity for NRIs
Bonds & Deposits
Pavithra Jaivant

Higher rates offer a window of opportunity for NRIs

If you are an NRI, the chances are that you usually keep an eye out for places to park your surplus earnings in India that are safe, will protect you from exchange rate changes and fetch a respectable return. You probably already have NRE deposits and FCNR(B) deposits, the bank FD equivalents for NRIs. But did you know that there have been recent regulatory relaxations by RBI that give you a window of opportunity to lock into higher rates on these tried and tested savings tools? Here is a closer look.

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All your debt fund doubts, answered
Commentary
Vidya Bala

All your debt fund doubts, answered

It is true that debt funds have been a washout in the past 3 years. For an investment of 1-2 years, FDs would have marginally (although not significantly enough) returned higher than liquid and ultra short duration funds.

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Three use cases where g-secs score
Bonds & Deposits
Aarati Krishnan

Three use cases where g-secs score

As a part of PrimeInvestorโ€™s bond recommendations, weโ€™ve been highlighting attractive investment opportunities in government securities (g-secs) in recent months. We actively track primary auctions of government bonds on the RBI Retail Direct platform to give you these calls. (Read this article on how to buy G-Secs)

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SBI perpetual bonds
Bonds & Deposits
Aarati Krishnan

Private bond recommendation: SBI perpetual bonds series 2019-20

Market yields on government bonds have been rising quite sharply in recent months, with short-term yields rising to narrow the gap with long-term yields. However, for investors with surpluses to invest for 2-3 years, the options are still somewhat limited.ย 

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