ICICI Prudential Equity & Debt Fund - Direct Plan

Suitability

When you invest for five years or more, you can expect gains that comfortably beat the inflation rate as well as returns from fixed income options. But be prepared for ups and downs in your investment value along the way.

Aggressive hybrid funds invest 65-80 per cent of your money in equity shares and the rest in bonds. Their returns are slightly lower than those of pure equity funds which invest all your money in shares, but they also fall relatively less when the stock markets decline. This makes them suitable for conservative equity investors or first-time equity investors who are not used to sharp ups and downs.

Like for all equity-linked investments, you must invest only through the SIP route. Click here to read a primer on SIP investing.

Warning: Do not invest in this, or any other aggressive hybrid fund, if you need to redeem your investment in less than five years.

Taxation

Capital Gains Taxation

• If the mutual fund units are sold after 1 year from the date of investment, gains upto Rs 1 lakh in a financial year are exempt from tax. Gains over Rs 1 lakh are taxed at the rate of 10%.
• If the mutual fund units are sold within 1 year from the date of investment, entire amount of gain is taxed at the rate of 15%.
• No tax is to be paid as long as you continue to hold the units.

Dividend Taxation

• Dividends are added to the income of the investors and taxed according to their respective tax slabs. Further, if an investor's dividend income exceeds Rs. 5,000 in a financial year, the fund house also deducts a TDS of 10% before distributing the dividend.