Suitability

"Credit risk funds invest mainly in bonds which are rated AA or below by credit rating agencies. The lower rating indicates a higher possibility of these bonds defaulting on repayment of investors' money. Therefore, these funds are the riskiest among debt fund categories. But they compensate for this additional risk with a higher return potential as these bonds offer better rates of interest than the highest rated bonds.

However, retail investors can avoid these funds altogether. There are far too many kinds of debt funds with a highly nuanced classification based on the type or duration of bonds they can invest in. We believe that so many fund categories add to complexity which is easily avoidable. Retail investors can simply invest in Liquid funds for an investment horizon of up to one year and Short Duration funds for the fixed income allocation (which should be 100 per cent for an investment horizon of up to three years) in their longer-term portfolios."

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