HDFC Ultra Short Term Fund - Regular Plan

Suitability:

Ultra Short Duration debt funds invest in bonds maturing in three to six months. They aim to earn slightly better returns than what you can get from a bank account or a short duration fixed deposit. The risk of incurring a loss in these funds over the said timeframe is low but they do not guarantee returns or safety of capital.

Such funds are usually more suited to institutional investors. Retail investors can avoid these funds altogether. Here's why. Debt funds are very finely classified depending upon the maturity of the bonds they invest in. For instance, there's a different category of funds that invests in bonds of up to three months maturity, from the one that invests in bonds maturing in three to six months, and so on. We believe that such a nuanced classification adds little value to retail investors. They can avoid this complexity and simply invest the money they don't need for up to a year in a Liquid fund.

If you do decide to invest in them, remember that these funds usually deliver low returns which are only marginally higher than your bank account. They are not suitable if your aim is to build wealth in the long run.

Taxability of earnings:

Capital gains

• If the mutual fund units are sold after 3 years from the date of investment, gains are taxed at the rate of 20% after providing the benefit of inflation indexation.
• If the mutual fund units are sold within 3 years from the date of investment, entire amount of gain is added to the investors' income and taxed according to the applicable slab rate.
• No tax is to be paid as long as you continue to hold the units.

Dividends

• 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.