Despite softening of 10-year G-secs, time not ripe for taking duration bets

Heres why investors should remain predominantly in shorter-maturity funds

The 10-year government bond yield has softened from its 52-week high of 8.23 per cent to 7.81 per cent currently. Due to this, the three-month returns of long-term gilt funds (1.75 per cent) and long-duration funds (1.73 per cent) are looking better than those of other debt fund categories. 

A number of factors have contributed to the softening of the 10-year G-Sec yield. “The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has resisted calls for interest rate hikes to defend the currency and has clarified that hikes will only be used for consumer price index (CPI) targeting. The CPI outlook remains benign for