Adani Enterp. 2445.05↓-47.10(-1.89%)
Adani Ports 736.60↑4.55(0.62%)
Apollo Hospitals 4967.30↑153.05(3.18%)
Asian Paints 3237.25↓-3.45(-0.11%)
Axis Bank 926.10↑6.40(0.70%)
B P C L 360.05↓-4.50(-1.23%)
Bajaj Auto 4669.10↑25.50(0.55%)
Bajaj Finance 7023.90↓-16.60(-0.24%)
Bajaj Finserv 1457.25↑7.10(0.49%)
Bharti Airtel 836.50↑8.55(1.03%)
Britannia Inds. 4654.15↑18.90(0.41%)
Cipla 965.85↑1.10(0.11%)
Coal India 230.90↑0.55(0.24%)
Divi's Lab. 3511.60↓-13.80(-0.39%)
Dr Reddy's Labs 4610.45↑58.40(1.28%)
Eicher Motors 3699.40↓-16.65(-0.45%)
Grasim Inds 1710.55↑8.10(0.48%)
H D F C 2645.90↓-0.80(-0.03%)
HCL Technologies 1137.05↓-4.85(-0.42%)
HDFC Bank 1606.50↑2.50(0.16%)
HDFC Life Insur. 576.40↓-5.80(-1.00%)
Hero Motocorp 2892.65↑92.25(3.29%)
Hind. Unilever 2716.70↑18.80(0.70%)
Hindalco Inds. 420.75↑14.40(3.54%)
ICICI Bank 938.15↑2.05(0.22%)
IndusInd Bank 1288.20↓-1.95(-0.15%)
Infosys 1299.00↓-20.50(-1.55%)
ITC 443.40↑3.70(0.84%)
JSW Steel 706.60↑12.75(1.84%)
Kotak Mah. Bank 1938.75↑8.70(0.45%)
Larsen & Toubro 2234.55↑26.75(1.21%)
M & M 1341.40↑22.50(1.71%)
Maruti Suzuki 9485.35↑157.05(1.68%)
Nestle India 22046.45↑172.15(0.79%)
NTPC 174.55↑0.15(0.09%)
O N G C 154.70↑1.05(0.68%)
Power Grid Corpn 234.60↑1.60(0.69%)
Reliance Industr 2455.20↓-8.05(-0.33%)
SBI Life Insuran 1202.50↓-5.25(-0.43%)
St Bk of India 587.20↑4.45(0.76%)
Sun Pharma.Inds. 999.60↑11.90(1.20%)
Tata Consumer 796.05↑2.40(0.30%)
Tata Motors 535.90↑0.70(0.13%)
Tata Steel 108.00↑2.05(1.93%)
TCS 3305.60↓-18.40(-0.55%)
Tech Mahindra 1123.10↑2.30(0.21%)
Titan Company 2861.65↑34.40(1.22%)
UltraTech Cem. 7850.65↑7.85(0.10%)
UPL 683.35↑5.40(0.80%)
Wipro 404.95↓-2.20(-0.54%)

Investors should make staggered investment in long-duration funds

Be, however, prepared for interim volatility and have a horizon of above five years

Sarbajeet K Sen

Premium

Check the portfolio’s credit quality and the scheme’s expense ratio before investing

4 min read Last Updated : Mar 16 2023 | 10:07 PM IST

Should one consider investing in a long-duration fund (LDFs) at this juncture? That is the question many retail investors have been asking themselves vis-a-vis LDFs, a category that has been in the limelight over the past three months with four fund houses — HDFC, SBI, UTI, and Axis — launching their schemes. A glance at the category’s average return over the past year, a meagre 4.5 per cent, doesn’t offer much encouragement.

Investment approach

LDFs are debt schemes which, according to the Securities and Exchange Board of India, must invest in bonds so that the Macaulay Duration of the portfolio remains above seven years. The regulator hasn't imposed any restrictions in terms of the credit quality of bonds. Most LDFs invest in government securities or in bonds having high credit ratings.