Hit by falling FD rates? Consider these funds with 3-year horizon

Hit by falling FD rates? Consider these funds with 3-year horizon

With the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cutting the repo rate by 100 basis points (bps) since the beg­in­ning of 2025, banks have low­ered their fixed deposit (FD) rates. Fixed-income investors may consider mutual fund (MF) alte­rna­tives such as equity savings funds (ESFs) and conservative hybrid funds (CHFs) to earn bet­ter returns with moderate risk. 

“These funds can be partial alternatives to fixed income instruments in a falling interest rate environment, but not full substitutes. As rates fall, bond prices rise, boosting returns, and the small equity exposure adds a kicker,” says Chintan Haria, 

principal – investment strategy, ICICI Prudential Asset