Liquid Mutual Funds v/s Bank FDs

*Liquid Mutual Funds v/s Bank FDs*

Liquid funds are open end schemes that invest in securities with maturities of upto 91 days; this could include treasury bills, money market instruments and very short term corporate paper. *They allow investors to park their funds for a few days or months, avail of anytime liquidity, and earn returns for the holding period.* Because they earn returns from market instruments, liquid fund returns can rise or fall depending on market rates. For very short debt, market interest rates depend on the liquidity situation.

*Liquid funds offer superior liquidity compared to bank FDs. Bank FDs would penalize you for pre-mature withdrawal.*

*Liquid fund returns in the last three years have been quite impressive with the category averaging 8.9 per cent on an annualized basis. But going forward market liquidity could decide rates.*

*After recent dividend distribution tax changes, it makes sense to go in for the growth option in liquid funds if you are in the 10 and 20 per cent tax slabs. Go for Daily Dividend Reinvest option if you fall in 30% tax slab.*