gilts

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Rising geopolitical tensions in West Asia have pushed up crude oil prices, triggering a rise in bond yields. Higher oil prices and a weakening rupee are stoking inflation concerns, prompting investors to reassess their debt portfolios

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Gilt funds, also known as government securities funds, provide fixed-income investors with a high-quality portfolio and the opportunity for capital appreciation. These funds exclusively invest in bonds issued by the central and state governments, offering no credit risk.

Gilt funds, which delivered stellar returns last year, have slipped into the negative zone due to rising yields on government bonds and higher government borrowings.

Gilt funds investing in government securities with longer duration are increasingly gaining popularity among savvy investors, who are betting on this fixed income category to outperform stocks over the next six months if the Reserve Bank of India starts cutting rates early next year.

The RBI’s unwillingness to not let the rate of interest in the economy rise led to a Rs 962 crore devolvement on primary dealers in Friday’s gilt auction through which the government borrowed Rs 15,000 crore from the market.

If 2009 turned out to be a good year for diversified equity mutual funds (MFs), it was perhaps one of the worst for gilt funds, which offered the best returns to investors in a gloomy and uncertain 2008.

The recent market correction and buzz about interest rate cuts have brought gilt funds, which invest in government securities, and income funds back in the reckoning. Gilt and income funds have beaten benchmark equity indices in the three-month and six-month timeframe.

Compared to the Rs 30,000 crore that was on offer, gilts only worth about Rs 9,200 crore were offered and about Rs 7,550 crore, that’s about 25% of the total amount on offer, was accepted by the RBI for switch, the central bank’s data showed.

Gilt funds were the best performers across categories during the quarter ended June 2012.

After an initial rally, the benchmark 10-year gilt yield hardened on Friday as market players now expect the new government to come out with some data that the previous government may not have disclosed, which can have some negative implications for the bond market.

Nearly half of the 50-odd medium and long term gilt funds have slipped into the negative zone in the last six months, data shows.

Gilt funds, which invest primarily in government securities (G-Secs), delivered the highest returns among debt-oriented categories for the quarter ending December 31, gaining from the southern drift in interest rates, according to CRISIL Mutual Fund (MF) Ranking.