Ritika started earning a few months ago, and the day she received his first paycheck, she was certain about investing for her major long-term goals: buying a house for her retired parents and taking a dream holiday to Europe. While working towards these goals, a few months later, Ritika realized that the unpredictability of life made it essential to build an emergency fund. She began exploring low-risk options where she could park his surplus funds and access them easily in case of an emergency.
Her parents recommended investing in fixed deposits (FDs), while friends suggested liquid funds as a more suitable option for short-term goals and easy withdrawals. This comparison between liquid funds and fixed deposits left Ritika wondering which path to choose.
If you're also evaluating liquid funds vs fixed deposits, you're in the right place. Read on as we dive into both options and explore the difference between FD and liquid fund, helping you make an informed choice for your financial planning.
Fixed Deposits and Liquid Funds: Understanding the Difference
To find a better and safer option between FDs and liquid funds, it is first important to understand their meaning and their features. Read on.
What Are Liquid Funds?
Simply put, liquid funds are a kind of mutual funds. Here are some of their key features:
In these debt funds, the investment is done in money market instruments, where there is an assurance of interest, typically through debt or fixed-income instruments
Liquid funds come with a time frame of 91 days to 3 months
Through this capital preservation, liquid funds offer safety
They are considered to be safer than most other mutual funds
Your fund manager invests the capital in fixed-income securities that come with high credit ratings. Thus, there is normally neither high gains nor losses
A few examples include commercial areas, government and corporate bonds and also treasury bills.
Just like mutual funds, the returns from liquid funds are taxable.
Who Should Choose Liquid Funds?
Liquid funds are considered to be a safe option, so if you are an investor looking for a place to park your surplus or may be idle cash, then you can surely consider liquid funds. The rate of interest offered by liquid fund is typically higher thab regular saving banks. So, if you have recently received a bonus or an incentive and want to put it away as an emergency fund, or an upcoming expenses, then liquid funds can be the right choice for you.
What are Fixed Deposits?
For most Indians, FDs are one of the most loved way to invest. They are safe, offer flexibility in terms of the tenure and provide an assured return. Considered to be an ideal way to park extra cash, FDs are an easy to understand financial instrument, and that’s a major reason of its popularity. Some of the main features include:
You open an FD account and deposit a lumpsum amount for a fixed period of time, at a fixed interest rate.
This tenure can range from 7 days to 10 years
At the end of the tenure, you will receive the principal along with the acquired interest
Almost all banks and NBFC offer FD accounts
The FD rates, generally between 5% to 7%, keep changing as they are determined by the repo rate, inflation etc
The rate of interest on an FD varies as per the tenure and the company
The interest earned on an FD is taxable. The TDS can range between 10% and 20%
Breaking the account in the middle of the term comes with a certain charge.
Which Should You Choose Fixed Deposits?
For most traditional or risk-averse investors, an FD is an ideal option. If you are someone who wants to set aside some money and earn some returns on it then you can choose an FD. Your returns will be fixed and you will not have any worry of market fluctuations affecting your investment. FDs are also a good option for an investor who is aggressively invested in other financial instruments. FDs can bring stability to your portfolio. Some FDs also work as a collateral in case you are looking for a loan.
Comparison of Liquid Funds and Fixed Deposits
The table below will help you in an easy FD vs liquid fund analysis. Take a look:
Details
| Liquid Funds
| Fixed Deposits
|
Returns
| Typically higher than FDs
| Lower returns
|
Ideal for
| Short as well as long term investors
| Long term investors
|
Investment Risk
| Medium risk as returns are market linked
| Low risk, no market investments made
|
Taxability
| Taxed as per your income slab.
When held for over 3 years: Taxed as LTCG @ 20% (after indexation)
| TDS is applicable when interest earned goes beyond a certain limit
|
Tenure
| 7 days to 91 days
| 7 days to 10 years
|
Conclusion
Here’s hoping that this discussion about liquid funds vs fixed deposit would have brought you some clarity. Both these financial products are considered to be a safe and low-risk option in the investment ecosystem. However, when it comes choosing one between them, it boils down to your needs and expectations as an investor. If you are someone who is okay with low to medium risk, then trying liquid funds can be a more recommended approach. However, if you are not at all interested in earning returns, but are looking for a secure way to park some surplus cash, then FDs are the right way forward.
Disclaimer: Investments in the securities market are subject to market risk, read all related documents carefully before investing. This content is for educational purposes only. Securities quoted are exemplary and not recommendatory.
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