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    RBI easing helps top-rated bond funds buck credit crisis woes

    Synopsis

    India’s credit crisis has come with a silver lining for some of the country’s funds investing in top-rated corporate bonds.

    BondAgencies
    The Reserve Bank of India this year has delivered five back-to-back rate cuts.
    By Divya Patil

    India’s credit crisis has come with a silver lining for some of the country’s funds investing in top-rated corporate bonds.
    Returns have jumped after the central bank delivered a string of rate cuts in part to fight the crisis. The broader credit market woes have also helped indirectly by burnishing the appeal of higher-rated debt, even as lower-rated credits have struggled.

    CaptureBloomberg


    Improving Returns
    “The rate-easing cycle is on and liquidity is expected to stay surplus,” said Lakshmi Iyer, chief investment officer for fixed income at Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Co.

    Average returns have jumped to the highest in three years on funds holding company notes rated AA+ and above overseen by the top 10 asset management companies.

    The Reserve Bank of India this year has delivered five back-to-back rate cuts. The gains may extend as the RBI is expected to further ease policy amid continued weakness in the economy, fund managers say.

    The spread between three-year, top-rated company and sovereign debt narrowed 55 basis points so far this year, thanks to Asia’s most aggressive easing cycle. That compares with a widening of 35 basis points in the year-earlier period.

    The risk aversion generated by the collapse of the shadow lending giant IL&FS Group last year has seen assets of funds that invest mainly in AAA or AA rated debt jump to 740 billion rupees ($10.3 billion) in October from 610 billion rupees in April, data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India show.

    In comparison, the pool of money managed by funds holding higher risk debt securities has shrunk by about a fifth to 210 billion rupees during the period, the data show.




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    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the Economic Times ePaper Online.and Sensex Today.

    Top Trending Stocks: SBI Share Price, Axis Bank Share Price, HDFC Bank Share Price, Infosys Share Price, Wipro Share Price, NTPC Share Price

    ...more
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