Money Market Mutual Funds
How do Money Market Mutual Funds
work?
Money market mutual funds (MMMF) are used to manage the short-run cash needs. It is
an open-ended scheme in the debt fund category which deals only in cash or cash
equivalents. These securities have an average maturity of one-year; that is why
these are termed as market instruments.
The
fund manager invests in high quality, liquid instruments like Treasury Bills
(T-Bills), Repurchase Agreements (Repos), Commercial Papers and Certificate of
Deposits. This fund aims to earn interest for the unitholders without leading
to a fall in funds’ Net Asset Value (NAV).
Money
market fund can be compared with savings account which comprises of cheque
facility, the facility to redeem without lock-in period and electronic money
transfer.
Types of Money Market Instruments
As
an investor, you should know the various money market instruments:
a. Certificate of Deposit (CD)
These
are time deposits like fixed deposits that are offered by scheduled commercial
banks. The only difference between FD and CD is that you cannot withdraw CD
before the expiry of the term.
b. Commercial Paper (CPs)
These
are issued by companies and other financial institutions which have a high
credit rating. Also known as promissory notes, commercial papers are unsecured
instruments which are issued at the discounted rate and redeemed at face value.
The difference is the return earned by the investor.
c. Treasury Bills (T-bills)
T-bills
are issued by the Government of India to raise money for a short-term of up to
365 days. These are the safest instruments as these are backed by a guarantee
of government. The rate of return, also known as risk-free rate, is low on
T-bills as compared to all other instruments.
d. Repurchase Agreements (Repos)
It
is an agreement under which RBI lends money to the commercial banks. It
involves sale and purchase of agreement at the same time.
Who should Invest in Money Market
Mutual Funds?
Money
market fund seeks to provide the highest degree of short-term income via
maintaining a well-diversified portfolio of money market instruments. Investors
having a short-term investment horizon of up to 1 year can invest in these funds.
Those
investors with surplus cash in savings bank account and low-risk appetite can
invest in money market funds. These funds will give you higher returns than the
savings bank account. The investors could include corporate as well as retail
investors.
However,
if you have a medium to long-term investment horizon, then money market fund
won’t be an ideal option. Instead, you may go for dynamic bond funds or
balanced funds which may give you relatively higher returns. Similarly, don’t
think of money market funds unless you have short-term surplus cash which you
don’t need urgently.
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