Comparison between mutual funds and fixed deposits is a long debate, especially when it comes to a comparison between fixed deposits and debt mutual funds. Even a few years ago, any conservative and risk averse investor would think investing in bank fixed deposits is better than mutual funds (debt or otherwise). Nevertheless, the market scenario has changed a lot in the recent years, and many a mutual funds family has come up with interest debt mutual fund schemes with guaranteed returns alongside capital appreciations.
This makes the comparison between debt mutual funds versus fixed deposits more complex, and even the most risk averse investor (count my father!) is led to think twice. That being said, whether you should invest in bank fixed deposits or debt mutual funds is no more a simple question as it used to be five-six years back, and needs a detailed examination and explanation. And, we at Mutual Funds Manager are here again to help you with a neutral comparison between fixed deposits and mutual funds. Aren't we great? :-)
So, mutual funds and fixed deposits, which is better?
While only you can finally decide whether mutual funds or fixed deposit where to invest — depending on your risk taking abilities, return expectations, and investment horizons — let us try to analyse some key factors one by one and chalk out a comparison between bank FD and mutual funds.
1. Return on investments vary for mutual funds, but not bank deposits
Needless to repeat, bank deposits offer you a fixed percentage of return, as would be agreed upon by the investor and the bank at the time of the investment. For example, if you put 50 thousand rupees in FD for 5 years and the agreed interest rate is 8% per annum, you will continue to enjoy the same interest rate throughout the tenure. On the other hand, debt mutual funds have no assured rate, and the return on investment for debt mutual funds depend completely on the market