What are Money Market Funds?

A money market fund (MMF) is a type of fixed income mutual fund that invests in debt securities. But, before we start with money market funds, it's important to understand what is a fixed income instrument? Well, as the name denotes, a fixed income instrument is something that generates a specified amount of income over a certain period. The investor is given a fixed claim on the assets held by the issuer, fixed income instruments are considered low-risk and low-yield investments. Essentially, fixed income instruments are nothing, but a way of borrowing funds (where the borrowing is done by the issuer).

Fixed Income Vs Stocks

For starters, fixed income gives economic rights to the holder, which includes the right to receive interest payments and the return of all or part of capital invested at a given date. In contrast, the shareholder (stock owner) receives dividends from the issuer, but the company is not bound by any law to pay dividends. Also, another important difference is that the fixed income holder is a creditor of the company that issues the security, while a shareholder is a partner, owning a part of the capital stock. Here it’s important to understand that if the company goes bust, the creditors (bondholders) have priority over shareholders (equity holders).

Types of Fixed Income Instruments

There are different fixed income instruments that fall under money market instruments, to name some of them:

Certificates of Deposits (CDs)

Time deposits like term deposits are commonly offered to consumers by banks (scheduled commercial banks) & all India financial institutions. The difference between this and a term deposit in a Bank is that CDs can’t be withdrawn.

Commercial Paper (CPs)

Commercial papers are usually known as promissory notes which are unsecured and are generally issued by companies and financial institutions, at a discounted rate from their face value. The fixed maturity for commercial papers is 1 to 270 days. The purposes for which they are issued are - for inventory financing, accounts receivables, and settling short-term liabilities or loans.

Treasury Bills (T-Bills)

Treasury bills were first issued by the Indian government in 1917. Treasury bills are short-term financial instruments that are issued by the Central Bank of the country. It is one of the safest money market instruments as it is void of market risks (since the risk is sovereign or in this case the Government of India), though the return on investments is not that huge. Treasury bills are circulated by the primary as well as the secondary markets. The maturity periods for treasury bills are respectively 3-month, 6-month, and 1-year.

There are lots of other fixed income instruments such as repurchase agreements (repos), asset-backed securities etc., that also exist in the Indian fixed income market, but the above are the more common ones.

Why to Invest in Money Market Mutual Funds?

• Securities in the money market are relatively low risk.
• Money market funds are considered to be the safe and secure of all Mutual Fund investments.
• Considering money market funds, it’s easy to invest in a money market account. Investing through Mutual Funds investors can open an account, make deposits and withdrawals virtually at their convenience.
• Money market funds are considered to be one of the least volatile types of all mutual fund investments.
• The performance of money market funds is closely tied to the interest rates set by the Reserve Bank of India, the Central Bank of India. So, when RBI raises rates in the market, yields increase, and money market funds are able to give good returns.

Money Market Instruments & Bonds: The Difference

Bonds have a maturity period of more than one year which differentiates it from other debt securities like commercial papers, treasury bills and other money market instruments which typically have a maturity period of less than one year.

What is Money Market?

Money market generally refers to a section of the financial market where financial instruments with smaller maturities (less than a year) and high liquidity are traded. India has a very active money market, where a host of instruments are traded. Here you have Mutual Fund companies, government banks and various other large domestic institutions participating. The money market has become a component of the financial market for buying and selling of securities of short-term duration, such as commercial papers and treasury bills.

Money Market Rates

The money market rates are the interest rates offered by short-term money market instruments. These instruments have a maturity ranging from 1 day to one year. The money market rates vary over many complex instruments such as treasury bills, call money, commercial paper (CP), certificates of deposits (CDs), repos, etc. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is largely the governing authority over the money markets.

An example of the money market rates of various instruments as given on the RBI site as of 28th Feb 2017 is below for reference.

Source: Money Market Operations, RBI Date: 27 Feb 2023

Mutual Fund Companies Offering Money Market Funds

As we have learnt about various types of instruments above, it’s equally important to know how an investor could invest in money market funds. There are 44 AMCs (Asset Managment Companies) in India, most of them offering money market funds (mainly Liquid Funds and ultra-short funds for investors). Investors can also invest via distributors like banks and brokers. Investing in money market funds requires one to follow the respective procedure and the relevant applications. The terms & conditions of debt mutual funds may vary, therefore, it’s important to get an overall knowledge and then choose the one that meets your needs. Moreover, before investing into any money market mutual funds carefully consider its investment objectives, risks, returns, and expenses.

Factors to Consider for Investing in MMFs

Here are some important aspects that you must consider before investing in money market funds in India:

a. Risks and Returns

Money Market Funds are debt funds and hence carry all the risks applicable to debt funds like interest rate risk and credit risk. Additionally, the fund manager might invest in instruments with a slightly higher risk component to increase returns. Usually, money market funds tend to offer better returns than a regular Savings Account. The Net Asset Value or NAV of these funds changes with a change in the interest rate regime.

b. Expense Ratio

Since the returns are not very high, the expense ratio plays an important role in determining your earnings from a money market fund. Expense Ratio is a small percentage of the total assets of the fund charged by the fund house towards fund management services. Ideally, you should look for funds with a lower expense ratio to maximize your returns.

c. Invest according to your Investment Plan

Usually, money market funds are recommended to investors with an investment horizon of 90-365 days. These schemes can help you diversify your Portfolio and help invest surplus cash while maintaining liquidity. Ensure that you invest according to your Investment plan.

d. Taxation

In the case of Money Market Funds, the taxation rules are as follows:

• Capital Gains Tax

If you hold the units of the scheme for a period of up to three years, then the Capital Gains earned by you are called short-term capital gains or STCG. STCG is added to your taxable income and taxed as per the applicable income tax slab. If you hold the units of the scheme for more than three years, then the capital gains earned by you are called long-term capital gains or LTCG. It is taxed at 20% with indexation benefits.

Best Money Market Funds to Invest in FY 26 - 27

Some of the best money market funds in India are as follows-

Conclusion

While we have learnt about money market instruments it's also important to know about debt mutual funds, their types, and classifications. Well, debt mutual funds are classified into general broad categories such as Liquid Funds, Ultra short term funds, Short Term Funds, Long Term Income Funds and Gilt Funds.

However, to invest in money market funds, it’s very important to understand the situation of the economy, the direction of interest rates, and the expected direction of movement of yields in corporate debt as well as government debt when investing.