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A credit risk fund is a SEBI-categorised open-ended debt scheme that must invest a minimum of 65% of its net assets in corporate bonds rated AA and below (SEBI Circular SEBI/HO/IMD/DF3/CIR/P/2017/114, October 2017). This explicit credit quality floor distinguishes credit risk funds from other debt categories — they are designed to extract a "credit spread premium" by holding bonds that offer higher yields than AAA-rated or government paper, in exchange for accepting a meaningful probability of credit events including rating downgrades and defaults.
Credit risk funds are one of the higher-risk sub-categories within the SEBI debt classification. The 2018–2020 period (IL&FS, DHFL, Vodafone Idea, Franklin Templeton wind-down) demonstrated that credit events can cause sharp, sudden NAV losses that are not gradual like duration-driven losses.
What sits in the portfolio
The regulatory mandate is 65%+ in AA and below bonds; the remaining 35% is typically in AAA-rated corporate bonds or G-Secs for liquidity management. In practice, credit risk fund portfolios are characterised by:
- AA-rated corporate bonds: The most common holding — large, well-known corporates or PSUs rated AA by at least two SEBI-registered credit rating agencies. These carry a yield spread of 50–100 bps over equivalent-maturity AAA bonds.
- AA-minus and A-rated NCDs (Non-Convertible Debentures): Higher spread (100–250 bps over AAA), higher default risk. Fund managers with credit research capabilities concentrate here.
- Structured credit / securitised paper: Some funds hold securitised debt backed by loan pools (auto loans, mortgage pools); SEBI has progressively tightened the norms for these.
- Concentration risk: Unlike diversified gilt or short-duration funds, credit risk portfolios often have significant single-issuer exposure (SEBI caps single-issuer exposure at 10% of NAV for non-G-Sec issuers). Investors should examine the top-10 holdings in the monthly factsheet.
Risk profile
Credit risk funds carry all three primary debt risk dimensions at elevated levels:
- Credit risk is the primary risk: a rating downgrade (e.g., AA to A+) causes an immediate mark-down in the bond's price, reducing NAV. A default (as occurred with Reliance ADAG entities in 2019–2020) can result in the bond being valued at a fraction of face value, severely impacting NAV.
- Liquidity risk is particularly acute: lower-rated bonds do not trade in secondary markets during stress periods. Fund managers may be unable to sell paper at any reasonable price, and a redemption spike can force fire sales. The Franklin Templeton debt fund wind-down (April 2020) was principally caused by liquidity risk in credit portfolios during COVID stress.
- Duration risk is typically moderate: most credit risk funds target a medium Macaulay duration (2–4 years) to limit interest rate sensitivity while maximising credit yield.
Taxation (post-Finance Act 2023)
Finance Act 2023 Section 50AA eliminated the 36-month LTCG with indexation benefit for all debt funds, including credit risk funds. All gains are now taxed as STCG at the investor's income slab rate. The loss of indexation benefit significantly reduced the post-tax attractiveness of credit risk funds for investors in higher tax brackets — the primary historical advantage of credit risk funds over corporate FDs was tax efficiency, which has been substantially narrowed. No withholding tax (TDS) applies on growth option (capital gains) redemptions for resident individuals; TDS of 10% applies on IDCW distributions above ₹5,000 per year.
Worked example
HDFC Credit Risk Fund (AMFI scheme code: 118989 — illustrative; verify from amfiindia.com) maintained a portfolio of approximately 70% AA-rated and below bonds as at 31 March 2025, with a portfolio YTM of approximately 8.40% and a modified duration of approximately 2.8 years — reflecting a moderate duration position to capture the credit spread premium without excessive rate sensitivity. During the 2019–2020 credit stress cycle, the fund's NAV fell approximately 2–3% in specific months due to IL&FS-linked paper mark-downs, recovering over 12–18 months as provisions were written back. This illustrates the non-linear, event-driven nature of credit risk in this category.
See also
- Debt Fund
- Short Duration Fund
- Medium Duration Fund
- Total Expense Ratio (TER)
- Debt Funds in India — Complete Guide
Primary source
SEBI Circular SEBI/HO/IMD/DF3/CIR/P/2017/114 (6 October 2017): sebi.gov.in. Finance Act 2023, Section 50AA. AMFI scheme and factsheet data: amfiindia.com.
Past performance is not indicative of future returns. Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks. Read all scheme-related documents carefully. ARN-314872. APMI APRN-01658. Content is informational and not investment advice.