Which bond platforms are offering investors

you can invest in bond Also through the trading account with your broker. However, the variety of bonds and the range of information may not be so wide.

The USP of these fixed income platforms lies in their broad portfolio of bonds and other products, easy-to-understand display of relevant details such as expected payments, credit ratings and issuer information, and ease of signing up (at least for some). The one we checked) to browse what’s available. That said, it is worth considering other aspects as well before you start investing. But, first there is a brass deal.

brass tacks

All of these platforms offer a wide range of corporate bonds, including tax-free and perpetual bonds, with a wide range of credit ratings and maturity profiles, as well as cumulative or periodic payment options. Some of the platforms mentioned here like Bondkart and BondIndia keep an inventory of bonds, while Plutus is a marketplace that brings together buyers and sellers of bonds.

For each bond, you can view the current market price, coupon rate, return to maturity (ie your return on the bond held until maturity), maturity date and expected cash flow.

Some of these platforms also offer fixed deposits, commercial paper and other products.

Before initiating the transaction, you will be required to complete Know Your Customer (KYC) formalities by providing your basic personal details along with supporting documents. The process can be completed online. To use Axis Yield, you must have an Axis Direct account. When you buy or sell bonds on these platforms, the transaction is reflected in your demat account (in case of yield, it will be reflected in your Axis Direct account) linked to the platform.

Although these platforms do not charge any transaction fee, some of them have a fixed minimum investment limit per transaction. For example, you would have to place a minimum order of 2 lakh more for transacting on Bondkart and Axis Yield 10,000 on Vint Wealth. There is no such limit on other platforms except that you must buy at least one bond (and not a fraction) of any issuer. Platforms with an inventory model buy bonds in bulk lots and make them available to retail investors at a spread.

error on the side of caution

To play this safely, it’s worth checking whether your chosen platform or the organization that supports it is covered by a regulator. For example, Bondkart and Altify, which are related platforms of JM Financial Products and Northern Arc Capital, are both NBFCs. All NBFCs are regulated by the Reserve Bank of India.

Similarly, BondsIndia has been launched by Launchpad Fintech, a SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) registered wholesale debt market broker.

Vint Wealth, says its co-founder Anshul Gupta, is incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013, and hence comes directly under the purview of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Cred Avenue’s Plutus is a marketplace that does not come under the purview of any regulator.

When it comes to choosing bonds, you can limit yourself to AAA-rated bonds if you want to reduce the risk of potential default by the bond issuer. Many platforms also offer lower-rated papers with higher yields for those at higher risk. Ajay Mangaluniya, MD and Head, Institutional Fixed Income, JM Financial says, “The in-house fixed income team applies multiple criteria for evaluating credit quality and liquidity to ensure that retail investors only get the best quality bonds. be offered.” According to Ashish Mehrotra, MD & CEO, Northern Arc, bonds are offered to investors only subject to strict due diligence procedures.

Investors should note that while buying bonds on these platforms is convenient, it may not always be possible to sell these bonds before maturity.

Investors should be prepared to hold their bonds until maturity, unless they have AAA-rated bonds with sufficient liquidity. In fact, both AltiFi and Wealth Win only allow you to buy and sell bonds.

According to Bondskart, however, since it contains an inventory of bonds, any buy and sell orders can be easily executed. Similarly, according to BondsIndia, when investors want to sell their bonds, it arranges for buyers or buys these bonds itself.