If you have put your money in mutual funds, you can use your investment as collateral to unlock quick capital in emergencies. Did you know that?
Life is unpredictable and full of uncertainties. Who knows what is coming next? There are times when you experience a temporary money crunch. The reasons that may raise the need for urgent cash could be a home renovation, a wedding in the family, a medical emergency, or anything. Irrespective of whatever it might be, the first idea in mind is to liquidate your investments even at a loss. The other, or rather a better plan of action, is to approach a bank or NBFC like Abhi Loans to apply for a loan against mutual funds.
Yes, you can use your MF units as collateral to get a loan and deal with such cash-strapped situations. Just as you can pledge your other assets, such as gold or property, for a loan, you can get a loan against your Mutual Funds holdings from a financing institution, such as Abhi Loans.
You can get a loan only up to a limit of your MF holdings
The loan amount against your mutual fund holding depends on the type of MF scheme you have invested in and the lender from which you take the loan.
Different financial institutions have different loan limits. For example, HDFC and ICICI offer a loan of up to 50% of the Net Asset Value (NAV) of equity mutual funds and up to 80% of the debt mutual funds. On the other hand, Abhi Loans, a leading NBFC, provides 65% of the value of equity mutual funds and 75% of the value of debt mutual funds.
Not all bank offer loan against mutual funds
Many banks are selective about the mutual fund schemes against which they offer loans. They lend money only against a set of selected schemes. SBI, for example, approves loans only against schemes of SBI mutual fund. In the case of HDFC and ICICI, they lend money against the mutual fund schemes managed by asset management companies registered with Computer Age Management Solutions Private Limited (CAMS).
There is an upper limit on the loan amount
Like unsecured loan types, the loan against mutual funds, loan against stocks, and loan against securities have an upper limit. That means banks have a maximum and minimum limit on the amount they lend. If you approach a bank instead of an NBFC, the maximum loan limit will be relatively low as the latter generally offer more flexible and higher amounts for the loan against securities. At Abhi Loans, a pioneer lending institution, you can borrow up to Rs. 1,00,00,000 on your equity and debt MF holdings.
Less costly than personal loans and credit card loans
While the interest rates of a loan against mutual funds are lower than credit card loans or personal loans, borrowers do not have to pay much processing fee. That is because it is a secured loan backed by collateral. Generally, the interest rate for a loan against securities could be between 13% and 16% per annum, depending on the EMI plan taken and the lender chosen.
MF units stay invested even while you pledge them
Even when pledged, your MF units stay linked to the market and continue to earn you dividends and returns. However, if you default to pay back the loan, the lender has the right to sell them. The fact of the matter is that your financial plans remain unobstructed, as you won’t need to redeem your units.
The facility of online application
Banks and NBFCs, including Abhi Loans, give borrowers the facility to avail of a loan against securities digitally, thanks to technology. Everything, from submitting the documents to marking the lien, is possible online. And if you borrow money from Abhi Loans, it would take just 4 hours to get the amount disbursed.
