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What is liquid scheme &benefits of STP/SLOP - How it works?

stock market
06 Feb 20206 mins readBy MOFSL

A liquid fund is a debt fund at the shortest end of the time spectrum. A liquid fund typically invests in debt instruments with a residual maturity of less than 90 days. That means; the money is allocated to call money lending, commercial paper, certificates of deposits, treasury bills, government bonds with residual maturity less than 90 days etc. Liquid funds are taxed like debt funds but the returns can be slightly higher than what you can earn on a savings bank account. Being invested in very liquid assets, you can monetize these liquid funds on the same day. In addition, these liquid funds can be structured as a systematic withdrawal plan such that it is a lot more tax efficient since you are only taxed on the capital gains made but your withdrawal also includes the principal component which is not taxed. But that is not the only reason to use liquid funds. The other big purpose is to convert the lump sums funds into an SIP investment. This is done via liquid funds by using a technique called the systematic transfer plan (STP).

 

How do STPs and liquid funds work together?

We all know the merits of systematic investment plans (SIP). Since you invest small bits each month, you not only get into the discipline of savings but also are able to sync your outflows with your income. In addition, by using the SIP route, you get the benefit of rupee cost averaging (RCA). Since you are allocating a fixed sum each month, you get more value when the markets are up and more units when the markets are down. Effectively, over a longer period of time, you have a fund where the average cost is lower and therefore the ROI is higher. But how do you apply this principle when you earn a lump sum as a bonus. You still want to invest smartly with the benefit of rupee cost averaging. You can opt for STP.

 

Here is how the STP works. You invest the entire corpus in a liquid fund and then sweep a fixed sum out of the liquid funds into an equity funds. You virtually hit two birds with one stone. On the one hand, your idle money earns nearly 2% more than a bank savings account in a liquid fund and the withdrawal is smooth due to no exit loads and due to tax efficiency. This money is invested as a SIP into an equity fund so the benefit of long term wealth creation and rupee cost averaging is available to you.

 

Using a combination of lump sum and STP in practice
A lump-sum can also give you the benefit of SIP. Here is how it works. Say, you just received a bonus of Rs.5 lakhs and you want to invest the money in an equity funds. But you are not sure of the bottom of the market and you expect the market to be volatile in the coming months. How about spreading your lump sum of Rs.5 lakhs and converting that into an STP of Rs.25,000 for the next 20 months. Let us also assume that the equity funds will generate a return of 15% while the liquid fund pays you 6%. For simplicity we ignore taxes. Here is how the STP will look like.

 

Month

Balance in UST Fund

Return at 0.5% p.m. on UST

Equity Fund SIP Corpus

Equity Fund Returns 1.25% pm

Jan 2017

475,000

2,375

25,000

313

Feb 2017

450,000

2,250

50,000

625

Mar 2017

425,000

2,125

75,000

938

Apr 2017

400,000

2,000

100,000

1250

May 2017

375,000

1,875

125,000

1563

Jun 2017

350,000

1,750

150,000

1875

Jul 2017

325,000

1,625

175,000

2188

Aug 2017

300,000

1,500

200,000

2500

Sep 2017

275,000

1,375

225,000

2813

Oct 2017

250,000

1,250

250,000

3125

Nov 2017

225,000

1,125

275,000

3438

Dec 2017

200,000

1,000

300,000

3750

Jan 2018

175,000

875

325,000

4063

Feb 2018

150,000

750

350,000

4375

Mar 2018

125,000

625

375,000

4688

Apr 2018

100,000

500

400,000

5000

May 2018

75,000

375

425,000

5313

Jun 2018

50,000

250

450,000

5625

Jul 2018

25,000

125

475,000

5938

Aug 2018

0

0

500,000 (X)

6250

Total

 

23,750 (Y)

 

65,630 (Z)

Value at the end of 20 months = X + Y + Z

Rs.589,380

 

 

Had you done a pure SIP, your corpus would have been worth Rs.5.71 lakh at the end of 20 months. Instead, the STP gives you the benefit of an SIP as well as the idle corpus is better used in a liquid fund instead of savings bank account. The STP has enabled you to grow your corpus of Rs.5 lakh into Rs.5.89 lakh at the end of 20 months. That is the added advantage that STP offers to you.

 

The big challenge when you get lump sum payments is to time the market. Nobody has done it precisely; and nobody perhaps will be able to do. The next time you get a lump-sum, don’t fret about it. You can convert this lump-sum into an SIP by using the STP route. Effectively, you hit two birds with one stone!

Disclaimer: The stocks, companies, or financial instruments mentioned in this blog are for informational purposes only and should not be considered as investment recommendations. It is advised to consult with your financial advisor before making any investment decisions. Investment in securities markets are subject to market risks, read all the related documents carefully before investing. Investors are strongly encouraged to carefully read the risk disclosure documents prior to participating in market-related investments or trading activities. Due to the volatile nature of financial markets, no guarantees can be made regarding investment returns. Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. does not offer any assured returns on market-linked securities. Please note that past performance of stocks or indices is not indicative of future results.
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