The global financial ecosystem in 2024 was riddled with turbulence, yet the fixed-income landscape, particularly in India, emerged as a beacon of stability. With markets reeling from geopolitical unrest and economic volatility, Indian bonds delivered calm, steady returns. By the end of September 2024, the Indian bond market had grown to an impressive $2.69 trillion […]

RFQ stands for Request for Quote, a platform that allows investors to buy and sell bonds by requesting quotes from multiple dealers and choosing the best one. Consider this: You’re in a busy marketplace filled with sellers offering nearly identical goods or services. Instead of haggling with each seller, you ask a select few for […]

Introduction   In our previous blog, the impact of inflation on bond investments, we discussed how inflation can significantly erode the real value of bond investments. Imagine earning 8% interest on a bond, but with inflation running at 4%, your actual gain in purchasing power is only 4%. As a response to this issue, Inflation-Indexed […]

Introduction Here’s a fun fact: In 1970, a cup of coffee in India cost about 50 paise. Today, the same cup would cost you anywhere between ₹20 to ₹50, depending on where you buy it. That’s over a 4000% increase in price! Now, I know there’s nothing fun about this fact, but what’s undeniable is […]

Introduction The Great Indian Financial Market is colossal and serves as the backbone of the nation’s growth and development. While many are familiar with capital markets, which are one of its segments, there is another well-functioning arm of the financial market that operates in the background: the money market. Though not widely recognized by retail, […]

Introduction Financial engineering has become a powerful mechanism in structured finance, to bridge liquidity gaps, restructure risk, and create marketable securities from previously illiquid assets. While the intent behind financial innovations was to create value, they’ve also been at the center of significant misuse, particularly during the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2008. The global […]

Introduction Imagine you’ve just bought a 10-year government bond, expecting steady returns. A few months later, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announces an interest rate hike. Suddenly, the value of your bond starts dropping. You begin to wonder: how can a central bank’s decision influence the value of your bond? This question highlights the […]

Introduction If you’ve ever skimmed through a bond’s term sheet, you may have encountered something like this: “Unsecured, Rated, Listed, Government Guaranteed, Redeemable, Taxable Non-Convertible Debentures in the nature of Bonds to be issued in the form of Separately Transferable Redeemable Principal Parts (STRPP)”. While this might seem like dense financial jargon, it’s essential to […]

Introduction In a landmark development for India’s debt market, on June 28, 2024, JP Morgan added 29 Indian government securities under the FAR program to its highly regarded Emerging Market Bond Index (EMBI). This development is expected to enhance foreign investor participation and attract substantial inflows into the Indian bond market. The decision marks India’s […]