IndiaBonds: Should you buy bonds on this platform?

With interest rates on the rise over the last few months, bond investments have gained currency among investors. Additionally, with debt mutual funds losing indexation benefit edge, direct bond investments are back on the radar for investors in the higher income tax slabs.

The online bond marketplace world has witnessed a boom, with investing in bonds today becoming as easy as dropping them into your shopping cart and paying at the checkout. We review online bond platform provider (OBPP) IndiaBonds.

Who is IndiaBonds

The OBPP (NSE Member ID — Debt Segment: 90316 | BSE Member ID Debt Segment: 6811) is backed by India Bond Private Limited. The platform aims to provide access to investors in the fixed-income market in a low-cost, transparent, and easy-to-use manner.

The company is led by fixed income industry veterans Vishal Goenka (ex-MD at Deutsche Bank Singapore) and Aditi Mittal (also a Director of bond house, AK Capital).

India Bonds was launched in 2021. It launched a comprehensive Bond Directory for the general public to have detailed information on all INR-denominated bonds outstanding in India. This bond directory covers 25,000+ bonds and one can search a bond by ISIN or issuer name.

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Bank deposits or bond funds?

For instance, if you search with “XYZ company”, it will list the bonds issued by the issuer alongwith coupon, maturity date, rating and yield (available on request). You can click on your specific bond choice and read more about it

In 2022, it unveiled ‘Bond Yield Calculator’, which aids investors by simplifying the complexities of calculating corporate bond prices and yield.

This provides one click cashflow access to numerous bonds, share and downloading of yield movements along with settlement amounts.

What it does

IndiaBonds is only a facilitator of bond investments and not the issuer of the bonds. To begin investing, one has to complete KYC online. Paperless KYC on India Bonds can be done with PAN, Aadhaar, Bank account details and demat account details.

It is mandatory to have a demat account to buy bonds. Either you can use your existing demat account, and if you don’t have a demat account, then India Bonds will assist you to open one in a few simple steps.

The platform’s offerings include bond trading, public issues, G-Sec/SDL, Sovereign Gold Bonds, Capital Gain 54EC bonds, and Debt PMS (powered by A.K.Wealth Management). Every bond has a specific page with a lot of details, product notes, and information memorandum.

India Bonds also offers curated packs for bonds such as high yielding bonds (31 bonds), state guaranteed bonds (13 bonds), bank bonds (5 bonds), PSU bonds (18 bonds), G-Sec/SDL bonds (21 bonds), Tax free bonds (4 bonds), Structured bonds (3 bonds), Monthly income bonds (6 bonds).

To buy a bond, one has to go through 3-step process: login/sign up, complete KYC and make online payment (directly to Clearing Corporation).

If you have any concerns, complaints or grievances about the terms or other users or their manner of use of the platform, please feel free to contact the Grievance Officer any time on grievance@indiabonds.com

IndiaBonds does not charge anything from bond investors at this point in time.

Bond holders can sell their holdings here on IndiaBonds.com. Existing holders can apply to sell their bonds online via the request for quote (RFQ) feature available on the homepage and bond details page.

Our take

• One good thing about online bond platform providers is the SEBI norms that are in place for regulation. Investors can look towards more checks and balances in the form of transparency in operations and disclosures.
• IndiaBonds’ user-friendly interface and providing relevant bond information are good. Investors wanting to transact on the platform have to do their own research and homework.
• Consult professional financial and wealth advisors before investing in bond securities on your own if you are new to this space.
• For newbies, direct bond investing is no cake walk. Remember that if you chase higher returns, you may have to go lower down the rating spectrum and higher risks. Complications are involved when you are dealing with unsecured bonds, perpetual maturity bonds, etc.

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