Franklin Templeton, one of India’s top 10 mutual fund houses, announced last week that it would be winding up six of its debt schemes. The move has resulted in about ₹30,000 crore of investor money being locked up.

The development sent shockwaves through the mutual funds industry, and this week, the RBI announced a ₹50,000-crore “liquidity window” specially for mutual funds, to help them tide over redemption pressures.

What exactly went down at Franklin Templeton? Will the investors in those debt funds ever get their money back? And what does this mean for the aam aadmi with money in other mutual funds — especially people who have invested in debt funds thinking they are “safer” like FDs? For many, mutual fund investments are not just investments, they are their savings. What does the future look like for people who are looking to redeem their mutual fund investments at this time of pandemic-induced emergency?

To answer these questions and more, we have with us Vivek Kaul, well-known business columnist, personal finance expert, and bestselling author of the Easy Money trilogy.

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