
Mutual fund managers and advisors ask conservative debt investors to stick to 'safer' short-term debt funds like overnight funds, liquid funds, short duration funds, among others. That may explain why most mutual fund investors are unaware about the existence of medium to long duration debt mutual funds.
According to Sebi norms, medium to long term funds have a mandate to invest in debt and money market instruments in such a way that the Macaulay's duration of the portfolio is four to seven years. Since these schemes invest in long-term debt instruments, they are considered risky.