Services · Market Linked Debentures
Returns, written
as a formula.
A market linked debenture is a debt instrument with a twist: its return is tied to an underlying asset class, an index, a stock, a commodity, and follows a formula agreed on day one. Fixed-income structure, market-linked payoff.
The idea
A debenture on the outside. An asset class on the inside.
You hold a debenture, but its return does not come from a fixed coupon. It comes from how a chosen underlying performs over the tenure. The issuer takes positions in futures and options to engineer the payoff, and you receive the result, calculated by formula, at maturity.
The wrapper
A secured, redeemable debenture held in your demat
The underlying
An index, stock, commodity or rate the return is linked to
The payoff
A pre-defined formula of participation, cap and protection
The vocabulary
Four words decide everything.
Every MLD is described by the same handful of terms. Understand these, and you can read any structure put in front of you.
Fixing Level
The reference snapshots
Two readings of the underlying decide everything: the initial fixing on the day you enter, and the final fixing at maturity. Your return depends only on how the second compares to the first, not on the journey in between.
Participation
The multiplier on a move
How much of the underlying's gain becomes yours. At 175% participation, every 1% the underlying rises is counted as 1.75% for you. It is the engine that can make a debenture outpace its underlying.
Cap
The ceiling on the count
The point beyond which extra gains in the underlying no longer add to your return. A 35% cap means moves above 35% are not counted. It is the trade you accept in exchange for boosted participation.
Principal Protection
Whether capital is shielded
Decides what happens if the underlying falls. A protected structure returns your capital regardless of the fall; an unprotected one shares the downside with you. Both still rest on the issuer's ability to pay.
Seeing it work
One structure, read end to end.
Take a 25-month debenture linked to the Nifty 50, with 175% participation, a 35% cap, and 1x downside. Here is exactly how the formula behaves.
If the underlying ends at or above its initial fixing
Your return = the smaller of (its rise, 35%) × 175%
Gains amplified by participation, but only counted up to the cap.
If the underlying ends below its initial fixing
Your return = its fall, 1 for 1
In this non-protected structure, capital shares the downside.
Illustration of how the mechanism works, using one possible Nifty-linked structure. Not an offer, a recommendation, or an indication of expected returns. Actual underlying, tenure, participation, cap and protection vary by issue, and every structure carries the credit risk of its issuer.
Two postures
How much downside will you carry?
Every MLD comes in one of two forms. The choice is the single biggest decision you make, and it shapes the whole payoff.
Principal Protected
Capital comes home, whatever the underlying does
If the underlying falls, your principal is still returned at maturity
Participation is usually lower, the price of that safety
Still subject to the issuer's ability to pay
For capital-safety-first investors
Non Principal Protected
Higher participation, with skin in the downside
If the underlying falls, your capital falls with it, often 1 for 1
Participation is usually higher, the reward for that risk
The structure in the worked example above is of this kind
For investors taking measured, eyes-open risk
Structure & mechanics
How it reaches your account.
01
Issued by private placement
MLDs are offered under SEBI's private placement framework, not sold over the counter. Access comes through the right relationships.
02
Delivered to your demat
The debentures land in your own demat account, held in your name like any other security until maturity.
03
Taxed at your slab
Since the 2023 amendment, gains on MLDs are taxed at your income-tax slab rate under Section 50AA, with no long-term capital-gains benefit. TDS may apply at maturity.
How we choose
The payoff is the headline. The issuer is the substance.
A beautiful payoff formula means nothing if the house behind it cannot honour it. We start where it matters and work outward.
Many issuers, never one
We are not tied to a single house. We compare structures, underlyings and terms across issuers to find the one that actually fits.
The issuer is the real risk
An MLD is still a debenture: you are lending to the issuer. We scrutinise net worth, debt-to-equity, listed standing and maturity track record before the payoff ever enters the conversation.
Matched to your portfolio
Underlying, tenure and protection level chosen to sit alongside what you already hold, against a clear-eyed reading of the risk you are taking.
A structured payoff, structured for you.
Which underlying, which tenure, protected or not: the right MLD is the one matched to your view and your risk. Bring us both, and we will read the structures with you, line by line.