Mutual fund investors cannot buy or sell on Budget day

NEW DELHI: Investors will not able to buy and redeem mutual fund units on February 28 even as stock markets remain open on Saturday when Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present the much-awaited Union Budget.

"It will be a non-business day for mutual funds on the Budget day. An investor cannot buy and sell MF products on a non-business day," an industry source said.

Generally, Saturdays and Sundays are non-business days for mutual funds.

MF houses do not allot net asset value (NAV) of debt or equity funds on non-business days and the allotments to funds are resumed on the following business day.

The decision to keep this Saturday a non-business day means that equity MF investors would not be able to cash in on any opportunity on Budget day.

However, trading in exchange traded funds (ETFs) will be allowed, sources said.

Last week, capital markets regulator Sebi asked the stock exchanges including, the BSE and the NSE, to keep the markets open on Budget day, following requests made in this regard.

This is probably the first time in many years that the Union Budget is being presented on a Saturday. The stock markets are generally closed on Saturdays and Sundays, except for special circumstances.

As Budget contains several market-moving announcements, market participants, including stock exchanges, had requested the Sebi and the government to keep markets open on February 28.