Loan Against Securities (LAS)
Loan Against Securities (LAS) lets you borrow — usually via an overdraft, with interest charged only on amounts utilised — against a lien on equity shares, mutual funds, bonds, or insurance policies, without selling them or losing dividends/interest/corporate-action benefits. This guide covers how liens are created (via NSDL/CDSL for demat holdings, via RTAs like CAMS/KFin for mutual fund units), and the central fact of LAS: LTV varies significantly by security type — equity shares are the most conservative (and subject to lender “approved lists”), equity mutual funds somewhat more generous, and debt instruments typically the most generous, mirroring the volatility concepts from tackl.finance’s markets and bonds notes. We explain margin calls in detail — what triggers them, what happens if they’re not met (forced liquidation), and why this makes LAS’s risk profile fundamentally different from property- or gold-backed loans, where collateral values move far more slowly. We close with the end-use-dependent tax treatment and guidance on when LAS is a sensible liquidity tool versus a risky leverage-on-leverage strategy.