YTM, or yield to maturity, is the yearly return a bond gives if bought at today's price and held until it is repaid, with every payment made on time.
Yield to maturity combines a bond's interest payments, and the gain or loss between its current price and its repayment value, into one yearly rate.
For a debt fund, the fact sheet shows the average YTM of its portfolio. It is a rough guide to what the fund's holdings are earning today, before expenses.
For example, a debt fund shows a YTM of 7.4%, and its expense ratio is 0.4%. If interest rates and the portfolio stayed the same, the fund would earn about 7% a year. In practice, the return differs because:
A higher YTM usually means the fund holds lower-rated bonds, longer-dated bonds, or both. Comparing the YTM of two funds tells you more when their credit risk and duration are similar.
For a liquid fund, with very short holdings, YTM is a close guide to the return over the next few months. For a long-duration fund, it is much less certain.
Each fund page has its returns, risk, costs, managers and everything it holds.