Best Ten Investment Options

[P Nair]

Best Ten Investment Options

The following are selected ten investment options available in India which assure safe and reasonable returns. Before investing in any of the below investment schemes, the investor needs to evaluate his/her requirement for cash,  risk appetite, tax status and the return expectations.  Some schemes accrue short term returns and some are long term investments.

1)    Investments in Mutual Funds

Mutual Funds companies in India offer various types of mutual funds schemes suites to the needs of all types of investors.  Mutual Funds are increasingly being touted as the retail investors' savings vehicle. But the key challenge is to choose the right fund. But it's simple. It only requires a bit of discipline and little time - hardly a cost for a secure financial future.   Mutual fund route of investments is an ideal investment options that helps the investor better to attain his financial goals.  Investors can choose the right schemes based on their return expectation and risk appetite. Mutual Fund companies accumulate money from willing investors through various schemes and invest it in equities, debts, commodities, and government securities etc as per the objectives of schemes.   Like stock market investment, mutual fund investment are also entitled for various market risks but with a fair share of profits.  The investment in Mutual Funds are less riskier than direct investment in company shares mainly due to its portfolio diversification, expert fund management, strict regulatory control and transparency etc.  For first time/small scale investors, it is recommended to follow the Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) route for investment (to know more about SIP Investment Plan click here). Another advantage of investing in Mutual Fund is that dividend/income received from Mutual Fund schemes are fully exempted from Income Tax and also the investor are exempted from paying long term capital gain tax.

2)    Investments in Company Fixed Deposits

Company Fixed Deposits offers a fixed rate of return over a period of time.  Financial institutions and Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) also accept such deposits subject to the approval of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), deposits thus mobilized are governed by the Companies Act under Section 58A.  These deposits are unsecured, i.e., if the company defaults, the investor cannot recover the amount deposited thus making them a risky investment option.  You can earn 9.00% – 13.00% depending upon the credit rating of the company.   But you have to be very careful in selecting the companies otherwise there is a chance to  loose your money. 

3)    Investments in Stock Market

An investor with high risk appetite can choose investment in direct equity as an investment option.  Investing in share market yields higher profits. Influenced by unanticipated turn of market events, stock market to some extent cannot be considered as the safest investment options. The prices of shares fluctuate due to various reasons related to company/industry specific, political national/international etc.  However, to accrue higher gains, an investor must update himself on the recent stock market news and political national/international events, company/industry specific news etc.

4)    Investments in Bank Fixed Deposits (FD)

Traditional Bank Fixed Deposit or FD is accrues 9% - 10% of yearly interest, depending on the duration of the deposit and other bank guidelines, which makes it's widely sought after and safe investment alternative. The minimum term of FD is 15 days and maximum tenure is 5 years and above. Senior citizens are entitled for special rate of interest on Fixed Deposits.  Risk averse investors and senior citizens can opt Bank FD as their mode of favorite saving option because it is safe and return is guaranteed.    In case the interest generated from the Bank FD for a particular financial year is above Rs.10,000.00 and tax will be deducted at source.  As per section 206AA introduced by Finance (No. 2) Act, 2009 wef 01.04.2010, every person who receives income on which TDS is deductible shall furnish his PAN, failing which TDS shall be deducted at the rate of 20%(as against 10% which is existing TDS rate) in case of Domestic deposits and 30.90% in case of NRO deposits.  Interest Income from NRE deposit is fully exempted from income tax and also no TDS is applicable.  If you are not liable to pay tax you can submit Form 15H to avoid tax deduction at source.

5)    Investments in Insurance policies

Life insurance is a contract for payment of money to the person assured (or to the person entitled to receive the same) on the occurrence of the event insured against.  Usually the contract provides for -   payment of an amount on the date of maturity or at specified periodic intervals or at death, if it occurs earlier.   Periodical payment of insurance premium by the assured, to the corporation who provides the insurance .Any person above 18 years of age, who is eligible to enter into a valid contract.    Subject to certain conditions, a policy can be taken on the life of a spouse or children.  Please don’t consider insurance policies as your favorite investment option, take insurance policies just to cover your life, normally term insurance policies offer this type life cover.

 

Insurance features among the best investment alternative as it offers services to indemnify your life, assets and money besides providing satisfactory and risk free profits. Indian Insurance Market offers various investment options with reasonably priced premium. Some of the popular Insurance policies in India are Home Insurance policies, Life Insurance policies, Health Insurance policies and Car Insurance policies.  

6)    Investments in National Saving Certificate (NSC)

National Saving Certificate (NSC) is subsidized and supported by government of India as is a secure investment option with a lock in period of 6 years. There is no maximum limit in this investment option. The investor is entitled for the assured  interest of 8%. National Saving Certificate falls under Section 80C of Income Tax Act and the interest accrued by the investor stands valid for tax deduction up to RS.  1, 00,000.00 To know more about NSC please click here to  read the article All About National Savings Certificate (NSC)- a Tax Saving full secured investment (June 2011)

 

7)    Investments in Public Provident Fund (PPF)

Like NSC, Public Provident Fund (PPF) is also supported by the Indian government. An investment of minimum  Rs.  500 and maximum Rs.  70, 000 is required to be deposited in a financial  year. The prospective investor can create a PPF account in a GPO or head post office or in any branches of  a nationalized  bank.  PPF also falls under Section 80C of Income Tax  Act so investors could gain income tax deduction of up to  Rs.70,000.00 . The rate of interest of PPF is evaluated yearly with a lock in tenure of maximum 15 years. The basic rate of interest in PPF is 8%.  To know more about PPF please click here to read the article Public Provident Fund (PPF)  (July 2011) 

 

8)    Investments in Gold Deposit Scheme

If you have physical gold and wish to earn interest on it you can deposit it in the Gold Deposit Scheme (GDS) of the State Bank of India (SBI).  You will get back your gold after a  fixed duration. Also, if gold value increases over the period, your gold becomes more valuable at the end of the term, in addition to that you will be eligible to earn a reasonable rate of interest.   Controlled by SBI, Gold Deposit Scheme was instigated in the year 1999. Investments in this scheme are open for trusts, firms and HUFs with no specific upper limit. The investor can deposit invest minimum of 500 gm in exchange for gold bonds. Moreover, Gold bonds are not entitled of capital gains tax and wealth tariff. The sum insured can be accrued back in cash or gold, as per the investor's preference.

9)    Investments in Real Estate

Investments in real estate are one of the best options of investment.  Indian real estate industry has huge prospects in sectors like commercial, housing, hospitality, retail, manufacturing, healthcare etc. Calculated realty demand for IT/ITES industry in 2010 is estimated more than 150mn sq.ft. around the major  Indian cities. Termed as the "money making industry", realty sector of India promises annual profits of 30% to 100% through real estate investments.  Small scale investors can opt for buying small area of land or they can invest in residential apartments, independent villas etc. to get a good appreciation.

 

10) Investments in Gold/Silver or Gold/Silver related instruments

Throughout history, gold is one commodity that has been traded for a variety of reasons.  For beginners, even during a failing economy when times of financial and economic instability exist, gold is a commodity that is considered safe.  In addition, throughout time, gold has proven to be strong and when added to a domestic portfolio, the gold commodity can actually help lower risk.  Gold is also an ideal solution for creating a hedge when it comes to long term inflation. 

 

If you were to get involved with investing in gold commodities, you would have an option of choosing, the form of gold, which includes  Gold Coins,  Gold Bars, Gold Options, Gold Exchange Traded Funds (Gold ETF), Investment in shares of Gold Mining Companies, Mutual Funds, Gold Ornaments etc 

 

Best Regards

 

Prakash Nair

 

Disclaimer

Please note that, I am not a Mutual Fund/Insurance Agent, Share Broker or representing any Financial Institution or working for any investment company on commission basis.  My intention is to provide useful information to my readers and answer their queries related to the articles which I published..

 

This information/article is intended to assist/educate investors/prospective investors.   The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest or to provide management services, recommendation to join any plan/scheme or open  account with any financial intermediaries/brokers or other institutions  and is subject to errors, omission, correction, completion and amendment, without notice.. It is not my intention to state, indicate or imply in any manner that current or past results are indicative of future results or expectations. As with all investments, there are associated risks and you could lose money investing. Prior to making any investment, a prospective investor should consult with its own investment, accounting, legal and tax advisers to evaluate independently the risks, consequences and suitability of that investment.

 

Please visit my website http://yourownadviser.com/articles-1 to read more informative articles related to investment and personal finance/personal financial planning etc

 

[P Nair]

Dear Noor,

 

The present interest rate is in the range of 0.75% to 1.00%.  This scheme is not attractive for small/retail investors.  This is meant for HNIs/Institutions/Tenmple Trusts and those who are having lot of gold.   They can enjoy income tax/capital gain tax exemption by way of depositing in this scheme.  I will be publising another article soon with full details.

 

In case you have any queries, please feel free to mail to me.

 

Please visit my web site regularly to read more interesting articles  http://yourownadviser.com/articles-1

 

Best Regards

 

Prakash Nair

From: Nooruddeen Mathilakathveetil <mmnoor...@gmail.com>
To: kerala-s...@googlegroups.com
Cc: pnai...@yahoo.com
Sent: Saturday, July 23, 2011 10:26 PM
Subject: Re: (Kerala Syndicate) Best Ten Investment Options

Dear Mr Nair,

Tks for the valuable info. 

Pls let me know what is the interest rate for Gold Deposit Scheme.

Will the bank accept the gold ornaments in this scheme? 

Rgds

Noor

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