We (Indians) always try to maintain a reasonably very high savings rate (the national saving rate is about 30 per cent of GDP). Even a daily wage laborer who earns say Rs 300 per day will try to save some money for the future. But are we investing these savings in the right and best Investment Options (financial products) is a billion dollar question.
Unfortunately, in India a major portion of these savings gets invested in unproductive assets like Gold or low-yielding bank fixed deposits or traditional life insurance policies.
Investments in Land (property) & gold together can easily make up around 70% of all household assets. Investments in property & gold are perceived as ‘safe bets’ in India. Its allure is amplified by the attraction of being safe conduits (avenues) to stash away black money as well as avoid taxes.
We seem to be entrapped in a low-level equilibrium. The distribution of savings among various asset classes is rarely seen with most of the households.
Problems of access to various investment options (financial instruments) and ignorance about the available investment avenues can be attributed as the main reasons for this in-equilibrium.
But things are changing for the better. The gap between financial savings and Physical assets is slowly shrinking, which is a very good sign. Financial inclusion is taking the centre stage. More no of bank accounts are being opened and operated.
The young population wants to invest in new-age financial products and not just in fixed deposits. The Assets Under Management (AUM) of mutual fund houses have been steadily increasing in the last 4 to 5 years.
In this post, let us list out the possible Investment options that are available in India. Let’s discuss, what are the best possible investment options for short-term? What are the best investment Schemes for long-term goals? What are the best tax saving investment options?
List of Investment Options in India
As discussed earlier, the major portion of Indian household savings are being invested in the below investment options;
- Fixed deposits
- Gold
- Land & property
- Chit Funds
So, do we really have only these investment options to invest our savings? Let’s list out all the possible investment options that are available in India;
- Post office Schemes
- Monthly Income Scheme (MIS)
- Senior Citizens Savings Scheme (SrCSS)
- Term Deposits
- Recurring Deposits
- Sukanya Samriddhi Savings Deposit Scheme
- Public Provident Fund (PPF)
- Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP)
- National Savings Certificate (NSC)
- Bank
- Bank Fixed Deposits (FDs)
- Recurring Deposits (RDs)
- Public Provident Fund (PPF)
- Sukanya Savings Deposit Scheme
- PPF
- National Pension System
- Atal Pension Yojna
- Employees Provident Fund
- Company Fixed Deposits offered by NBFCs
- Tax Free Bonds
- Non-Convertible Debentures
- Chit Funds
- Mutual Funds
- Stocks (Direct equities)
- IPOs (Initial Public Offers)
- Secondary Markets
- Real estate
- Residential Property
- Commercial Property
- Agriculture Land
- Bonds u/s 54EC
- Real Estate Investments Trusts (REITS – soon to be launched)
- Reverse Mortgage
- Gold, Silver & other valuable
- Jewelry
- Gold bars & Coins
- Gold Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)
- Sovereign Gold Bonds
- Gold Deposit Scheme
- Life Insurance
- Unit Linked Insurance Plans
- Pension Plans
- Money-back Plans
- Endowment Plans
How to shortlist or select best investment options?
Before selecting any financial product, kindly set your Financial goal(s). Your goals should be realistic, measurable, clear and attainable. You can then shortlist the right investment options by considering the below factors; (Factors to consider before investing….)
Financial Product side factors:
- The features, rules, guidelines, terms & conditions of a financial product (an investment option) should be simple, clear& easy to understand.
- The expenses, fees, loads and investment charges should be reasonable.
- It should be reasonably liquid & flexible.
- It’s great if it is a tax efficient investment option.
Investor side factors:
- Your age & financial profile.
- The time-frame (investment horizon) – Short, medium and long-term.
- Your investment objective(s) & financial goal(s).
- Your expected rate of return (Kindly give importance to real rate of return).
- Type of investor : Do-It-Yourself or depend on intermediaries (agent/advisor)
Best Saving options to accumulate Emergency Fund
- Bank Fixed Deposits (preferably eFDs / online FDs)
- Sweep-in Savings Bank Accounts (Auto-sweep accounts)
- Liquid Debt Mutual Fund Schemes
- Arbitrage Mutual Funds
- Cash-in-hand 🙂
Best Investment or Saving Options for short-term
- Short-term Debt Mutual Fund Schemes
- Bank Fixed Deposits
- Recurring Deposits
Best Investment options for Long-term Goals
- Shares (direct Equity)
- Equity oriented Mutual Funds
- Public Provident Fund
- Sukanya Samriddhi Deposit Scheme
- Real-Estate investments
Best Investment options for Medium-term Goals
- Balanced Equity oriented Mutual Funds
- Secured Non-Convertible Debentures – Cumulative option
- Mutual Fund MIPs – Growth options
Best Investment options to get periodic fixed income
- Tax Free Bonds
- Post Office Monthly Income Scheme (Maximum investment limit is INR 4.5 lakhs in single account and INR 9 lakhs in joint account)
- Post Office Senior Citizens Savings Scheme (if you are above 60 years. Maximum investment limit is Rs 15 Lakh. Interest amount paid quarterly.)
- Bank or Post office Fixed Deposits.
- Debt Mutual Funds – Dividend option
- Monthly Income Plans (MIPs) of Mutual Fund Schemes – Dividend option (beneficial if you are in 30% tax slab)
- Rental income from Real estate property investments
- Secured Non-Convertible Debentures (NCD – Payment option) (debentures can be best suited for low tax bracket individuals)
Best tax saving Investment options for long-term
- Equity Linked Savings Schemes (tax saving schemes) of Mutual Funds.
- Provident Funds
- Sukanya Samriddhi Deposit Scheme
Our culture and tradition encourages us to save more. We generally tend to save more for goals such as Kid’s education or a home purchase and less for retirement, may be because we are more likely to expect our retirement years to be financed by income of other family members (children).
We are also extremely risk averse and generally place greater importance on safety than rate of return on investments. I do not believe in classifying investors as conservative, moderate & aggressive. If you would like to accumulate sufficient corpus for a long-term goal, you may have to take calculated risk and invest in right financial product(s) which can beat inflation & give better tax-adjusted returns. If your investment horizon is short, kindly give high priority to safety & liquidity and do not chase returns aggressively.
Your investment portfolio should have a fair mix of both conservative as well as aggressive investment options. Kindly try to maintain an ideal asset allocation.
If you would like to know more information or discuss about any of the above investment option(s), kindly leave a comment. Cheers!
Continue reading : 
(Image courtesy of fantasista at FreeDigitalPhotos.net)
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Nice article, Sreekanth.
I would also like to mention one more option which is peer-to-peer lending 🙂
Hi
I have opted for 8 % of NPS savings from my BASIC pay this year 2018-19 . The dedecution is not started , is it a way to cancel my Option for deduction .
Please suggest !
Dear Jayakumar,
Are you a govt employee?
Suggest you to kindly contact your employer.
Kindly read : NPS – Is it a good investment option?
Hi Sreekanth. Good Evening. I appreciate your patience and time to explain every ones query at your best. Really its wonderful.
Coming to the Point, I want to take a demat account and buy some shares which i am thinking of holding for a very long term. Say more than 15 years. which may be helpful for our retirement / kids education.
Kindly Suggest.
Dear Hemalatha Ji,
Kindly note that I do not provide suggestions on Direct Equity (Shares).
Suggested article:
Kid’s Education goal planning
List of important articles on Personal Financial Planning
Hello Srikanth,
I have recently got my RD matured and got sum assured of around 2 L.
I want to use this money for house down payment which I am planning in any time between 1-3 yrs.
Please help me if I should invest this lumpsum to FD or any Short/medium term DEBT fund.
If I invest in FD problem is less return post tax deduction
Also if I invest in Debt fund issue is there also I need to pay tax if I withdraw it before 3 yrs.
Dear Mohit,
You may consider an Ultra short term or Short term debt fund. (But do note that debt funds are subject to certain types of risk).
Kindly read :
Types of Debt funds
Taxation rules on Mutual fund redemptions
sir, I have around 1.5 lakh in my PF account. for the last two years Iam not working in any company. Iam planning to transfer the PF amount to NPS account. Is it a good option. kindly suggest.
Dear Ginita,
Are you in need of this money? Why would you like to transfer to NPS?
Suggested reading : EPF to NPS – Is NPS a good investment option?
Hi Shreekanth,
I am 30 year old and not taking tobaco in any form. Yearly income around 6 lacs. Working in Pvt. IT company. My wife is housewife but sometimes it works from home so her income is not fixed. My wife and my 1 year daughter are dependent on me.
my investments are,
RD: 24000 per yeear
Health/Medical Insurance of New India(Dont know name of plan) covers Me, my wife and daughter value 1 lac: around 4000 premium per year
LIC of my wife(dont remember name of plan): 14000 per year
PPF: Investing around 50,000 per year
Sukanya Yojna: Investing around 20,000 per year
I am planning to buy Term insurance for myself of 1 cr. Can you please suggest me which one is good? I am new to this things. I have seen Aegon Religare as term insurance but my father insist to go with SBI Life or LIC as Aegon Religare is private ltd. they dont trust that much. I am confused? Can you please suggest which is best term plan to go SBI Life/HDFC/ICICI/LIC ? Have seen online reviews some of the suggested HDFC life term insurance for 40 years. Is it okay to go with it or should I go for SBI term or LIC term? please suggest.
Can I go for refundable term insurance or non-refundable term? I have seen for refundable term premium is almost double and term is for max. 60 years while for non refundable I can opt for 75 years.
Also I want to invest 5000 in each SIP and ELSS can you please suggest names which one should I go for?
Thanks
Peter
Dear Peter,
Kindly read : Best term insurance plans.
Suggest you to be aware of the plans you have invested in.
A term plan from any company (SBI/LIC/ICICI/HDFC/Aegon etc) is fine, as long as you disclose correct details in proposal form, they have to honor any claim in future.
You may avoid going for return of premium plans.
Kindly read:
Best Equity funds for 2017.
How to select the best mutual fund scheme?
You may also consider buying a Personal Accident insurance plan.
Hi Shreekanth,
am a new investor and want to invest in mutual fund. Can u pls suggest me some good option after demonetization which will give me good returns for long period say some for 3 years.I want to buy home.
Dear surekha,
For a 3 year horizon, you may consider investing in an aggressive MIP fund & a small allocation in Equity oriented balanced fund (balanced fund, you may try to remain invested for >3 years).
Read:
Best MIP Funds
Best Equity Balanced funds.
I am prospective investor and was looking for some radical investment options. Can you suggest some? Recently heard about P2P lending and was thinking of investing some amount.
Dear Asha ..As of now, P2P is not regulated by RBI. Let’s wait till we have clarity on the rules & guidelines on Peer to peer lending..
Hi Sreekanth,
Please let us know the difference between Liquid debt mutual fund and Monthly Income Plans (MIPs) of Mutual Fund Schemes – Dividend option.
If I choose monthly income plan, is it that we get some amount monthly? I dont want monthly amount now (as I am salaried), want to invest in debt products.
Also want to invest in short term product, as I have money which I need for construction of house in few months.
Thanks,
Sriharsha
Dear Sriharsha,
Suggest you to go through this article – Types of Debt funds.
In any Mutual fund scheme there will be options like Dividend & Growth. Growth is for accumulation and dividend can be chose if you would like to recieve dividend income.
MIP – Dividend Payout or Monthly Dividend option is to get periodic income. In case if you would not like to receive the dividend you can opt for Growth plan.
Read: Best Debt Funds.
I (age-32)have the following investments till now –
a) PPF – Started 2015 (end -2030 then) — Avg invest – 70 K /yr (Planning to gradually increase by 10-20% yrly)
b) LIC (jeevan saral – bought 2010/ maturity -2030~ Sum assured 15L / prem – 72k/yr) — bit costly but cant close/change it now ,as it may bring loses too much b4 10 yr ). [ really need some help here ]
c) MF recently started – Investing in SIP 11k in below funds(except principal all are in 1k) -Horizon -10-15 yrs
Birla SL Frontline Equity Fund(G)
Kotak Select Focus Fund(G)
ICICI Pru Top 100 Fund(G)
Principal Emerging Bluechip Fund(G)
ICICI Pru Focused BlueChip Equity Fund(G)
HDFC Balanced Fund(G)
Franklin India Smaller Cos Fund(G)
UTI Mid Cap Fund(G)
Mirae Asset Emerging BlueChip-Reg(G)
DSPBR Micro-Cap Fund-Reg(G)
May increase SIP by max 20% yearly as applicable. [ Qn – Is it good portfolio or need to change/add any EQ/balanced/debt fund ?]
d) FD – which will mature 2019 – 7 L approx after tax [ Qn – Want to reinvest 70% for short term 3-5 yr max,pls suggest good ways to invest them ?]
NOTE – health Insurance provided by employer good enough for my family.
Could you please help me if they are correct investment .
Dear Sourav,
b – LIC jeevan saral can be discontinued. When you are sure that you have committed a mistake by buying this policy then kindly do not continue with it, this may lead to huge loses in the future. If you do not have adequate life cover, kindly buy a term insurance plan and then discontinue this plan.
Read:
How to get rid off unwanted life insurance policy?
Traditional life insurance policy – a terrible investment option.
5 Personal Finance mistakes that I have committed.
Term insurance + PPF VS traditional life insurance plans.
c – I believe that you can trim down your portfolio a bit.
Kindly read:
MF portfolio overlap analysis tools.
How to compare and select the right mutual fund scheme?
What are Large/Mid/Small cap funds?
D- You may consider an aggressive MIP fund. Read : Best MF MIPs.
Kindly take stand-alone health insurance cover.
Read:
Best Family floater health insurance plans.
Best portals to compare health plans.
Hi sir
Plz tell me ELSS as tax saving instrument. And if I start SIP on 10th nov 2016 then wat will be end of lock in period. I guess it is 10th Nov 2019.
And can this ELSS be used for more than one financial year for rebate in 80C as SIP will continue in next financial year also.
Dear Ritu,
Yes, your understanding is correct.
If you are going to continue with SIPs in next FY, you can claim those investments too under section 80c.
Hi Sreekanth
I want to opt for Atal Pension Yojana for my sister (who is 39 years) . She is married and living with her husband
I want to invest the money Rs 1554 (Monthly pension of 5000) on her behalf , but don’t want her husband to get any benefit out this (in case of death)
I am not looking for pension amount as that can be only for spouse but looking for corpus amount under Atal Pension Yojna Scheme , Could I get any case of death of my sister
Please note my intention is to secure pension amount for my sister with its benefit should be enjoy by her husband
Please suggest
Please note my intention is to secure pension amount for my sister with its benefit should not be enjoy by her husband
Dear Gurvinder ..As per the scheme rules, the subscriber will receive pension after 60 years of age (life-long).
But on demise of the subscriber, the spouse would receive the pension amount and the corpus amount is given to the nominee.
Hi Mr. Sreekanth
thanks for your articles and replies
my question is
what is the difference – if i invest lump sump of Rs. 25,000 every month in different top Mutual funds by 5k each as per the current market and as a other option if i invest Rs. 25,000 in SIP in 5 selected MF. which one is beneficial investment?.
Dear karthik ..Unable to understand your query. Both the options aren’t they same??
Hello Mr. Sreekanth,
Good Evening to you. One valued advice I am seeking from you regarding my endowment insurance policy HDFC SL Classic Assure Plan- 15 Years policy term. I have started the same in 2012 and till the time I have already paid 5 nos. annual premium of amount Rs.16000/- each. Next 2 premiums for 2017 & 2018 are yet to pay.
Considering the pathetic return scenario of endowment insurance plan I am worried a bit about future performance of this policy. Pls give me your valued opinion whether I should surrender the same now or continue till the premium payouts term.
Thanks in Advance.
With Warm regards,
Suman
Dear Suman,
If your requirement is life cover, kindly buy a term insurance plan (if you do not have one) and you may surrender this plan.
Read:
Endowment traditional insurance plan – a terrible investment option!
How to get rid off unwanted life insurance plan?
Hi Sreekanth,
I am 26 year old working as senior operations Executive in a manufacturing company. I live in a joint family, so most of expenses are covered by my father. He is central government employee and will be retiring in next 506 years. I have some queries for which please refer to below details.
Current money exposure
1. 2 Bedroom flat taken in Virar Mumbai for Rs. 39 Lakhs. Loan amount sanctioned for 37 Lakhs including property insurance from ICICI Lombard and life cover from Aviva (in my and wife both names). Purchased in April 2016. Loan tenure 11 years.
2. One LIC policy taken recently for insurance cover as well as investment purpose. Taken for 35 years.
3. Max Life integrated family floater 15 lakhs with individual 1 lakh each for me, wife and one baby, taken for 35-40 years.
4. I have approx 1.50 Lakhs Rupees in savings account for combined expenses.
Current money expenses
1. 44500 Rs/Mont EMI amount from next year 2nd half onward, currently 25500 Rs Pre EMI going on.
2. 26000 Rs/year towards LIC Policy
3. 16000 Rs/year towards health coverage.
4. 7000/month monthly expenses.
Incoming funds
1. My 32000 per month in and salary with approx 60-70000 per year bonus/incentives.
2. Wife current take home salary at 13000 Rs/month.
My future targets:-
Emergency Fund – 2 lakhs
Insurance if required any
Wealth building
Retirement fund – Yet to plan to invest in which
Kid’s education
Car in 5 Years – 5 lakhs (rest will be used from Car loan; Total Value of car 7 Lakhs)
Mid term goals like family vacations, home/furniture upgrade etc – 2 Lakhs in every 3-4 years.
My query:-
1. Am I sufficiently covered present insurance schemes or do I need to take one pure term life cover from hdfc?
2. I need fund considering the timeline of new born baby boy.
3. What kind of investment approach should I take now onward as I wish to plan in advance to avoid last minutes?
Thank you.
Please read my father will be retiring in next 5-6 years.
Dear Suraj,
1 – May I know the Sum Assured of your Aviva plan? also Plan name.
2 – Kindly share details of your LIC plan (plan name, commencement date & policy tenure).
3 – May I know if your spouse has any life insurance cover? What about Personal Accident cover for self & in your spouse name??
4 – Kindly go through below articles and you may revert with more queries;
Kid’s Education goal planning.
Retirement planning made easy.
How to create a solid investment plan?
List of articles on key aspects of Personal Financial Planning.
Hi Sreekanth,
After a year EMI will start which will be 44500 . I have approx 144500 Rs in savings account. My primary concern is tax saving as well as insurance cover with investment another target.
1. Can I claim tax benefit on my present Pre_Emi payment?
I have decided to take One Term Insurance Policy, one Accidental Insurance Policy.
2. Can you please Suggest me one pure life insurance term policy and one accidental and disability cover with good support?
I have already taken MaxBuppa Family first silver plan with 18,00,000 Rs coverage. EMI stands at 15,872 Rs. Please note I have taken home loan of 36 lakhs. For this I have taken 35,00,000 lakhs home loan insurance from ICICI Lombard using one time payment mode. It will be valid for ten years till 15 May 2026. Further I have taken life cover against home loan of approx Rs 35 Laks from Bharati Axa Life Loan Secure and Bharati life group accidental death rider of Rs approx 35 Lakhs. Policy started this August only with one time payment amount of 102000 Rs approx. Further I have taken LIC new Jeevan anand with profits. Policy started in this August only with total 35 years with basic sum assured of 8,00,000 and return of 40,00,000 minimum against EMI of 24,000_maximum.
3. Any specific suggestion for long term investment?
Please note as I am young and more eagerness to take risk for growth. Further most of my life long impact decisions I have taken in last six months only. Please review same and advice if somewhere course correction is required. Please refer to first post as well before suggesting anything.
Regards,
Suraj Rai
Dear Suraj,
1 – Kindly read : Under-Construction property & Income tax implications.
2 – Term insurance : Top Online term insurance plans.
IS the Bharti Axa policy single premium one?
Read : Best Personal Accident insurance plans.
Once you buy a term plan with adequate life cover, you may discontinue the LIC policy.
Read:
How to get rid off unwanted life insurance policy?Tax benefits can be revoked..
Hi Sreekenth,
Thank you for your valuable articles. your articles are more informative and helpful.
I want to invest a lump-sum amount of 60K once. what are best returns options for 5-7 years period.
shall i choose sip, mutual fund, shares or any other options.
waiting for your valuable reply.
Thanks,
Mahesh
Dear Mahesh ..You may consider investing in a Diversified Equity fund + a Balanced fund.
Read:
Best Equity funds.
Best Balanced funds.
Dear sir
I found your blogs very useful, thank you for very much.
i want your expert opinion on my problem
1. I had taken a LIC jeevan anand policy 815 last year in april 2015 with premium approx 30000. now i find it is useless.
Please suggest me how to get rid off. i read one paid off option. will the tax saved from this be deducted in next year if i choose paid option? how much i will get after maturity? suggest me best option, please.
2. one more thing i want to ask
which is better investment option to buy home on loan or to invest in mutual fund/shares/elss in long term?
Thank you in advance
Dear VIKASH,
You can surrender the policy only if you had paid the premium for three years.
If you have paid only 1 or 2 policy premiums, you may just let the policy lapse and book loses.
Read:
How to get rid off unwanted life insurance policy?
Tax benefits can be revoked..
2 – May I know your financial goals??
Read: The 6 most common personal finance mistakes..
Dear sir
Thank you very much
1. my financial goals are child education, home for my both child and money after retirement.
My annual salary is 8 lacs.
i invest around 50 k in ppf yearly and having ELSS fund of value 30k
Dear vikash,
Kindly go through below articles and you may revert to me with your queries;
Retirement planning made easy..!
Kid’s education goal planning & Calculator.
List of articles on key aspects of Personal Financial Planning.
Dear Sreekanth,
I have about 20 lacs to invest for my retirement…15 years from now and I am looking at o getting 2 crores.
Please suggest suitable mutual funds by name to help me get there.
Regards
Kumar
Dear Kumar,
Suggest you to kindly go through this articles :
‘Retirement Planning made easy..!’
Best Mutual Fund Schemes.
How to select the right mutual fund scheme?
MF Portfolio overlap analysis tools.
I have been advised by HDFC Bank to invest in HDFC SL ProGrowth Flexi for a 10 year plan, with a premium of 1 Lac per year. I currently have investments in 4 mutual funds, Birla Sun Life New Millennium Fund-Growth,RELIANCE PHARMA FUND – GROWTH PLAN – GROWTH, SBI Small & Midcap Fund – Regular Plan – Growth-,UTI-PHARMA & HEALTHCARE FUND -GROWTH. I also have an investment in FD @ 7.5% interest which matures end of the year. I have an SIP with Reliance Growth Fund – Growth Plan, Growth Option of 180 months which I have completed 95 months.(Rs 5000 per month)
I have Equity Shares in Larsen and Turbo Limited, Tech Mahindra Limited, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries Limited and Power Grid Corporation of India.
Most of my investments are very random and based on advice. I am not a finance and market person.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Dear Preston,
Do you have term plan insurance cover? Do you have any family member(s) who is financially dependent on you?
Most of your mutual fund schemes are Sector oriented ones and can be very risky.
Suggest you to first create a Core Portfolio with large / diversified / mid-cap funds based on your financial goals and time-frame.
Read:
What are Large/Mid/Small cap funds?
How to select best mutual fund scheme?
My MF portfolio picks.
Best Equity funds 2016.
Hi Sreekanth,
I am currently investing in equity market directly. My broker approached me and told about SIP in DSP Black Rock mutual fund.
I checked couple of websites like moneycontrol, zipsip etc. and found the below SIPs having good return.
Large Caps:
1. Kotak Select Focus Fund – Regular (G)
2. SBI Blue Chip Fund (G)
3. Birla SL Frontline Equity (G)
4. Birla Sun Life Top 100 (G)
5. Reliance Top 200 Fund-RP (G)
Small Caps:
1. DSP BlackRock World Gold Fund- Regualar Plan- Growth
2. DSP BlackRock World Gold Fund- Regualar Plan- Dividend
3. Kotak World Gold Fund- Standard Plan (D)
4. Kotak World Gold Fund- Standard Plan (G)
5. DSP BlackRock Natural Resouces and New Energy Fund- Regular Plan- Dividend
6. DSP BlackRock Natural Resouces and New Energy Fund- Regular Plan- Dividend
Please suggest for both long term (20-25 years or may be more) and short term (3-5 years).
I need lump sum of money in regular intervals in buying assets like plots, flat etc. I think I can go for 2 long term SIP and 3-4 short term SIP.
Me and my fiance will be investing around 15000 per month from beginning and will invest more in next couple of months.
Please post a link if you have any detailed thread for tax saving SIPs and its returns.
Dear Priyabrata,
Small – caps : The funds mentioned here are Thematic funds / Sector oriented funds.
Short term goals (<5 years) – You may consider one balanced fund + one large cap fund. Ex- HDFC Balanced fund + SBI Bluechip / Birla frontline fund.
Long term goals : Read:
Best Equity funds.
Direct plans Vs Regular plans.
MF Portfolio overlap analysis tools.
How to compare & select best mutual fund scheme based on Risk ratios?
Hi Sreekanth,
I am 23 years old & have recently started my First Job with take home salary of Rs 50,415. My parents had already started 2 LIC policies in my name (Both S.A- 2,50,000) for which quarterly premium of 3000 is being paid by them currently. I recently bought Aegon Life term insurance plan (S.A- Rs 75 Lac) with annual premium of Rs 6038.
Investments:
1. Icici Prudential Value Discover- 1000/month SIP
2. SBI Bluechip- 1000/month SIP.
3. PPF- 2100/month
I want to invest 6-7k more for long term (20-25 years). Kindly suggest where should in invest- ULIPs, Mutual Funds, ELSS??
Do i need any more insurance( as in health?)
Please advise on the Aegon Term plan also- Is it a good bet?
Dear Nishant,
Kindly share details of LIC policies – Plan name, commencement date & tenure.
MF portfolio is fine.
For long-term accumulation + tax saving, you may consider ELSS fund.
Read : Best ELSS funds.
Kindly buy stand-alone Personal Accident insurance cover and also a Medical insurance cover.
Read :
Best Personal Accident insurance plans.
Best portals to compare health plans.
Important factors to be considered when buying a Health plan.
Any term plan is good.
Read :
Best Term insurance plans.
My blog reader’s review on Aegon term plan.
Hi Sri,
The LIC policy details are:
1. Jeevan Saral
Policy Term- 25 years
Premium- 3000 quarterly
Date of commencement- 22/10/2009
S.A- 2.5 lac
2. Jeevan Saral
Policy Term- 20 years
Premium- 3062 quarterly
Date of commencement- 04/02/2013
S.A- 2.5 lac
These 2 LIC policies i have currently.
Also i am highly confused about whether i should go for ULIP or ELSS.
Please suggest.
Dear Nishant,
1 – You may make this plan PAID-UP.
2 – You can surrender this plan.
Read:
Traditional life insurance plan – a terrible investment option?
How to get rid off unwanted life insurance policy?
You may ignore buying ULIP, instead can consider ELSS fund for long term wealth accumulation + tax saving purposes.
Dear Sri ,
I just sold a flat and got around 10 Lakhs in my account , would request you to please let me know where do i need to invest the same amount so that i could get at least a crore in 20 years time frame. I can manage rest of the things ( responsibilities ) from my salary so i want to invest this amount 10 lakhs for my retirement .
I would request you to please guide me .
Dear Rajesh,
To accumulate the target Corpus of Rs 1 Crore, after 20 years with an investment of Rs 10 Lakh , you need to get around 12% returns from your investment, which I believe that is possible and realistic.
You may consider investing in one Large cap + Diversified Equity fund + Balanced fund + Mid-cap fund.
Read:
Retirement goal planning & calculator.
Best Equity funds.
Hi Sreekanth,
Thanks for the article. Well articulated and very simple to understand for layman like us.
I have few questions for you. I am planning to buy a plot in Bangalore , near varthur in a gated community very soon. I have shortlisted the project. I am looking at building a house for myself in 3 to 4 years of time ideally. I need to understand how the land appreciates in Bangalore and whether it will be a wise investment to go ahead with. In case my plans to build a house is not successful then I should be able to sell the land at an appreciation considering inflation etc.
What do you recommend
Thanks for your help.
Dear Krupa,
The rate of appreciation can depend on many factors (location, infrastructure, facilities, interest rate scenario, demand n supply etc.,).
Hi Sreekanth,
I am in search of Investment options and finally I found your Blog, which share very good information.
Thanks for educating and making us financially strong.
I am NRI and would like to invest in India. i have a year and half years old daughter. I am 33 years old.
I have few question listed below:
1. What insurance should I take for my family (spouse & Daughter) as of now no insurance.
Company provide insurance for me.
For NRE FD and RD I know there is no tax applicable.
2. Does tax applicable if i invest in India ELSS & other MF mid, long terms?
Thanks in advance.
Sri.
Dear Sri,
1 – Do you have adequate life cover? Is your spouse an earning member of your family? You can consider buying a Health insurance plan for three of you.
2 – Kindly read:
NRIs & MF Taxation rules.
Best Equity funds.
FATCA compliance requirement & MF investments.
Thanks Sreekanth.
1. Yes, i have adequate life cover. As of now spouse not earning. My Company cover Hospitalization insurance only for Spouse and Kid.
2. I will analyze and replay back.
Dear Sri,
1- For an non-earning member, life insurance may not be required. Kindly buy a stand-alone family floater health plan.
Read: Best Family floater health insurance plans.
Hello Sreekanth,
I am in a very bad situation with ICICI PruLife Guranteed Savings Insurance Plan. I was misguided by an agent and off course I am also equally responsible to avail the product.
The product says to invest:
Issue year: 2011
Term: 20 yrs
Maturity year: 2031
Premium amount: 50,000
Frequency of payment: yearly
Sum assured: 5,00,000
So, I have to pay for 10 years for 50k and rest 10 years the money will be locked. Post 20 years, I will get 5Lakhs as sum assured with some additional benefits which is not clearly mentioned anywhere.
I have paid 5 years for amount 2.5Lakhs and now when I am referring the blogs and the financial advisor, all are advising me to QUIT immediately. I have asked the ICICI PruLife and they informed that if I surrender now, I will get approx. 70,000 only.
I do not want invest on the product which has insurance and investment plans as these do not have good return. If insurance needs to be taken, take a term plan which covers 1CR and if any investment needs to be done, need to invest in PPF, Sukanya Samridhi, FD, NSC etc.
Please suggest me as I think I should surrentder the ICICI PruLife and invest the money in FD or PPF.
Dear Arindam,
Yes, you may surrender this plan.
Read:
How to get rid off unwanted life insurance policy?
Traditional life insurance plan – a terrible investment option?
Best Term insurance plans. (Buy a term plan if you do not have adequate life cover)
Thanks Sreekanth.
Just to clarify, we should not have any endowment policy, correct? This will never give a good return. My father is also having 2 HDFC Life endowment plans (HDFC Life Super Income Plan and HDFCSL Life Classic Assure). We should stop these as well, correct? Need your valuable inputs. It’s really frustrating to have these kind of policies and you know what some of our closed friends or relatives who are in this fields selling these to us and making us fool…..
Dear Arindam,
Unfortunately it is the same case with many of the families in India.
Kindly buy a term plan with adequate life cover and can discontinue traditional plans.
Dear Sreekanth
I am new with investment and I have to save for my sister’s marriage which is a short term goal(like 3 years). I can spare 7k per month. I am currently putting 7k per month to PPF. But can you suggest how do I achieve my short term goal within this money so I am saving also for my goal and reducing tax burdens also with it? Thanks
Dear Karn..If I understand you correctly, you would like to invest in a product with a time-frame of around 3 years and that should also give you tax savings? Am i right? May I know your target goal amount?
Yes Sreekanth, You got it right. My target is 4-5 lakhs.
Dear Karn..As the goal is a high priority one, you need to decide if you can afford to take risk or not. You may invest a certain amount in ELSS fund (lockin period is 3 years) for tax saving purpose and remaining portion in a balanced fund or in an aggressive MIP fund (these will not give you any tax exemption).
As the units of ELSS funds are locked in for 3 years, you may have to make a lump sum investment now itself.
Kindly read:
Best ELSS funds.
Best Balanced funds.
Best MIP funds.
I am 30 Years of age unmarried living in Pune and earning 65000 per month take home salary (including EPF deduction). I plan to invest 15000 in monthly SIP as of now which will be increased every year.
My investment horizon is 22-25 Years. My expenses per month are around 35K including rent.
My goals and amount needed for them are as below. All amounts are inflation adjusted.
1. Child education and marriage at around 15 Years – 50 Lakhs.
2. Retirement at around 55 Years – 2 Crores plus.
3. Home in about 10 Years from now – 25 Lakhs.
4. Car in 5 Years – 5 lakhs (rest will be used from Car loan; Total Value of car 7 Lakhs).
5. Mid term goals like family vacations, home/furniture upgrade etc – 2 Lakhs in every 3-4 years.
**Apart from this, I have my sisters marriage in about 18 months from now for which I need to accumulate 1.5 Lakhs minimum. I can invest 8000 Monthly over and above my portfolio specially for this.
Shortlisted Funds:
1. Franklin India Prima Plus (MultiCap) 2000 Per Month (Long term goal)
2. Birla Sunlife Front line Equity 2000 Per month (long term goal)
3. HDFC Mid Cap Oppurtunities(MidCap) 1000 Per MOnth (Long term goal)
4. Mirae Asset Emerging BlueChip (MidCap) 1000 Per month (Long term goal)
5. Tata Balanced Fund
6. EPF of 2200 per month will be used for retirement and cover a part of my debt portfolio for retirement.
Axis Long Term Equity (ELSS) 3500 Per month.
Reliance tax saver 3500
My questions are as below.
1. Is the current choice of funds in line with my goals.
2. I plan to use balanced funds for any of my medium term goals which is of 4-5 years and ELSS for Child education and marriage. Is this correct ?
3. Should I go for traditional Large Cap Mid cap portfolio (60:40 Ratio) or Multicaps are good
4. Should I go for direct plans right away or should I place a switch to direct after 1 year when I complete in regular plan. I can track direct plan portfolio using external tools available like on VRO. I think I can do that.
5. Could you please guide me for any debt/income/short term plan for my sisters marriage – I can invest 8000 Monthly over and above my portfolio specially for this. Need some tax effecient and low risk option. This amount is critical.
6. How good are these funds for 20+ years, Basically I want to know whether such funds would continue for these long years keeping in mind we have some merged funds, closed funds over long term.
7. I ignored Value discovery fund since it has grown to enormous Aum and I fear it will meet the same fate as HDFC top 200. Is this correct that funds growing in Aum considerably find difficult to show same stellar performance as they shown previously
Dear Abhishek,
Appreciate your analysis and clear-cut thinking. You have clearly identified your goals and you also know how to go about in achieving them.
As of now you are single, so you can prioritize your sister’s marriage & retirement goals as your high priorities.
Consider buying yourself a stand-alone Personal Accident cover (if you do not have one). Do you have health insurance cover?
Read: Best Personal Accident Insurance Plans.
1 – The portfolio looks fine. You may allocate more funds to mid-cap schemes for long-term goals (>10 year ones)
2 – Go ahead with balanced fund. Also, if tax saving is one your investment objectives (for long-term goals), do consider ELSS funds.
3 – Long-term : Multi-caps & mid/small cap funds can be beneficial.
4 – Consider Direct plans.
Read:
MF Utility online platform.
Direct MF Plans Vs Regular Plans – Comparison of returns.
5 – You may consider one MIP + one Arbitrage Fund.
Read:
Best MF MIP Schemes.
Best Arbitrage Funds.
Best Debt funds.
6 – Anything can happen over the long-run. We need to keep monitoring the funds. Consistency is important and not staying with the best (it is almost impossible).
7 – Personally, I do not worry much about AUM.
dear Shreekanth,
I am 46 yrs old. my husband suddenly passed away due to cardiac arrest. now i am going to get around rs 40 lac of his pf n gratuity etc. i m working n getting a salary of 50k per month. my only so is in std 12. i m very confused where should i invest that amount so i can get minimum tax load n hv enough amount to send my son for higher studies. will you please guide me as i dont have any knowledge of investment. i just opted a icici pru life insurance pla of rs 3 lac for 5 yrs. so i now wanted to invest only where i can get decent returns.
thanks
Amita
Dear Amita,
Kindly share more details about the ICICI plan (plan name, tenure, commencement date).
1 – Your high priority action item is to get yourself adequately covered with a Term insurance plan. Suggest you to take a basic life cover with atleast Rs 50 to 75 Lakh. You can claim this premium as tax deduction under section 80c. Kindly read: Best Term insurance plans.
2 – Also buy a stand-alone Personal Accident Insurance plan. Read: Why one should have a PA cover?
3 – Maintain an Emergency fund of say 6 to 9 times of your monthly living expenses as cash + FDs.
4 – Buy a Family floater health insurance plan. You can claim the premium paid as tax deduction u/s 80D. Read: Best Family floater health insurance plan.
5 – Your son’s higher education goal target year is around 3 to 5 years from now. So, you may consider investing in a MIP Plan (like Birla II Wealth 25 plan) & a small portion of savings in HDFC Balanced fund.
Read:
Kid’s education goal planning calculator.
Best MF MIPs.
Best Balanced funds.
6 – May I know your expected retirement age? Do you have any other sources of income? Have you made any other investments?
Hi Sreekanth,
I have contacted financial advisor from Kotak Mahindra Bank to plan for decreasing the tax and it should give better profits. He advised to invest in Kotak Assurance Savings Plan which will give 10% returns and Axis Long Term Equity Fund which gives returns of 14 – 17% on an average. I am planning to invest 5k per month. His advise is to invest Rs 2500 in each. I am planning to invest for the period of 10 years. Please advise me whether I can follow this.
Dear Dayakar,
Kotak Assurance Savings Plan is a life insurance plan. Suggest you not to consider this one.
You may go ahead with Axis LTE Fund.
Kindly read:
Why one should THINK beyond taxes when investing?
Best ELSS Funds.
List of Income Tax Deductions.
Tax treatment of various Financial instruments.
Dear Sreekanth,
I am 28 yrs old and single. I want to invest Rs 3000 per month in some investment for 10 years which should give good returns. Please suggest me the investment options apart from ELSS.
Dear Dayakar,
You may consider investing in one Diversified Equity fund + Mid-cap/small cap fund + one balanced fund.
Read: Best Equity Funds.
Dear Sreekanth,
As per your advice, I am planning to invest Rs 2000 per month in following 3 funds.
1. Axis LTE fund
2. UTI Mid cap
3. HDFC Balanced fund
Person from bank advised to consider SBI Blue chip and DSP Blackrock focus 25 fund
along with Axis LTE fund.
Please suggest me the best option.
Dear Dayakar,
Your portfolio looks fine (1,2&3). (Assuming you are investing for long-term)
You may replace UTI mid-cap fund with HDFC Mid-cap opportunity fund or Mirae Asset emerging Bluechip fund.
Dear Sreekanth,
Please suggest me insurance policy which should give good profits and covers the insurance.
Do the MIPs come under tax exemption for the employees
Dear Dayakar..Mutual Fund MIPs do not have any tax exemptions.
Read: Best MF MIP Schemes.
Dear Dayakar,
Kindly do not mix insurance & investment requirements.
Kindly read:
If life is unpredictable, insurance can’t be optional.
Term insurance Vs traditional life insurance plans.
Dear Sreekanth,
I am planning to take Term insurance of 1 crore from Max Life for 37 years. Is it the good decision to take from Max Life. If not suggest me any other.
Dear Dayakar..If you are comfortable buying a term plan from MAx, kindly go ahead. Do provide all the required details in the proposal form honestly and accurately.
Read:
Best Term insurance plans.
Hi Sreekanth,
I am investing 2k in Axis LTE fund and SBI Blue chip fund. I am planning to redeem the SBI blue chip fund and planning to include one MF from ELSS. Please suggest me that can I consider DSP Blackrock Tax Saver Fund to include in my portfolio.
Dear Dayakar .Kindly go through my article on @ Best ELSS funds to invest in FY 2017-18.
dear sreekanth i am confused where to invest.i am now 41 yrs old,my spouse 40.we have a 6 yrs girl child.we r both doctors.at present moment i am depositing 1.5l to ppf,1l to sss.my wife has her own ppf ac and depositing 1.5 every yr.
we have 4 l mediclaim from ster health with top up of 16 l from l&t.
planning for a term plan (will buy this month) and PAC from applo munich(both of us).now our goal is that 1.after 10 yrs we need lump sum for child s higher education.
2. after 20 yrs- child marriage
3. after 24-29 yrs-retirement.
at present we can invest another 1 lk each per yr
also we need some money for emergency and vacation
pl suggest what will best way to invest and where to invest.balanced fund or equity oriented MF
Dear DEBAJYOTI,
As your goals are all long-term, you can surely consider investing in Equity oriented funds.
Kindly go through the below articles;
Kid’s Education goal planning calculator.
Retirement planning goal calculator.
Best Equity Funds.
You can start accumulating for Emergency Funds which can be around 10 to 12 times of your monthly living expenses. You can save this in FDs+RDs+Debt Mutual Funds.
Dear Sreekanth,
I am 28 years old, working in TCS with 6 years exp. I am earning around 60K every month. I am married (my spouse is house wife) an year ago and blessed with a daughter this march.
I have LIC Jeevan Anand plan from 2011
Premium amount – 50,000/- yearly – (For me & my wife)
Policy term – 78 (Premium payment term – 21)
Sum Assured – 10,00,000/-
I need to plan saving total of Rs. 20 lakhs at the end of 15 years. In addition Rs.40 laks at the end of 20 years.
How should i plan my savings?
After reading your posts, i think LIC plan i ma having is not usefull. I have availed these plans for tax benefits.
Kindly help how should i plan my future financially?
Thanks for the help
Deepak
Dear Deepakyadav,
Do you have two Jeevan Anand policies? Do you have any other existing Life insurance policies?
Have you purchased any health insurance plans for self/family?
Kindly read below articles & revert to me;
Blocks of Financial Planning Pyramid.
If life is unpredictable, insurance can’t be optional.
Retirement planning goal calculator.
Kid’s Education goal calculator.
Hi Sreekanth,
Thanks for the reply.
I have read through the posts you have mentioned below and many others related to it.
Yes, I have 2 LIC Jeevan Anand policies (for myself and spouse separately).
Policy Commencement date – Sep 2010
Premium yearly – 50,000/- (25k for me + 25k for spouse)
Sum Assured – 10,00,000/- (5L from my policy + 5L from my spouse policy)
Whether LIC Jeevan Anand is Term Plan? I am confused a lot with this! Because i have took these policies for tax exemption.
After reading through your blogs, i have a rough plan what to do,
Wealth protection
1. Emergency Fund – 2 lakhs (half way through it with RD)
2. Budget – Already maintaining expenses, yet to prepare budget
3. Insurance
a. If Jeevan Anand is bad policy – will cancel it
b. To Buy new term policy
c. To Buy health insurance plans for self & family
Wealth Accumulation
1. Retirement fund – Yet to plan to invest in which
2. Kid’s education – Planning to invest in Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana
3. Property/House – Yet to plan to invest in which
Wealth Distribution – Will work on it.
Thanks Again,
DeepakYadav
Dear Deepakyadav,
As your spouse is home-maker, life insurance coverage is not required.
LIC Jeevan Ananad is not a Term insurance plan. This is a typical traditional plan ie endowment cum whole life plan.
3 a & b – You may make the policies PAID-UP. But before doing so buy a Term insurance policy and then do it.
Read:
Best Term insurance plans.
How to get rid off unwanted life insurance policies?
3.C. – Read:
Evaluate these 11 factors before buying best Health plan.
Best portals to compare health plans.
Best Family floater health insurance plans.
Kindly use the calculators that are available in the links shared in my previous comment and arrive at approx savings required for long term goals like retirement and kid’s education.
Kindly note that though Sukanya scheme is a good option, kindly do not allocate entire savings to this scheme. Do consider investing in equity funds.
Read:
Sukanya Scheme review.
List of best investment options.
Sir,
I is getting 20 lakhs rupees as my inheritence from selling of family ancestor land.
Of this 5 lakh is cheque and 15 lakh is cash.
I am invasting 5 lakh cheque in long term fund as per blog.
How to invest cash? Gold etc. no return
I am 29 years old , earns 7 lpa . wife earns 5 lpa. no childrens.
Dear Karan,
It is very tough to manage black money (to convert it into white).
You may gift some money to your parents (assuming they are not tax assessees or in low tax bracket) and invest in their names so that you can avoid paying taxes.
Hi sir….I am new to mutual fund scheme.
Now i am investing in
1)Sbi bluechip 500 rs mly sip
2)sbi midcap 500 rs mly sip
3)hdfc midcap 500 rs mly sip
4)Axis long term equity 1000 mly sip
5)franklin taxshield 500 rs mly sip
6)Dspblack midcap 1000 rs mly sip
7)Reliance tax saver 500 rs mly sip
8)Birla tax plan 500 rs mly sip
6 out of 8 fund were choosen direct at their website without broker code….all are selected growth option…
Is it ok…?
Dear Pankaj,
May I know your investment horizon?
Kindly read:
MF portfolio overlap analysis tools.
Best Equity funds 2016.
Hi Sreekanth,
I am investing 1.5 lakh every year in PPF. Now government has reduced the interest rate to 8.1%. But i will continue it atleast for 10 Years. After investing 1.5 lakh in ppf i am having around 1 lakh to invest. But here i am ready to take little bit of risk. I am new to market so i dont know more i want to invest this lumpsump amount in some muual fund.
Can you suggest me some short term mutual fund.
Thanks
Aashish Pachouri
Dear Aashish..May I know your investment horizon or do yo have any specific investment objective?
I will retire in this June 2016. My savings are Bank FD 50L, EPF 25L, PPF 15L, Other retirement funds like leave encashment etc. 3L. MF – icici prudential blue chip, HDFC midcap – 2L
Family floater Health insurance 5L (premium 27000 pa)
Goals – Daughter marriage in next 2-3 years.
Looking for fixed monthly income of around 35K-40K post retirement beating inflation.
How do I plan my investments with above savings.
Dear Sathish,
Retirement planning : Kindly use the calculator available in this article to know your require corpus or savings..Click here..
Daughter’s Marriage expenses : Use the calculator available in this article , click here.
As the marriage is being planned in next 3 years, suggest you to invest/remain invested in safe bets (like FDs/RDs) to meet the marriage expenses.
For retirement expenses, kindly use the calculator and you may revert to me with your queries..
Dear Sreekanth,
I thoroughly enjoy reading your articles and your helpful suggestions.
I have only ONE Issue:
I am 65 years and self-employed in 30% Tax Bracket – Rs.12L yearly income(aprox).
I was suggested to keep investing in –
1. ELSS – 1.5L to Save Tax. – Rs. 1.5L/year.
2.SIP in EMF – To build Corpus. – Rs. 5.0L/year.(Current Corpus- Rs.45L aprox)
3. SW after 1-3 years,if need funds.
Have NO Investment in Debt/Balance Funds, Bank FDs,PO Deposit/Pension Schemes etc.
Kindly, suggest a professional way forward …
Warm Regards,
Dear Darshan,
What is EMF? (equity mutual fund? If so kindly provide the scheme names).
Kindly let me know your investment objectives , financial goals and time-frame? Have you accumulated sufficient retirement corpus? Do you have any dependents?
Do you have health insurance cover?
Kindly read:
How to create a Solid Investment Plan?
Financial Planning Pyramid..
Thanks for your prompt response.
Investment Objective is create a Corpus of Rs. 1.00 Cr for Old-age Income/Pension through Systematic Withdrawal Plan.
Time Frame is 5-10 years.My Retirement Corpus is under construction and currently Rs.45 L in MF.
Please suggest 4-5 MF Schemes for SIP to get average returns of 15-18 % ….
Kindly oblige …
Regards,
Dear Darshan..You may kindly share the existing MF scheme names..
Read: Retirement planning calculator..
Dear Sreekanth,
I am started to visiting your website from the last week. Thanks for sharing your ideas and suggestions regarding life insurance. I’m 30 year old, I want to buy a health insurance plan which covers the medical expenses for my family. So far I don’t have any insurance plan for me and wife except my son (1 year old). Kindly suggest best plan.
Dear Viswanathan,
Kindly go through below articles;
Best Family Floater Health Insurance Plans.
Best portals to compare medical insurance plans.
Dear Sreekanth,
Thank you for sharing such a valuable insight into investment options.
I would like to request your advise in planning for a long term investment.
I am looking forward to invest for my Kids future. Aim is to get a maturity return of Appx 25 Lacs in 20 years period.
For this, I did a check of 2 LIC policies “LIC Jeevan Labh 386” and “New Children’s Money Back Plan” .
But heard not so good reviews about these 2 plans. Could you please advise good investment plans to reach this goal.
Thanks & BR,
Kaushik
Dear Kaushik,
Kindly do not mix insurance with investments.
Read below articles;
LIC New Children’s money back policy review.
Term insurance Vs Traditional plans.
If life is unpredictable, insurance can’t be optional.
Best Term insurance plans.
Kid’s education goal planning & calculator.
Best investment options.
Dear Sreekanth ,
i have a annual income of 12 lakhs , am planning to buy a house , but want to start investing . have read a lot of your blogs , can you suggest me , what would be a good option for me would be . to start a SIP or to take 5 stocks and keep investing for 5 years continously on my own . am planning to invest 10000 every month .
Dear kunal,
Have you invested in any equity oriented products before? If not, suggest you to start with Equity mutual funds, may be with one Diversified equity fund and a balanced fund.
Kindly read:
6 common personal finance mistakes.
Best Equity funds.
Dear Sreekanth ,
No i havent ever invested , this is first time .
which would be better option , SIP or value investing .
through broking house like angel broking or mfutlities .
Thank you so much for replying .
Dear Kunal,
Opt for a platform with which you are comfortable..
If you would like to invest directly, you may do so by visiting the respective mutual fund house websites. Also, read: MF Utility platform for Mutual funds.
Read: Benefits of Direct plans..
Suggest you to start with SIPs.
Hi Sreekanth,
Please suggest a few (best) long & medium term investment plans for a 40 year old NRI
Dear Santhosh..Could you please define medium & long term (tenure)? Details about your existing investments (if any) and about your financial objectives.
Hi Sreekanth,
Short term investment – 10 Lakhs in FD (1 year) (7.75%)
Medium term investment – 10K/month for 10 years (9%) still 8 years to go
Planning to start SSD scheme, 1.5 Lakhs / annum
I would consider 15 to 20 years as long term tenure.
Dear Santhosh,
For a 10 year & long term goals, you can consider investing in Equity mutual funds.
Read : Best Equity funds.
SSD – is it Sukanya scheme? I believe NRIs are not eligible to open SSA account.
Hi sreekanth, pls help me with my query on capital gains n tax filing
1) 2bhk _ 2002 bought for 6 lacs n sold out in 2015 jun for 22 lacs.
2) stayed in d flat for more than 10yrs
2) received allmoney thru chq n deposited in savings account
My queation how much will b my capital gains.. what is that i have to show while filing d tax for 2015.2016 year.
Dear Seshu,
Kindly read this article for more options: How to save capital gain taxes on sale of property?
Hi sreekanth,it happened to browse ur website nd blogs.good informative article on various investment options
Regards
Prasad sva
Thank you dear Prasad. Keep visiting 🙂
Very quick reply which not anticipated:-)
I won’t say I am good and bore u.i am closely following blogs like u and accordingly invested and planned my finance stuff.
Need u r help,pointer on investments which are tax free like ppf.
Want to reduce tax burden as much as possible if there is any way
All sections are utilized for exemptions
Dear Prasad,
If all sections are utilized then we only have to hope for new proposal from Budget 2016-17.
Let’s wait till this month end 🙂
Thanks Sreekanth for giving best investment schemes list. I am blogger like you and have to save PF. And i also want to save tax and to gain wealth at same time. Which Mutual fund you will suggest since i have already invested in PPF/LIC.
Dear Deepika,
Kindly read : Best ELSS funds 2016.
Dear Mr. Sreekanth,
All your blogs are fine and useful and thanks for the same.
I had already sent you a request. Since I am not finding it here I am sending you once again. I am 58 and retired. I will be getting around 30 lacs. Since the interest in Bank FDs for general category is around 7.5% only, I want to invest in mutual funds where my investment will be safe and I can get around 10 to 12 % return. Kindly give me your suggestions.
Regards
H. R. Krishnan
Dear Mr. KRISHNAN,
Kindly let me know what is your investment horizon?
If you would like to invest in equity oriented mutual funds then they are subject to investment risks. So, may I know your investment objectives?
Is safety of capital your priority? Do you need any periodic income from these investments? Do you have any other source of income to meet your living expenses?
Yes. I have some other source of income but that is not sufficient. I need periodic income from a portion of this investments at least 10 lacs. Balance can be kept in growth plan say for 5 years initially. Please give your preferred fund names.
Thanks
H.R. Krishnan
Dear Mr KRISHNAN,
Kindly refer to the article for periodic income investment avenues.
For 5 years investment horizon : You may consider a balanced fund + MIP aggressive plan.
Ex: TATA Balanced fund + Birla Sunlife MIP II Wealth 25 plan.
Kindly read:
Top Balanced funds.
Best MF MIPs.
Do you have adequate health insurance cover?
Yes I have health insurance plan for Rs.3 lac each for self, wife and daughter. I have top up plan (not super top up plan as it is not available with ICICI Lombard) for 8 lacs for self and wife for the last 4 years. Is it okay or I have to change it?
Thanks
Dear Mr KRISHNAN,
Super top-up plan can be with a different insurance company..
Kindly read :
Best Super Top-up health insurance plans & their benefits.
Best portals to compare medical insurance plans.
Hi Sreekanth
Please find my query below
Goal – Daughter’s annual school fees , Target -yearly … I have invested in RD.
Which will give better return post tax deductions in RD & short term debt funds?
Debt funds: need to pay 1-3% exit load & 30% Tax , if invested through SIP for 1 year.
RD : as per income tax bracket.
Goal – Creating Contingency fund. Please let me know the ideal tool.
Have you posted any article on Debt funds? Need to understand the system!!!.
thanks in advance
maheshprasad
Dear Mahesh,
School Fees – RD could be a better option. For very short-term goals, do not worry too much about returns. Liquidity and safety of capital should be given top most priority.
Emergency Fund – Kindly refer to the points mentioned in the article.
Debt Funds : Kindly read below articles;
Types of Debt funds.
Best debt funds for 2016.
thank you so much..
Well tabulated to bring great clarity on the cluttered horizon of investments. Thanks
I feel if one want to create wealth, they should for long term investment options indicated in your article Sreekant. Short term financial products would be useful for savings, but not for growing money
Dear Suresh..Agree with you. Safety of capital & liquidity can be the main objectives for short-term investments.
I dr.bhupendra patil is investining in mutual funds through sips, since kast7yrs.my time horizon is 20yrs.so l have lots of courage to stay Iinvested for long term,