Investment Basics continued .....

What are various options available for investment?
One may invest in:
§ Physical assets like real estate, gold/jewellery, commodities etc.
and/or
§ Financial assets such as fixed deposits with banks, small saving
instrume nts with post offices, insurance/provident/pension fund etc.
or securities market related instruments like shares, bonds,
debentures etc.

What are various Short-term financial options available for
investment?
Broadly speaking, savings bank account, money market/liquid funds and
fixed deposits with banks may be considered as short-term financial
investment options:
Savings Bank Account is often the first banking product people
use, which offers low interest (4%-5% p.a.), making them only
marginally better than fixed deposits.

Money Market or Liquid Funds are a specialized form of mutual
funds that invest in extremely short-term fixed income instruments
and thereby provide easy liquidity. Unlike most mutual funds, money
market funds are primarily oriented towards protecting your capital
and then, aim to maximise returns. Money market funds usually yield
better returns than savings accounts, but lower than bank fixed
deposits.

Fixed Deposits with Banks are also referred to as term deposits
and minimum investment period for bank FDs is 30 days. Fixed
Deposits with banks are for investors with low risk appetite, and may
be considered for 6-12 months investment period as normally
interest on less than 6 months bank FDs is likely to be lower than
money market fund returns.

What are various Long-term financial options available for
investment?
Post Office Savings Schemes, Public Provident Fund, Company Fixed
Deposits, Bonds and Debentures, Mutual Funds etc.

Post Office Savings: Post Office Monthly Income Scheme is a low
risk saving instrument, which can be availed through any post office.
It provides an interest rate of 8% per annum, which is paid monthly.
Minimum amount, which can be invested, is Rs. 1,000/- and
additional investment in multiples of 1,000/-. Maximum
amount is Rs. 3,00,000/- (if Single) or Rs. 6,00,000/- (if held
Jointly) during a year. It has a maturity period of 6 years. A bonus of
10% is paid at the time of maturity. Premature withdrawal is
permitted if deposit is more than one year old. A deduction of 5% is
levied from the principal amount if withdrawn prematurely; the 10%
bonus is also denied.

Public Provident Fund: A long term savings instrument with a
maturity of 15 years and interest payable at 8% per annum
compounded annually. A PPF account can be opened through a
nationalized bank at anytime during the year and is open all through
the year for depositing money. Tax benefits can be availed for the
amount invested and interest accrued is tax-free. A withdrawal is
permissible every year from the seventh financial year of the date of
opening of the account and the amount of withdrawal will be limited
to 50% of the balance at credit at the end of the 4th year
immediately preceding the year in which the amount is withdrawn or
at the end of the preceding year whichever is lower the amount of
loan if any.

Company Fixed Deposits: These are short-term (six months) to
medium-term (three to five years) borrowings by companies at a
fixed rate of interest which is payable monthly, quarterly, semiannually or annually. They can also be cumulative fixed deposits where the entire principal alongwith the interest is paid at the end of the loan period. The rate of interest varies between 6-9% per annum for company FDs. The interest received is after deduction of taxes.

Bonds: It is a fixed income (debt) instrument issued for a period of
more than one year with the purpose of raising capital. The central or
state government, corporations and similar institutions sell bonds. A
bond is generally a promise to repay the principal along with a fixed
rate of interest on a specified date, called the Maturity Date.

Mutual Funds: These are funds operated by an investment company
which raises money from the public and invests in a group of assets
(shares, debentures etc.), in accordance with a stated set of
objectives. It is a substitute for those who are unable to invest
directly in equities or debt because of resource, time or knowledge
constraints. Benefits include professional money management,
buying in small amounts and diversification. Mutual fund units are
issued and redeemed by the Fund Management Company based on
the fund's net asset value (NAV), which is determined at the end of
each trading session. NAV is calculated as the value of all the shares
held by the fund, minus expenses, divided by the number of units
issued. Mutual Funds are usually long term investment vehicle
though there some categories of mutual funds, such as money
market mutual funds which are short term instruments