Savings & investment

Personal finances. Why bother? There is always a first time for everything so also for investing. To invest you need capital free of any obligation. If you are not in the habit of saving sufficient amount every month, then you are not ready for investing. Our advice is :- Save to at least 4-5 months of your monthly income for emergencies. Do not invest from savings made for this purpose. Hold them in a liquid state and do not lock it up against any liability or in term deposits. Save at least 30-35 per cent of your monthly income. Stick to this practice and try to increase your savings. Avoid unnecessary or lavish expenses as they add up to your savings. A dinner at Copper Chimney can always be avoided, the pleasures of avoiding it will be far greater if the amount is saved and invested. Try gifting a bundle of share certificates to yourself on your marriage anniversary or your hubby’s birthday instead of spending your money on a lavish holiday package. Clear all your high interest debts first out of the savings that you make. Credit card debts (revolving credits) and loans from pawnbrokers typically carry interest rates of between 24-36% annually. It is foolish to pay off debt by trying to first make money for that cause out of gambling or investing in stocks with whatever little money you hold. Infact its prudent to clear a portion of the debt with whatever amounts you have. Retirement benefits are an ideal savings tool. Never opt out of retirement benefits in place of a consolidated pay-cheque. You are then missing out on a substantial employer contribution into the fund.

Different investment options and their current market rate of returns. The investment options before you are many. Pick the right investment tool based on the risk profile, circumstance, time zone available etc. If you feel market volatility is something which you can live with then buy stocks. If you do not want to risk the volatility and simply desire some income, then you should consider fixed income securities. However, remember that risk and returns are directly proportional to each other. Higher the risk, higher the returns. A brief preview of different investment options is given below: Equities: Investment in shares of companies is investing in equities. Stocks can be bought/sold from the exchanges (secondary market) or via IPOs – Initial Public Offerings (primary market). Stocks are the best long-term investment options wherein the market volatility and the resultant risk of losses, if given enough time, is mitigated by the general upward momentum of the economy. There are two streams of revenue generation from this form of investment. 1. Dividend: Periodic payments made out of the company's profits are termed as dividends. 2. Growth: The price of a stock appreciates commensurate to the growth posted by the company resulting in capital appreciation. On an average an investment in equities in India has a return of 25%. Good portfolio management, precise timing may ensure a return of 40% or more. Picking the right stock at the right time would guarantee that your capital gains i.e. growth in market value of your stock possessions, will rise. 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 fixed rate of interest on a specified date, called as the maturity date. Other fixed income instruments include bank fixed deposits, debentures, preference shares etc. The average rate of return on bonds and securities in India has been around 10 - 12 % p.a. Certificate of Deposits: These are short - to-medium-term interest bearing, debt instruments offered by banks. These are low-risk, low-return instruments. There is usually an early withdrawal penalty. Savings account, fixed deposits, recurring deposits etc are some of them. Average rate of return is usually between 4-8 %, depending on which instrument you park your funds in. Minimum required investment is Rs. 1,00,000. Mutual Fund: These are open and close ended funds operated by an investment company which raises money from the public and invests in a group of assets, in accordance with a stated set of objectives. It’s a substitute for those who are unable to invest directly in equities or debt because of resource, time or knowledge constraints. Benefits include diversification and professional money management. Shares are issued and redeemed on demand, based on the fund's net asset value, which is determined at the end of each trading session. The average rate of return as a combination of all mutual funds put together is not fixed but is generally more than what earn in fixed deposits. However, each mutual fund will have its own average rate of return based on several schemes that they have floated. In the recent past, MFs have given a return of 18 – 30 %. Cash Equivalents: These are highly liquid and safe instruments which can be easily converted into cash, treasury bills and money market funds are a couple of examples for cash equivalents. Others : There are also other saving and investment vehicles such as gold, real estate, commodities, art and crafts, antiques, foreign currency etc. However, holding assets in foreign currency are considered more of an hedging tool (risk management) rather than an investment.

For Stock advice: Saturday watch on Market Outlook

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