To meet these goals, it is important to plan and invest your money prudently. There are many investment plans in the Indian financial market that you can pick and choose from. Ideally, it is best to develop an investment portfolio that includes different types of investment. You can choose from the many investment options available in India. Some investment plans help you achieve your long-term life goals; while other types of investment help you meet short-term objectives. This is why it is important to invest in the right investment plans. If you are just starting your investment journey, or if you are unsure about how to plan your investment portfolio, it is important to begin at the basics and build your knowledge up from there. So, let us get started by looking at what investment plans are, and then taking a peek into the different types of investment that you should have in your portfolio.
What are investment plans?
An investment plan is a financial product that helps your money grow by the power of compounding or by the power of market-linked movements over the course of the investment period. In other words, it allows you to convert your earnings into wealth. Investing is different from merely saving up your money. When it comes to savings, you put aside your funds bit by bit, primarily with the aim of preserving that money. For example, a cash product such as a savings bank account helps you save up money.
In investments, there is an element of growth involved, where your capital is not only preserved, but also allowed to grow over the years. Different types of investments provide varying returns, but in almost all cases, the rewards from investing far outweigh the rewards from merely saving your money. Therefore, by smartly choosing the right investment plans for your life goals, you can achieve your objectives as per your desired timeline.
Investment options in India
If you are looking for some investment plans in India, you will not be disappointed. There are several options to choose from, right from short-term investments to long-term products. You can also choose your investment plans depending on the risk levels involved. Generally, investments that are linked to the market pose a higher degree of risk; however, they also offer the potential to earn higher returns. Other options, like fixed income instruments, pose a lower level of risk, but simultaneously, the returns may also be lower.
If you are a risk-averse investor, you are more likely to prefer investing in stable investment plans like bonds or deposits. Alternatively, if you can afford to take a certain degree of risk, you could invest in equity or equity-oriented mutual funds. The ideal move, however, would be to build a diversified investment portfolio that includes high-risk and low-risk investment plans.
Let us now look at some of the investment options that you may consider to have in your portfolio.
1. Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIPs)
A Unit Linked Investment Plan (ULIP) is a type of investment that offers policyholders the dual advantage of investing in market-linked funds like equity funds and/or debt funds, while simultaneously providing a life insurance cover.
How do Unit Linked Insurance Plans work?
In ULIPs, the premium you pay is invested in the financial markets in India. Each Unit Linked Insurance Plan includes a different set of funds where your money is invested. You can choose where to invest your money, depending on your risk appetite and your life goals. ULIPs also provide a life insurance cover along with an investment option, making them one of the most preferred investment plans among investors.
What are the advantages of investing in a ULIP?
You enjoy many benefits that come with investing in a ULIP.
• ULIPs allow you to switch your funds between equity and debt segments a certain number of times each year, so you can take advantage of market movements.
• ULIPs also give you a tax benefit, since the premium paid can be deducted from your total income as per section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
• Depending on the market conditions, these investment plans allow your capital to grow over the course of the investment period, so at the end of the policy term, you may have a sizable corpus to fall back on.
• The returns obtained from ULIPs are tax-free.
• ULIPs also provide a life cover, so your family will have a financial safety net to rely on in case you are no more.
• Tax benefits are subject to provisions of Income Tax Act, 1961, as amended from time to time.
2. Pension Plans for Retirement
A pension plan is a kind of investment plan that helps you build a corpus that you can rely on during your golden years, once you have retired. These plans ensure that you continue to enjoy uninterrupted financial years even after you have stopped actively working. With the investment obtained from such plans, you can go ahead and fulfil your post-retirement life goals without any worry or stress.
How do retirement plans work?
Retirement plans mainly work in two ways. Firstly, they help you build up your capital during your earning years, when you are capable of saving more money since you have a regular source of income. This money is invested during your earning years, thereby contributing to a growing retirement corpus. Later, once you have retired or once you have attained the vesting age, an annuity product or a pension plan based on this retirement corpus ensures that you enjoy regular income even though you are not employed.
What are the advantages of investing in a retirement plan?
Investing in a retirement plan has many advantages.
• Pension plans ensure that you enjoy a guaranteed income in your post-retirement life phase. This allows you to be financially independent.
• You can make use of the benefits obtained from a retirement plan to pursue your life goals, such as traveling the world or investing in a venture you are passionate about.
• When you invest in a retirement pension plan earlier in life, you have a longer period of time over which you can contribute toward your retirement corpus.
• Premiums you pay for retirement policies qualify for tax deduction under Section 80CCC of the Income Tax Act 1961, up to Rs. 1,50,000 subject to provisions stated therein.
• Furthermore, up to one-third of the lump sum retirement savings you obtain are also tax-free under Section 10(10A) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 subject to provisions stated therein.
3. Endowment Insurance Plans
Traditional endowment insurance plans are essentially life insurance policies that combine a protective life cover with an investment opportunity. They provide maturity benefits if the policyholder outlives the policy period. Here, your premium is not invested in market-linked instruments. This is why endowment insurance plans are non-linked savings plans. Those are further classified into ‘Par’ & ‘Non-Par’ products depending on whether or not the policyholder participates in company’s profits.
How do endowment plans work?
An endowment plan has two main components, namely insurance and wealth creation. The insurance segment ensures that your family and dependents have a financial safety net to fall back on in case of your demise, since the insurer pays out the sum assured under the plan to your nominee. The wealth creation component ensures that your money is invested in non-market linked investments like fixed deposits and government bonds. This allows your money to grow over the policy period.
What are the advantages of investing in an endowment plan?
When you invest in an endowment plan, you get to enjoy these advantages –
• It helps you cultivate a disciplined savings habit by allowing you to contribute a fixed sum each year towards your corpus. This way, you can achieve your long-term life goals.
• Endowment plans offer guaranteed as well as non-guaranteed returns in the form of maturity benefits, since they are not subject to the risk of market movements.
• In addition to this, endowment life insurance plans also provide adequate life covers that can help your family carry on even in your absence.
• The premium you pay for an endowment plan can be deducted from your income as per Section 80C of the Income Tax Act 1961, subject to provisions stated therein, as amended from time to time.
• The maturity benefits that you receive from the investment component of an endowment plan are also tax-free as per Section 10(10D) of the Income Tax Act 1961, subject to provisions stated therein, as amended from time to time.
Conclusion
With these investment plans in your portfolio, you can build a sizable corpus that can help you meet different life goals like your child’s education or the purchase of your dream home. If you already have some of these investments in your portfolio, keep in mind that they also give you tax benefits.