Now comes the next question: What goes into making a smart investment? Is it investing at the right time, choosing the best investment plans, or something else? Well, it has a lot to do with the decisions you make. Having a goal to enhance your savings is surely good, but you need to move beyond that. You should be aiming for wealth creation, allowing your money to grow.
Additionally, smart investments also have a lot to do with long-term planning and perspective while not being affected by momentary volatility and turns. If you're also someone curious to learn about smart investment strategies and they can help you enhance your savings and money, then you've landed yourself at just the right place. Read on as we help you discover some golden smart investment strategies that can fulfil your investment goals and do much more.
i. Mortality charges
ii. Policy Administration charges
iii. Fund Management charges
After knowing charges, let us now know about available funds.
ULIPs provide a range of fund options from which you can select based on your needs. This gives you the freedom to make investments in accordance with your risk appetite, investment objectives, time horizon depending on your goal, and budget.
Below are the fund options provided by unit linked insurance plans:
- Equity funds: These are riskier investments. Your money is invested in company stocks through equity funds. Over an extended investment horizon, they may provide higher return. However, in comparison to debt and balanced funds, they can be volatile.
- Debt funds: These funds present relatively lower risk in comparison to equity funds and provide stable returns. Debt funds invest in fixed income instruments.
- Balanced funds: These funds are hybrid in nature as they invest in both stock and debt markets, so you can earn balanced returns. Balanced funds offer medium risk by combining equity funds and debt funds together. As the name suggests, balanced funds can help balance out the risk by compensating for the high risk of equity with the low risk of debt securities.
Top 5 Smart Investment Strategies to Grow Your Money
Here are some easy tips and tricks that can help you earn money, enhance your savings, and do much more.
- Starting Early Can Make a Difference
You must’ve heard the famous proverb “Rome was not built in a day”? Significant achievements, tasks, and goals do take time and are achieved in a day or overnight. Investments are no different. When you start investing early, you give your investment time to hatch and grow. And this is nothing but plain statistics. With early investments, your corpus amount gets plenty of time to grow because of the power of compounding.
Let's take an example. Suppose you want to retire at 60 with a savings goal of ₹60 lakhs. The key to reaching that target lies in consistently setting aside small amounts every month. If you start investing regularly at 25, you give your money time to grow and compound, making it easier to hit your goal. However, it is also important to understand that you can start anytime, and it's never really too late to invest. The key to effective long-term financial planning is the practice of consistent, disciplined saving, which is what ULIPs encourage. You can profit from wealth creation for your loved ones by paying premiums on time. - Consistency in Investments = Better Returns
When it comes to smart investing, people often wonder about tips and tricks, whether it’s about picking the right investment plans, investment frequency, portfolio design, or something else. While all of these matter, the golden rule is investing consistently.
When it comes to investments, there’s no room for mood swings. You cannot invest twice in a year and expect your money to double up. When it comes to wealth creation, there are no shortcuts. If you want your money to grow, it is better not to get swayed by market hype or react impulsively. Investing aggressively and then pulling out your money the next minute can prove to be a costly mistake.
Instead, consider being patient and investing a specific amount regularly with fiscal discipline and consistency to enhance your returns. With consistent investments, rupee cost averaging helps you make good returns irrespective of short-term market fluctuations. ULIPs provide Life Cover, to take care of your family secure in your absence. - Diversify Your Portfolio
Next, avoid following a single scheme investment plans religiously. Instead, consider investing in several investment plans. This is also called diversification. While relying on one plan or security might bring big returns if it performs well, it also comes with higher risk. If it fails, your losses could be steep. Therefore, it is better to invest across different assets, including gold, mutual funds, bonds, stocks, and much more.
Investing across different assets ensures you spread your risk and make a well-rounded portfolio. This means that even if one asset doesn't perform as expected, the other might compensate for it, keeping your overall investment returns in check. Simply put, don’t put all your eggs in one basket! You will have flexibility and control of your money through below options:
1. Fund Switch – An option to move your invested premium between equity, balanced and debt funds
2. Premium Redirection – An option to invest your future premium in a different fund of your choice
3. Partial Withdrawal – An option that allows you to withdraw a part of your money
4. Top-up – An option to invest additional money to your existing fund value - Change in Priorities Calls for Change in Investments
One of the key formulas of smart investments is to understand that there is no perfect investment plan. Instead, choosing the best investment plans has a lot to do with your financial goals, needs, and requirements. This means you simply need not chase the high-risk, high-return assets because everyone is doing so. You have to understand your risk appetite and financial goals and choose accordingly.
Also, your investment plans may change slowly based on changes in your priorities. For instance, at a young age, when you decide to go aggressively and take high risks, you may choose to invest in high-risk, high-return assets. As you age, if you want to preserve your savings and hard-earned money, you may choose to invest in low-risk assets with a steady income.
Pro tip: Make sure to keep a check on the charges that you have to bear when you make a switch or redeem your investments. Also, understand the taxability this may bring. Under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act of 1961, investments in ULIPs are allowed for a deduction from taxable income of up to 1.5 lakh per year. In accordance with the terms outlined in Section 10(10D) of the Income Tax Act, the maturity proceeds of the ULIP are likewise exempt from taxation. The death benefit indicated in the ULIP policy will be paid out to the ULIP investor if he or she passes away within the term of the policy, and under Section 10(10D) of the Income Tax Act of 1961, the money received at death is tax-free. Additionally, switching between ULIP funds is tax-free. - Regular Tracking of Your Investments
Planning to grow your money via investments? Well, start by keeping track of it. Tracking your investments is important for their nurturing. It is important to understand your investments and review them regularly to evaluate their performance. This helps you understand which investments are doing well, what can be done better, and so on.
Pro tip: You may use a spreadsheet to list, track, and cross-analyse all your investments and their performance.
Final Word
Planning your financial future is the very first step to keeping your future robust and steady. Additionally, with these simple tricks of the trade, you can invest smartly and build a financial discipline that can help you immensely in the long run. It doesn't even matter if you're a beginner or a pro-investor; be consistent, be thoughtful, and do your research.
Further, at Jio Insurance Broking, you have diverse investment options, allowing you to compare them and choose the one that matches your risk appetite and goals. So, what are you waiting for? Start investing and start earning!