Investing for your Life Goals

Modern dreams in most cases come with a big price tag. Be it higher education, buying a car, a house, or dream vacation, things are getting expensive with every passing day. To be able to achieve your financial goals, it is essential for modern working professionals to save and invest regularly.

With inflation degrading the value of your idle money, smart investment is the key to achieving all of your short and long-term goals in life. The importance of investing, types of popular investment options and some expert tips to start investing are mentioned below:

Why invest for your goals?

Most working professionals with a consistent source of income are mostly focused on their current expenses. However, even if you are just able to save a small amount each month and invest it wisely, you’ll be well on your way to having a much better and more secure financial future.

You work hard for your money, and it is by investing that you can put your money to work for you. Be it buying a car, a home, saving for retirement, child's education, or just beating inflation, goal setting and investing are the smartest ways to achieve all your life objectives.

Wide array of investment options in India

India is an emerging superpower with a host of investment option for every type of investor and every financial goal. Mutual funds, stock market, precious metals, property, Fixed Deposits, Public Provident Funds (PPFs), Bonds and Initial Public Offers are some of the top options.

If you're just starting with investment, try to start small and pick a safer option. Prefer options like debt funds, Fixed Deposits and other options with fixed returns over equity funds, property or stock market investments. Once you gain a little experience, you can then shift to other options if required. With so many options, you can easily determine the goal you need to achieve, set a deadline and start investing to achieve it.

Selecting the Right Investment

With so many investment options, how will you choose the best? Your investment plans should always be in line with your financial objective and personal profile. For instance, if you're aiming for retirement planning, equity mutual funds can be a good choice as they are well-known for long-term wealth creation.

Apart from goal-based investing, you also need to consider your personal profile before investing. For instance, if you are married with two kids, it will have an impact on your risk appetite, and you would need to choose the investment path accordingly. However, if you are single and just started your career, you can choose to look for a more aggressive form of investment such as Equity Mutual Funds, etc. And if you are nearing your retirement age, you may look at Fixed Deposits, PPFs, Senior citizen schemes etc.

Building a portfolio that is robust and healthy takes time. It is not only important to start investing, but it is equally important to remain consistent with investing money. Try to be a disciplined investor and keep investing on a regular basis to get closer to your objectives.

Discipline and consistency are two of the most important qualities of successful investors. Try to develop them from an early age to master them as early as possible.

Tips to Remember Throughout Your Financial Journey

• Start investing as early in life as possible. With most of the investments, the longer you remain invested, the higher your chances of earning better returns.
• Avoid falling for schemes that promise very high returns within a short period. Such schemes can be fraudulent or can put your capital under high risk.
• When selecting an investment option, make sure that you also consider taxation. The returns from different types of investments are taxed differently.
• Once you have started investing, monitor your portfolio regularly and make changes when required. Rather than making haphazard decisions, make sure that the changes are always well-thought and in line with your objective and personal profile.

Creating a Solid Investment Strategy

If you’re searching for the best way to invest money, you first need to create a solid investment strategy. The strategy should focus on your goals and a host of other factors related to you to deliver the results you expect.

Keep the above points in mind to start working on your financial plan and be able to actually achieve all your life goals.

DISCLAIMER

The contents of this document are meant merely for information purposes. The information contained herein is subject to updation, completion, revision, verification and amendment and the same may change materially. The information provided herein is not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person in any jurisdiction where such distribution or use would (by reason of that person‘s nationality, residence or otherwise) be contrary to law or regulation or would subject lClCl Bank or its affiliates to any licensing or registration requirements. This document is not an offer, invitation or solicitation of any kind to buy or sell any security and is not intended to create any rights or obligations. Nothing in this document is intended to constitute legal, tax, securities or investment advice, or opinion regarding the appropriateness of any investment, or a solicitation for any product or service. Please obtain professional legal, tax and other investment advice before making any investment. Any investment decisions that may be made by you shall be at your sole discretion, independent analysis and at your own evaluation of the risks involved. The use of any information set out in this document is entirely at the recipient's own risk. The information set out in this document has been prepared by ICICI Bank based upon projections which have been determined in good faith by lClCl Bank and from sources deemed reliable. There can be no assurance that such projections will prove to be accurate. lClCl Bank does not accept any responsibility for any errors whether caused by negligence or otherwise or for any loss or damage incurred by anyone in reliance on anything set out in this document. The information set out in this document has been prepared by ICICI Bank based upon projections which have been determined in good faith and sources considered reliable by lClCl Bank. In preparing this document we have relied upon and assumed, without independent verification, the accuracy and completeness of all information available from public sources or which was provided to us or which was otherwise reviewed by us. Past performance cannot be a guide to future performance. 'lClCl ' and the 'I-man' logo are the trademarks and property of lCICl Bank. Misuse of any intellectual property, or any other content displayed herein is strictly prohibited.