4 guiding principles to intelligent investing

Last few years has seen two important developments as far as 'investment' per se is concerned - 1) the increasing importance of a good investment planning and 2) the investment opportunities themselves undergoing a sea change.

Increased importance of investment
There has been an explosion in spending options - mobiles, new cars, foreign holidays, electronic gadgets, designer clothes, etc.

Secondly, the overall non-earning period in one's life is increasing. While, on one hand we see an increase in the average life span with improvement in healthcare facilities, on the other, we have reducing, active working-life.

Thus, good investment planning has become a must.

Diversity in investment options
The days of assured returns are almost over. Also, the interest rates have dropped sharply. But on the flip side, we find a host of new investment options such as mutual funds, new insurance products, futures & options, improved capital markets, etc.. These come with their own set of benefits and complexities vis-�-vis the traditional savings products.

These developments have made it necessary that we spend more time & effort in ensuring that we make the right investment decisions. If we properly measure each investment option on 4 parameters - viz. Returns, Liquidity, Safety and Taxation - there are good chances of making the right investment decision.

Returns
Earning returns is the main objective of investing. Equity, as an investment class, has the potential to give much higher returns vis-�-vis debt-based instruments like bonds, debentures, bank FDs etc. Though, of course, safety is an issue that needs to be separately considered. Therefore, debt also has an important role in the asset allocation.

An important point with regard to returns is that the same should be in line with the market realities. If some investment promises much higher returns than other options in the same class, then it would be prudent to a such investments. Comparison with the peer group is essential.

For example if today someone offers say 10-12% on FDs, when the average rates are around 7%, we should be careful. It is not possible for someone to give such high returns without taking some risk. This means that your money is at a risk which you do not want and which is why you chose an FD as your investment option and not equity.

Or say your equity investment has given 25% return, but at the same time market grew by say 40%. While 25% in absolute terms is a very good return, it is below average in comparison to the markets. This means that you need to have a relook at your portfolio.

Liquidity
Liquidity is an important aspect of any investment option as it determines the ease, time & cost involved in converting the investment into cash. While certain expenses like house purchase, children's education etc. could be reasonably planned, emergencies such as medical expenses could require one to redeem an investment pre-maturely.

Hence, ones' portfolio should be balanced from liquidity angle also. This would ensure easy availability of adequate funds in an emergency at a minimal cost.

As a general thumb rule, one should keep about 4-6 months of average monthly expenses in savings account or short term FD or Floating Rate/Liquid Funds. This, in most situations, should be sufficient to meet any emergency. And the balance amount should be invested so as to mature more or in less in line with one's anticipated requirements - say a car after 1 year, child's education after 5 years etc.

Safety
Investing and risk go hand in hand. In fact, not investing is also a risk. The risk could be of various types - credit risk, market risk, interest rate risk, inflation risk etc. Each investment option is differently affected by different type of risks. The risk could affect not only the return on investment but also return of investment.

Also, as a general rule, to earn higher returns, we would need to invest in options that carry higher risk. It, however, does not mean that taking higher risk is bad. Understanding the risks involved helps one to invest wisely and manage the risk. Our aim should be managing risk and not evading risk.  

Taxation
Tax is inevitable. And fairly complicated too. Different income levels attract different tax rates. Different investment options attract different tax rates. Even for a particular option, the tax rate may vary with the period of investment. Apart from this we also have a host of tax incentives.

However, as tax affects the net returns in-hand, it is important to have a clear understanding of the tax policies. Even a simple tax planning would help choosing options that would minimize the tax outgo, thereby maximizing the returns. Tax planning, therefore, is an integral part of investment planning.

Thus, good investing is all about getting the right mix of Returns-Liquidity-Safety-Tax, which matches with our (a) investment objectives and (b) the risk profile.

The author is Vice President - Nabriya Financial Services, Pune. He can be reached at smatai@hotmail.com

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