Indians naturally believe in an inclusive family system, and hence most of the parents wish to have a secure life for their kids. Right from planning the children’s education to their marriage plans, parents want to leave no stones unturned to ensure a comfortable life for their kids. You would want a considerable amount of funds to complement such thoughts and need a financial strategy as well. Below are some of the top 5 investment plans for children.
1. Invest in FD/RD for the short term goals
Opening a fixed deposit account or a recurring deposit account is one the best and conventional methods of goal-based financing. FDs can be of multiple types, and you can choose an appropriate type of fixed deposit for your requirement. A recurring deposit stands true to its name where you pay a certain amount of money at frequent intervals and your deposits grow with the time. For convenience purposes, you have to visit several websites of financial institutions and use their eligibility calculator to determine the best option for yourself. It is also a great idea to check out the user reviews available online. For example, you can have a look at PNB housing finance FD reviews to know what the customers think about the offerings.
2. Insurance
Your future plans for the child should be a combination of investment and insurance, which would aid their requirements and financial needs at the right age. There are various types of coverage customized for education, life cover etc. Child education plans carry benefits of building corpus funds whenever it is required. Some of the significant components of a child insurance plan are sum assured, premium amount, policy term, waiver of premium benefit, partial withdrawal, maturity amount, and so on.
3. Balanced mutual funds
Balanced mutual funds are one of the safest types of mutual funds as they invest up to 65% of the amount in equity and the balance amount in debt instruments. Compared to other investment options, balanced mutual funds have high liquidity, i.e. if you need urgent cash, you can get the sell mutual fund units any time and get the money within less than three days. Balanced mutual funds also have fewer tax liabilities and can provide 12% to 15% annualized returns.
4. Investing in PPF
PPF is also a low-risk investment option where the government of India provides a guarantee on your investment and interest. You can open PPF account in a post office with the lockin period of 15 years with fewer exceptions on withdrawal. The returns are marginalized at 7.90% for the year 2020
5. Sukanya Samriddhi Account
Just like PPF, Sukanya Samriddhi Account (SSA) is also a small saving scheme with terms assured from Govt of India. You can open SSA in your preferred financial institution or a post office when your girl child is less than nine years old. SSA has a lockin period of 21 years and is exempted from tax. The current SSA interest rates stand at 8.4%/annum.
