The business channels and pink papers have been obsessive about high inflation in the Indian economy and the consequent rise in interest rates – and well they should be. The government doesn’t seem too perturbed about the deleterious effect that high inflation causes – not just to GDP growth, but also to the wallets of common citizens.
During such times, savings and investments may be farthest from people’s minds as they struggle to make both ends meet. However, there are some comparatively less risky investment opportunities that smart investors can avail of – and Nishit discusses them in this month’s guest post.
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Inflation is rising, cost of loan repayments (EMIs) is going up and jobs are getting lost. How does a common man deal with such a situation?
Government bond yields have almost reached 9%. This means interest rates may rise further in the times to come. EMIs may go up if the RBI hikes the Repo rate, which is currently at 8.5%. In the case of loans, it is best to pre-pay some amount rather than letting the tenure increase. Many people will not get a tenure extension if their tenure has reached the maximum limit of about 25 years.
This is a good time to lock in your savings in high yield fixed investments. Non Convertible Debentures of L&T Finance gives an yield of about 10%. Other fixed income investments like Bank FDs should be utilized to avail of high interest rates. A SIP can be started in a Gilt fund. The interest rate cycle is about to peak soon and Gilt funds are likely to give good returns.
The recently increased limit in PPF investments from Rs 70,000 to Rs 1 lakh, and the higher rate of PPF return of 8.6% is a wonderful opportunity and should be made use of by small investors.
The markets are headed downwards. This scenario is likely to remain till interest rates start moving down. At every decline to key support levels, one can add blue chip shares to the portfolio keeping a 5 years horizon in mind. Supports for the Nifty are at 4700, 4300 and 3700.
Gold as an investment can be looked at only when the previous high of US $1900 per oz is taken out, or near the support level of US $1600 per oz.
For astute investors, cash is king. In a slow GDP growth environment, if one is willing to put down cash then real estate as well as automobiles may be available at good discounts. Plummeting car sales indicate that good cars may soon get sold at discounts just to clear off the inventory and keep the assembly lines working.
This is a great time for an investor to build an entire new portfolio. The portfolio should comprise of fixed income instruments, stocks, commodities and real estate. A proper balance of allocation to these assets will generate wealth going forward.
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(Nishit Vadhavkar is a Quality Manager working at an IT MNC. Deciphering economics, equity markets and piercing the jargon to make it understandable to all is his passion. "We work hard for our money, our money should work even harder for us" is his motto.
Nishit blogs at Money Manthan.)
