In general, investments gives substantial returns depending on the kind one chooses and how meticulously she/he plans it. The duration of the investment one chooses also decides whether it is the wise choice of a person or not at a given point in time. These factors play all the more a vital role when it comes to investing during such unprecedented uncertain times as the current prolonging lockdown period for all industries due to Covid19. In a country like ours, let’s look at some of the investment options which people in general prefer – Real Estate, Gold, Stocks Mutual Funds etc. and see which of these fares as a most preferred and by far the better option during the current covid19 lock down.
Real Estate
When a person invest in a property with the right pulse of the current market scenario, the plusses and the minuses of the place/locality where she or he has chosen a property to buy in terms of the current state of development of that place, the expected development in the future, the credentials of the chosen builder, guarantees a reliable profit window along with a long term regular monthly returns. Especially when many developers are offering services related to health, safety and hygiene as the top most features of the property they are selling, it won’t be wrong to go for a property now than invest in any other form.
Gold
Gold has always been considered as one of the key assets that gets passed on from one to generation to another since time immemorial in our country. The flexibility that gold offers in buying and selling gold within a matter of just few hours makes it an enviable as well as perceivably an easy and lucrative investment avenue. One could buy in affordable grams with as little as possible going up to even few lakhs of rupees depending on her/his financial bandwidth. But how far this helps during the current time is to be thought about seriously since people hardly think of a product such as this while anything that offers them safety, security for their life seems to be their first choice these days.
Stocks
Many investors even during the current lockdown times turn to the stock market as a place to put their money. Stocks are a well-known investment option mainly because they don’t require a big cash injection, and they generally can be easily bought and sold. When one buys stocks, one buys a small share of that company. As the value of the company’s stock increases, the value of one’s investment goes up, too. And, depending on the company, one may receive regular dividends, which one can reinvest to grow their investment. While one’ll need to open a brokerage account to buy and sell stocks, many brokers offer a selection of no-transaction fee
Mutual Funds
Mutual Fund investments are highly liquid. Its units can be redeemed at any time on the click of a few buttons and the money will be deposited to the designated bank account within two-three business days. Plus one can start an SIP with as minimum an amount as Rs.500/-. Also, the post-tax returns on mutual funds are generally far, far higher than other products.
A comparison
Gold seemingly an advantageous avenue when it comes to the size of investment in comparison to real estate as it could be bought in as small a quantity as one wants. Whereas the price fluctuation in gold makes it uncertain and thus the investor can’t be guaranteed that the price won’t go down all of a sudden due to market volatility which won’t be the case when it comes to the re-sale value of a ready-to-move-in property even during as tough a time as the present lockdown phase.
Similarly, inspite of the high liquidity offered by stocks, relying solely on high dividend stocks means an investor missing out on opportunities for higher growth investments. Investing in the stock market independently can be unpredictable and the RoI is often lower than expected. The stock market is subject to several different kinds of risk: Market risk, economic risk and inflationary risk. Stock values can be extremely volatile—as the coronavirus pandemic has demonstrated yet again—their prices are subject to fluctuations in the market. Volatility can be caused by geopolitical as well as company-specific events. Say, for instance, a company has operations in another country. This foreign division is subject to the laws and rules of that nation. But if that country’s economy has problems, or any political troubles arise, that company’s stock may suffer. Stocks are also subject to the economic cycle as well as monetary policy, regulations, tax revisions, or even changes in the interest rates set by a country’s central bank. Other risks may stem from the investor him/herself. Investors who choose not to diversify their holdings, or rely on specific types of stocks are also setting themselves up for a higher risk. Also, When one sells their stocks, one may have to pay a capital gains tax. And they may have to pay taxes on any stock dividends their portfolio paid out during the year.
Likewise, though Debt Mutual Funds over three years comes with indexation benefits and mutual funds offers a cumulative interest of 10-12% over a period of 15 years, a property offers 15% for the same period. Also, the risk involved in mutual funds as it spreads our money across a portfolio of funds, is taken care only after a very long period of staying invested in all those set of funds Comparing the returns of real estate with gold, stocks, mutual funds is an apples-to-oranges comparison—the factors that affect prices, values, and returns are very distinct. Thus, it is unfair to a long term benefiting investment such as real estate, if we compare it with products that can be relatively easily bought, with minimum money, planning and time.
Yet, if compared, when it comes to getting returns regularly and for a very long time, real estate investment scores massively over gold, stocks, mutual funds and other financial products because not only a ready-to-move-in property yields a monthly basis assured income for a long period of time but also saves one from taxes for a decent length of time in the form of rebate in repairs, maintenance costs, depreciation, mortgage payments and legal services. Also, in a ready-to-move-in property there is no construction delay factor and is also exempt from GST.
Also, in a ready-to-move-in property, interest rate have dropped to a never-before level and the plethora of flexible options offered to people when it comes to paying back their loan at an all time low EMI. Thus, it would only be safe to conclude that such an investment would be the right decision to take during the current covid19 lockdown phase viz-a-viz other investments. To know more about our projects in chennai please call us @ +91 8144787405.
