There are multiple investment options in India that could put the investors into a state of utter confusion. Before taking any decision, they need to have all information regarding the investment products. In order to find the right investment option, factors such as financial goal, time frame, and appetite for risk need to be considered. Here are few beneficial investment options one can avail:

National Pension scheme is a long-term retirement saving scheme where an individual can invest during their earning life. It comes with additional tax benefits, low cost, and the amount is locked for a lifetime. It is compulsory that at the time of maturity, a minimum of 40% of the accumulated corpus has to be invested in an immediate annuity scheme.

Equity Mutual funds are another option where investment is made in stocks of companies across all market capitalization. They are considered to be the riskiest class of mutual funds as they have the potential to generate higher returns than debt and hybrid funds.

The most popular investment option in India is Public Provident Fund as it saves a great amount of taxes and can be extended beyond 15 years in a block of 5 years with or without making a fresh contribution. Upon investment of Rs. 1.5 lakh per year for 15 years with an interest rate of 7.6 percent will accumulate the corpus of Rs. 42.5 lakh.

Bank Fixed Deposits are a safe investment option for those who look for fixed, assured, and regular income. With the ‘Laddering approach’, investors can spread the amount in different maturities as upon maturation of the shortest-term FD, they can renew it for the longest duration.

Investment in Real Estate renders returns in two ways- rental income and capital appreciation. It gives a variety of choices as – independent houses, plots, villas, society flats bungalows, etc for investing money. It is a highly liquid asset class. Real Estate Mutual Funds are close-ended units, known as Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) which are traded in Real Estate stocks.

One can invest in Sovereign Gold Bonds in paper form. It is a profitable scheme with a long-term goal as the SGBs mature after 8 years. The return from the short-term goal could be highly volatile. Interest on the Bond is taxable but the redemption of the bond will be exempt from Capital Gain tax as proposed by the 2016-17 Budget.

Apart from these options, there are other options for investors but the first thing one has to bear in mind is that how he can make the best use of his money to get financial stability. Another thing is to identify the objective of investment as some people may want to preserve their money so they take low risk whereas others may want to have quick gains, therefore ready to take higher risks.

Age also has a significant impact on one’s investment choice; if one makes an investment early in life, he will have fewer responsibilities and a longer time to recover from any loss if the financial market falls. He can also have compound interest.

Considering all these factors, one should proceed towards the right investment plans.