Which Investment Option Offers Guaranteed Return as Compared to Debt Fund?


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It is said that smart investment planning is the key to achieve the financial objectives of life. With an extensive range of investment options available in the market, it is imperative to choose the right one. So, you can create a financial cushion for the future and meet the ultimate financial goals. Choosing the investment option which offers guaranteed return can seem to be a herculean task. So, in order to help you out, here we have elaborately discussed the investment options, which offer guaranteed returns as compared to debt funds.

Types of Investment Plans

Life Insurance

Life insurance is considered as one of the best investment options as it not only provides life cover to your family in case of an eventuality but also helps you to accomplish long-term and short-term financial objectives.

Life insurance plans offer two types of investment options i.e. ULIP plans and traditional plan. Unit Linked Insurance Plans offers investment returns based on the market performance of the fund, whereas, traditional plans offer regular or lump-sum payment as maturity benefit. You can consider investing in the traditional plan in order to avail assured returns depending on your investment amount, insurance goal, risk appetite, and investment horizon.

Moreover, apart from the guaranteed returns, both types of investment plans offer tax benefit under Section 80C and Section 10(10D) of Income Tax Act 1961.

Fixed Deposit

Fixed Deposits are considered as one of the safest investment options which offer a guaranteed return on investment. As one of the best long-term investment option, the interest rate in fixed deposits ranges from 7-8% and remains the same for the entire tenure of investment. Based on banks, FD offers non-cumulative and cumulative investment option. The cumulative option enables you to create corpus over a long-term as it offers the extended benefit of compounding, whereas, in non-cumulative option, the interest is paid as per the underwriting and it helps you to get the regular payout.

As compared before, the returns in guaranteed plans have increased historically. Thus, in today’s day and age, the returns generated by guaranteed income plans are similar to banks FD and is considered as a lucrative option of investment for conservative buyers.

In order to help you understand in a much better way, here we have shown a brief comparison of how HDFC Sanchay Plus Guaranteed Plan is a better investment option than fixed deposits.

HDFC Sanchay Plus	Fixed Deposits
Offers guaranteed fixed interest rate for 25 years	Offers fixed interest rate for the tenure of 5-10 years
Provides life cover	Does not provide any life cover
Offers tax benefit on investment	No tax benefit is offered on investment
Offers tax benefit on returns	No tax benefit is offered on returns

Public Provident Fund (PPF)

PPF is known as one of the most lucrative option investments as it offers the benefit of fund protection and guaranteed returns which are totally exempted from taxes. Public Provident Fund provides you an opportunity to create a corpus for the future so that you can secure life after retirement. You can start investing in PPF with a minimum amount of Rs.500 and can invest up to maximum Rs.1, 50,000 in a financial year. PPF also offers the loan facility between a 3^rd year to the 6^th year of investment. This investment option not only offers guaranteed returns on investment, but the interest rate in a PPF account is higher as compared to bank FDs and RDs.

Debt Fund

As a lucrative option of investment, the major objective of a debt fund is to generate capital appreciation for the investors throughout the investment tenure. As debt fund is managed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) it provides certain security. However, debt fund does not offer any guaranteed returns, as it totally depends on the market performance of the fund. Moreover, if we make a comparison of tax benefit on debt fund and traditional product then we can see that, in traditional products tax benefit can be availed under Section 80C of IT Act 1961. On the other hand, the debt funds which are held for more than 36 months are taxed 20% with indexation and are classified as a long-term capital gain.

However, with the higher risk involved in investment, the ROI offered by debt funds are also high as compared to bank FDs. Thus, it is a great option of investment for investors who have a high-risk appetite and are non-conventional buyers.

Comparison Chart of Traditional Guarantee Return Plans and Debt Funds

Basis	Traditional Guaranteed Return Plans	Debt Funds
Objective	Helps to get money back faster and also secures the future of you and your family financially.	It is purely for the investment purpose and helps to create wealth in the long-term.
Investment Returns	Depends on the type of investment	Highly volatile, totally depends on the market performance of the fund.
Tax Benefit	Offers tax benefit U/S 80C and 10(10D) of Income Tax Act.	The debt funds which are held for more than 3 years are taxed 20% with indexation and are classified as a long-term capital gain.
Flexibility	Offers low flexibility	Offers high flexibility.
Security	Offers high security because of guaranteed returns	The investments made in debt funds are not secured and does not offer guaranteed returns.
Which is Better	Traditional investment plans are best in term of guaranteed returns and financial security.	Debt funds are best only in terms of investment. Even though the fund offers a higher return on investment, the returns totally depend on the market performance of the fund.

Wrapping it Up!

Earning money may be tough, but it is even tougher to make an investment in the right way and wisely. It is important to keep in mind that the investment made in a long-term reaps maximum returns as compared to the short-term investment. Thus, if you are looking for the right investment option which offers guaranteed returns as compared to debt funds, then you can consider investing in these Guaranteed plans.