Where to invest your hard earned money in 2009?

The year 2008 was a nightmare for investor’s world over. In reality no analyst or market guru had foreseen such an economic catastrophe. World markets tumbled down to historic lows and the banking sector was the worst hit by this financial storm. This vicious cycle directly had an adverse impact on the investor sentiment. People were scared to enter the money markets. Now what? The resurrection of this economic downfall will certainly take some time and determine the time factor is quite difficult. But in the meantime you need to think about safe investment options. And the top ten investment options could be…

1. Investment in property: This could well be a good long-term investment. Investing in a home during recession will be advantageous, as you will get hands on a good house for a low price that will give gains over a period of time.

2. Fixed Deposit: Your hard earned money can find a safe haven when they are put into fixed deposits. These will give you a guaranteed return depending upon the time limit of the deposit.

3. Investing in government bonds: Governments bonds offer safety with assured returns for example: PPF and NSE are ideal options.

4. Money market funds: The main purpose of Money market funds is that it preserves the principal amount of your investment and gives you low interest in short duration; the time span of your investment will be a year or less than that. In spite of lower returns the fund is considered safe as the major part of the money is invested in government securities.

5. Go for Pension schemes: For senior citizens their savings is all they have and to safeguard it in a Pension scheme will ensure they receive a regular income.

6. Add to your Employee PF: You can add some amount of money in your Employee Provident fund to have more funds with stable returns after retirement.

7. Insurance schemes: A reliable life insurance policy that offers guaranteed returns and add some of amount to the Unit linked Plan if you already have one to amass great profits.

8. Keep a healthy amount of savings: This will enable you to have an option of ready cash, which will be available during emergency situations such as hospitalisation, divorce or death of a family member.

9. Look for Mutual fund schemes: Debt funds are a safe bet in the Mutual fund segment and even a fund that pays out dividend will also serve the purpose.

10. Blue chip stocks: Investing in the stock market may be risky but any long-term investment will give you considerable amount of profits. As of now blue chip stocks are available at a low value and you can book profits in the long run.