Gurpreet Kaur, Delhi

What is the best investment plan to get 15-20 per cent returns in India?

The best investment options in India which can give a return of 15 to 20 per cent are mutual funds and direct equity over the long term under the guidance of Certified Financial Planner.

Investment options depend on the goal of the person, which can be divided into short, medium and long.

If the goal is short term which is 1 to 3 years one can expect return of 6 to 7 per cent. If the goal is a medium term, that is 4 to 10 years, then one can expect a return of 8 to 10 per cent, as one can take a moderate risk and can invest a small part in equity or balanced mutual funds to earn a return. One needs to bear in mind that the higher the return higher is the risk.

For a goal of 10 years and above, every type of equity mutual fund and good direct equity can be considered for investment with expectations of 15 per cent and above.

Hina Shah, Certified Financial PlannerCM & Financial Coach, LUHEM

Rajdeep Ghosh,  Kolkata

If I have Rs 6,00,000, how do I turn it into Rs 20 lakh in 5 years?

If you want Rs 6 lakh to become Rs 20 lakh in 5 years, you need to invest in an avenue that is giving you 27.23 per cent compounded returns per annum. If you are investing in a mid cap or a small cap share or mutual fund, and if your luck plays a role, then you may get this kind of return.

However, if we are looking at a realistic picture, you get around 15 -20 per cent compounded annual growth rate in these over a 10 year horizon. These can also give you volatile returns in 5 years.

Follow the thumb rule of 72. It will help you to set your expectations right. It gives us the expected rate of return if we know the doubling period and vice versa.

So, if you are expecting money to double in let’s say three years, the expected return is 72/3 =26 per cent.

In case your expected return is 15 per cent, the doubling period is 72/15 = approximately 5 years. So, Rs 6 lakh will become Rs 12 lakh in 5 years, and that Rs 12 lakh will double to Rs 24 lakh in another 5 years.

In case your expected return is 20 per cent, the doubling period is 72/20=three and a half years.

UMA S CHANDER, Certified Financial PlannerCM,  Co-Founder, Handholding Financials

Khushi Jaiswal, Pune

How to start my investment journey as a beginner?

You need to first zero down on the purpose for which you wish to start your investments. To be more specific, you need to plan for smart goals which need to be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound.

As you begin your investment journey, you can start with two basic and important goals – emergency fund corpus creation and retirement corpus creation. You can create your emergency fund corpus in your savings bank account or a Flexi FD or a liquid mutual fund or a combination of these. You can also start with SIP for your retirement goal in equity mutual fund schemes.

We suggest you get in touch with a Certified Financial Planner who can do some basic investment exercises to understand your risk appetite and explain to you basic concepts of investing in various asset classes and accordingly guide and handhold you during your investment journey.

SUHEL CHANDER, Certified Financial PlannerCM, Co-Founder, Handholding Financials