Investors put in their money to earn returns- the final road to earning returns is dotted with minor as well as major hurdles like risks, market fluctuations and interest rate revisions. Every investor has a different capacity to face these hurdles and overcome them. Based on their capacities, investors make their choice among the currently available investment options. However, an ideal investment portfolio is one wherein there is a mix of investment options having both long and short term returns and distributed risk factors.

Here is a list of investment options smart investors should consider in order to build the ideal investment portfolio with a well-balanced combination of risk, returns and security:



Fixed Deposits (FD)

Banks and companies offer fixed deposits with varying interest rates and lock-in periods. All an investor has to do is find the right FD scheme and pick the ideal tenure to earn returns. Of late, the interest earnings from FDs have become much lower than earlier due to a reduction in the interest rates. However, they still remain one of the most preferred and safe investment options for investors of all ages.




Mutual Funds

In layman terms, mutual funds are pooled funds/money, invested into different securities that grow over time and provide dividend payouts throughout the tenure.


Public Provident Funds (PPF)

PPFs are similar to mutual funds in the sense that they comprise of pooled funds. These funds are basically investments made by investors to earn returns at the rate of 8.1% per annum which is tax-free.