Services

It is a trust that collects money from a number of investors who share a common investment objective and invests the same in equities, bonds, money market instruments and/or other securities providing diversification
It is professionally managed
Mutual funds can be equity oriented (large cap, mid cap, flexicap, thematic etc.) or debt oriented (liquid, ultra-short term, credit, G-sec etc) or Hybrid funds (combination of equity & debt)
Mutual funds are considered highly liquid investments where money can redeemed within 3 working days

Portfolio Management services (PMS) ) is an investment portfolio in stocks, fixed income, debt, cash, structured products and other individual securities, managed by a professional money manager where you own individual securities unlike a mutual fund investor, which owns units of the fund
PMS products usually have fewer stocks vis-à-vis a Mutual Fund. A typical PMS has around 20-25 stocks. A PMS fund manager invests in only those stocks in which he has the highest conviction and hence can take concentrated positions
In discretionary PMS, the choice as well as the timings of the investment decisions rest solely with the Portfolio Manager
Minimum investment in a PMS is 50 Lacs

Bonds are fixed-income instrument that represents a loan made by an investor to a borrower (typically corporate or governmental)
While they also experience volatility, they are considered safer than equity investments
Bonds are classified based on safety, liquidity and expected return(yield)
Bonds can be invested into for as less as one week to 5 years or more
After the recent budget, bonds have become fully taxable at the investor’s tax rate
54EC bonds are special bonds that help to save long-term capital gains tax arising out of sale of real estate. Maximum limit for investing in 54EC bonds is 50 lakhs

Corporate Fixed Deposits (FDs) are term deposit similar to a bank which is held over fixed period at fixed rates of interest
Company Fixed Deposits are offered by Financial and Non-Banking financial companies (NBFCs)
The maturities of various company fixed deposits can range from a few months to a few years
They usually give better rate of interest than traditional bank FDs

Traditional insurance can be used as an altenative of debt & equity while also giving insurance cover
Since most insurance products are tax-free, thay can potentially give returns than traditional FDs
Illiquidity is the biggest drawback of Life insurance products
Insurance products taken under Married Women’s Property Act (MWPA) is a powerful tool that protects the rights of a married woman against claims made by any other entity