Wise investment is new mantra

HYDERABAD: Till the other day they dabbled in stocks, swore by their short-term-quick-gain schemes of mutual funds and scoffed at the idea of keeping money blocked for decades at measly interest rates. But over the last fortnight, these stock market enthusiasts have made a beeline at the nearest post office buying, hold your breath, Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) or opening a public provident fund.
Ankur Sharma, for instance, a 23-year-old software engineer, was until recently a stock savvy investor who saved to dabble on the Dalal Street.But on Monday morning, he gingerly walked into the local post office and bought himself a KVP for Rs 10,000. "It was perhaps a decade ago when I saw my father buy one. It may not be the smartest investment but surely a wise one," he now says.
Tarun Gupta, 24, another IT professional, is an avid stock market buff and ever ready to take risks for quick bucks. Now his money managing rulebook boasts of different tips on investing. "It is wise to put the major part of your income in government schemes that guarantee money return. You can still play with your money but should have a back up plan," says the techie who is dividing his saving between National Saving Certificates and KVPs.
This could well be the bull period for these traditional forms of investments with post offices in the city reporting a dramatic rise in KVP registrations that they believe may further go up in the next few days. Post office registers reflect brisk business of NSCs and KVPs over the last one week.
When the market soared in January this year, like thousands others, a 25-year-old student of business finance who does not wish to be quoted, invested over Rs one lakh in various shares after taking loans from banks. The recession cost him a loss of Rs 65,000. Still not over with the nightmare, he has directed a kings portion of his saving to the new life insurance scheme he has recently bought.
"The market has been delivering spectacular returns continuously in the last three years so investing in shares is but tempting. But recently, I put my money in public provident fund and taken a LIC policy. They may not be giving huge interests but at least stay market-proof. I cannot afford to fritter away my hard earned money in these uncertain times," says Pritam Singh, who works with a BPO.
These young and wise investors may appear as the latest recruits of local post offices spouting benefits of traditional investment forms. Even risk-takers and even the reckless money spenders have become cautious, taking out their money from their private banks and putting them in "safer nationalised banks. "I withdrew almost all my money from the bank and invested in fixed deposits offering me a decent 10 per cent rate of interest, says Priyanka Thakur, another BPO employee, who now believes that FDs and NSCs are the safest place to park money in.
Well, until the stock market bounces back, its the dusty post offices that seem to be laughing their way to the bank, literally.