Short Term investment | Long Term Investment: Short Term vs Long Term Investments: Gauging the saving spectrum (Market Moguls)

Typically, short-term investments involve less risk than long-term investments. Long-term investments give the investor’s money a substantial period to grow and recover from major dips in the market.

Having clear and crisp financial goals can help the investor decide whether to choose short or long-term investments and which vehicles within those categories aim towards personalized investment gains.

Before choosing any investment strategy, the investor ideally needs to do proper research on which asset types suits their need.

What is suitable for one investor might not be in sync with another’s financial objectives, so one must consider their overall goals along with the risks one is willing to take.

Short-term investments have a validity period typically up to three years – high liquidity instruments, generally involving lesser market risks.

Also, these temporary investments are mostly used for parking excess funds for a short period. Short-term investments are highly liquid and hence are used by investors to meet expected near-future expenses.

Less risky in nature, these short-term investment products have a short tenure and give predictable returns as compared to long-term investments be it –

● Treasury bills which can be redeemed within 91 days and is a high liquidity instrument.

● Gilt Funds which invest only in government securities and owing to zero credit risk, are safe investment funds.

● Ultra-short-term debt funds wherein the maturity period ranges between three to six months and provides comparatively higher returns.

● Low duration debt funds whose maturity period ranges between six and 12 months, these funds invest in debt and money market instruments.

● Money market funds that invest in money market instruments and have a redemption period of up to one year.

● Bank fixed deposits that can be renewed on maturity and their tenure can range from 14 days to 10 years. Also, liquidity can be a concern here as some banks don’t allow premature withdrawals.

● Company fixed deposits can have a tenure of more than one year

● Post office time deposits have tenures ranging from one to five years and similarly Recurring deposits can open an RD for a duration as low as six months. Sweep-in-Fixed Deposits as against low returns on savings accounts, these offer comparatively higher returns, with a minimum tenure of around 12 months.

On the other hand, long-term investments are investments that can offer high returns after several years, typically five years or more – involving more market risks.

Be it via stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, etc. Investments in stocks earn quite high returns if patience is kept high (Of course, this cannot be guaranteed but you should assess your risk-taking capacity before thinking of investing in stocks).

Having a deeper understanding of the market movements so that the investor makes wiser financial decisions and when to sell the stocks, investing in stocks and securities requires a trusted financial partner, who can provide hassle-free features to open an online Demat and Trading Account.

Another long-term investment avenue for receiving higher returns is Equity Mutual Funds where the investor gets to pick from small, mid-cap, and large-cap equity mutual funds for the long term to achieve greater financial goals.

Ultimately, the short-term investment gives levy to the investor to achieve their financial goals within a short span and with lower risk (depending on which asset you pick), if the investor has a greater risk appetite, and wants higher returns, they can select a long-term investment avenue.

To further simplify, if the investor wants to preserve their capital and is happy with moderate returns then they may choose short-term investments but, with the expectation of a higher return, the investor may invest in long-term investment avenues.

(The author is Senior Vice President, at mastertrust)

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)