Safest Investment Options

When it comes to investment, it is often said that higher the risk, higher is the propensity to make profits and lower the risk, lower is the amount of profits you can make through the investment. In other words, investments which are comparatively safer, do not make much profits and hence are ideal for the middle-aged or people nearing retirement. While high risk, high profit making investments are for youngsters or people who have a high risk taking threshold. The economic meltdown however, has changed this thinking completely. Today, irrespective of their age or the amount of profits an investment promises to make, people are vying for safe investment options. Stock markets, mutual funds, real estate - the sectors in which so many people lost their money during the economic recession, are no longer considered amongst the safest investment options today!

Certificates of Deposits
These are issued by a bank for a time period varying between one year to five years. If you invest money in CDs, as they are usually called, you are promised a fixed rate of return by a bank, the money amounting to which is handed over to you, at the end of the term. When the money is deposited in a CD, you can not withdraw it, until the time period for which it is issued ends. So for those people who always have some good amount of money lying in the saving account of a bank, a better yielding and safe investment strategy is to invest in a CD. It has a much higher rate of interest compared to a saving account and it is absolutely safe too.

Treasury Bills
T-bills as they are generally referred to, are issued by the government and hence are counted amongst the best investment options. The duration for which treasury bills can be held varies from as short as a few days to up to a full one year and anywhere in between. There is a specific predetermined date on which the T-bills mature. Profits can be made on treasury bills by buying them on a discounted rate and then selling them off at their face value on their date of maturation. For instance, if the face value of a treasury bill is $150 and you buy it for $130, you can make $20 as profits by selling it at $150 on its maturation date.

Employer Plans
There are many benefits of investing in employer plans such as 401(k) and 403(b). Firstly, your taxable income goes down as the money you put in them is not taxable. Secondly, it is mandatory for your employer to make contribution to this plan, so in a way, you get free money from him. Thirdly, the money for these plans will get deducted from your paycheck straightaway, which means that you will HAVE to invest money in them which you would have otherwise spent on irrelevant things. Lastly, by the time you retire, you will have accumulated enough money that you can enjoy a life of comfort and safety.

Gold
Gold is indeed one of the good investments. They can be held physically as gold coins and gold bars or they can be purchased in the form of exchange trade funds i.e. ETFs. If you look at how gold has fared in the past few years, you would see that it is one investment which has not borne the brunt of the economic meltdown. Gold, more or less has remained unaffected, when all the other investments be it in stocks or mutual finds were making huge losses. To make maximum amount of profits with gold, invest when the gold prices are low and sell when the prices are at an all time high.

Bonds
One of the safest investments with highest return is to invest in bonds. Bonds can be issued by the government as well as by the corporates. Treasury bonds are long term bonds issued by the government, with duration of anywhere between seven years to thirty years. Corporate bonds, on the other hand, are issued by large corporations to the public so that they can have enough money to further grow the business. The returns from these further investments by the corporates is distributed as interest amongst the investors. By purchasing bonds, you can expect returns of 5 to 6 percent, on an average, per year.

Investing in these options will yield some good profits and at the same time, ensure that losses are minimized. Although, no investment is foolproof! That's why, hiring the services of a professional is recommended before going ahead with any of the above suggested investment options.