What's the safest way I can invest?

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Q: What's the best way to save these days? I am expecting a big amount of money to come from the sale of a lot we've had in the family for a long time. With the global economic crisis affecting our economy, I want to play it safe yet grow my money. – Edwin

A: It's good that you are thinking of protecting your money (your capital) by investing the proceeds from the sale of your lot. Investing your money may make it grow over time.

Understand, though, that with investing comes risks and rewards. If you want your investment to grow and yield higher possible returns on your investment, be prepared to meet setbacks and losses if they happen. Investments that yield higher returns come with higher risks such as heavy losses, as what stock market investors have realized last year at the height of the global financial crisis. Investments that have low risks may more or less safeguard your capital but give you low rewards as well (low interest income or minimal capital gains).

Bank deposits and government securities may offer you relatively safe investment options.

Bank deposits take the form of savings accounts, interest-bearing checking accounts, and time deposits. You deposit your cash in the bank and you get interest back after a month or so. While this may seem to be safe and will preserve your investment, this may not actually be the case as inflation may eat into your investment.

The current rate for savings accounts, for instance, is about 0.75 percent per annum. The inflation rate is way higher than that, which means that the growth to be yielded by your investment in a savings account will be overtaken by the rise in prices of commodities.

Time deposits may give better rates, but still may not be enough to match the cost of inflation. You may need to keep your money on deposit for a longer term to achieve a higher rate of return.

As “The Citibank Guide to Building Personal Wealth” (a book published by Citibank) says, “Inflation is a major risk if you hold large sums of cash permanently, because it reduces the buying power of cash.” Put simply, inflation may erode the value of your investments over time.

We mentioned government securities above. These come in the form of treasury bills, treasury notes, and treasury bonds. Bills have the shorter term (less than a year), and bonds have the longest term. Government securities are generally low risk since the government guarantees to meet its obligations and pay the published interest rate.

But since you mentioned that you want to grow your money, it may be wise to look into other forms of investment as well to achieve your goals:

1. Stocks or equities may give you high possible returns over the long term, but these come with high risk, which you don't seem to want to assume at this time.

2. Bonds may also give you good rates of return, but these also come with some form of risk, although lower than that of stocks.

3. Pooled funds come in the form of mutual funds or unit investment trust funds (UITFs) and depending on their nature may be invested in stocks alone, bonds alone, money market funds (government securities and commercial papers), or a combination of these.

To keep your money safe and make it grow at the same time, we advise that you do what wise investors have been doing all along: Diversify! Keep some funds in bank deposits, some in government securities, and some in pooled funds. Since you may have other financial goals and may have a timetable in needing your funds later on (example, for retirement), we advise that you consult a financial professional who will assess your risk profile and suggest the best possible allocation of your investments.

You may also invest your money in tangible assets such as real estate property. However, market values fluctuate over time, so be prepared for any eventuality. Investing in a business also comes with a high risk as not all businesses realize income. Jewelry and art are also forms of investment, but bear in mind that it may take a while for their value to increase. Converting them to cash may also take a longer time should you find the need to do so.

Whatever investments you go into, study all aspects thoroughly. Look into the pros and cons before deciding. We wish you the best.

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