Looking for Investment Instruments with higher ROI and minimal risk?

It is a known fact that returns obtained  by investing one’s hard earned money in banks is very  marginal and most investors like you and me invest only under the pretext of perceived investment security and the availability of  immediate liquidity . Thus there arose a need to identify investment instruments that would offer higher ROI with minimal risk. This need was addressed by Indian corporates who helped bridge this gap by coming out with Company Fixed Deposits (CFD)which are fixed deposits that basically allows your invested capital to grow at a fixed rate for specified duration of time.The concept of fixed deposits  grew also out of the need of the corporate sector’s requirements for raising short term finance, and this was well accepted by the retail investors who were looking out for alternate investing vehicles where there could get superior returns on their investment and also better security for their hard earned money. Thus there was the inception of a symbiotic relationship between the promoters of large corporates who needed capital funding and retail investors who wanted an alternate investment avenue to invest their capital. Bajaj Capital was the first corporate to bring about the concept of company fixed deposit way back in 1964, when it launched the first ever Company fixed deposit, that being of the Oberoi Group :- East India Hotels Limited .  The overwhelming success and acceptance of this company’s fixed deposit scheme amongst investors lead to other companies falling in Line and soon we had a plethora of private and public companies accepting deposits from the public in the form of Company Fixed deposits.It was then the first time when general public took interest in the growth of large corporates and vice versa. Fixed Deposits would grow in the following decades in a far more comprehensive and organized form by issuing of share certificates and other investment products whereby the public would be termed as shareholders, and would play a very significant part in the growth of any corporate.Following the first CFD launch there was a steep growth in the Company Fixed deposit market with the capital invested being over Rs 25000 crore in the following years. Some basic advantages that make CFD’S really popular amongst investors are listed below.

• There is a significant amount of security offered by its non-transferable nature. Thus in case the CFD certificates are stolen, no one can utilize the same and the holder can always procure a copy by applying for the same with the concerned company.
• An investor can and always should screen companies regarding their credentials and thereby he can choose to invest in the company seeing past performance history and perceivable growth opportunity in future.
• There is also an option to nominate, which during the time when it was launched made it very popular amongst the conservative and traditional minded Indian investors.

In spite of company fixed deposits being popular because of the reasons listed above, one must make sure that he/she follows basic guidelines before investing in the same. These include screening companies before investing; and even after investing he/she should continuously keep a tab of the company’s growth parameters. To aid this decision making by the investor, one may take the guidance of rating reports provided by reputed Credit rating agencies like ICRA, CRISIL & CARE which regularly analyze company fundamentals and balance sheets.One should always invest in reputable and acknowledged companies which have a repute of regularly paying shareholder's dividends. Such companies generally have a strong liquidity and the risk of them defrauding with invested capital is minimal. Thus the inception of company fixed deposits heralded the beginning of a new era which would see retail Investor and corporate partnership growing together like never before in India.Disclaimer: 1. Views as are mentioned in the article are personal views of Author and nothing to link with Co., its Director and Employees.2. All investments are subject to market risk and you need to consult your financial advisor/consultant before investment.