Savings form an important part of the economy of any nation.

With the savings invested in various options available to the people, the money acts as the driver for growth of the country. Indian financial scene too presents a plethora of avenues to the investors. Though certainly not the best or deepest of markets in the world, it has reasonable options for an ordinary man to invest his savings. Investment benefits both economy and the society. It is an outgrowth of economic development and the maturation of modern capitalism. For the economy as a whole, aggregate investment sanctioned in the current period is a major factor in determining aggregate demand and, hence, the level of employment. In the long term, current investment determines the economys future productive capacity and, ultimately, a growth in the standard of living. By increasing personal wealth, investing can contribute to higher overall economic growth and prosperity. The process of investing helps to create financial markets where companies can raise capital. This too, contributes to greater economic growth and prosperity. Specific types of investments provide other benefits to society as well. INVESTMENTS The dictionary meaning of investment is to commit money in order to earn a financial return or to make use of the money for future benefits or advantages. People commit money to investments with an expectation to increase their future wealth by investing money to spend in future years. For example, if you invest Rs. 1000 today and earn 10 %over the next year, you will have Rs.1100 one year from today. An investment can be described as perfect if it satisfies all the needs of all investors. So, the starting point in searching for the perfect investment would be to examine investor needs. If all those needs are met by the investment, then that investment can be termed the perfect investment. Most investors and advisors spend a great deal of time understanding the merits of the thousands of investments available in India. Little time, however, is spent understanding the needs of the investor and ensuring that the most appropriate investments are selected for him. The Investment Needs of an Investor By and large, most investors have eight common needs from their investments: 1. Security of Original Capital;

2. Wealth Accumulation; 3. Comfort Factor; 4. Tax Efficiency; 5. Life Cover; 6. Income; 7. Simplicity; 8. Ease of Withdrawal; 9. Communication.

Security of original capital: The chance of losing some capital has been a primary need. This is perhaps the strongest need among investors in India, who have suffered regularly due to failures of the financial system. Wealth accumulation: This is largely a factor of investment performance, including both shortterm performance of an investment and long-term performance of a portfolio. Wealth accumulation is the ultimate measure of the success of an investment decision. Comfort factor: This refers to the peace of mind associated with an investment. Avoiding discomfort is probably a greater need than receiving comfort. Reputation plays an important part in delivering the comfort factor. Tax efficiency: Legitimate reduction in the amount of tax payable is an important part of the Indian psyche. Every rupee saved in taxes goes towards wealth accumulation. Life Cover: Many investors look for investments that offer good return with adequate life cover to manage the situations in case of any eventualities.

Income: This refers to money distributed at intervals by an investment, which are usually used by the investor for meeting regular expenses. Income needs tend to be fairly constant because they are related to lifestyle and are well understood by investors. Simplicity: Investment instruments are complex, but investors need to understand what is being done with their money. A planner should also deliver simplicity to investors. Ease of withdrawal: This refers to the ability to invest long term but withdraw funds when desired. This is strongly linked to a sense of ownership. It is normally triggered by a need to spend capital, change investments or cater to changes in other needs. Access to a long-term investment at short notice can only be had at a substantial cost. Communication: This refers to informing and educating investors about the purpose and progress of their investments. The need of communication increases when investments are threatened. Security of original capital is more important when performance falls. Performance is more important when investments are performing well. Failures engender a desire for an increase in the comfort factor. Perfect investment would have been achieved if all the above-mentioned needs had been met to satisfaction. But there is always a trade-off involved in making investments. As long as the investment strategy matches the needs of investor according to the priority assigned to them, he should be happy. The Ideal Investment strategy should be a customized one for each investor depending on his risk-return profile, his satisfaction level, his income, and his expectations. Accurate planning gives accurate results. And for that there must be an efficient and trustworthy roadmap to achieve the ultimate goal of wealth maximization. Choosing the Right Investment Options After understanding the concept of investment, the investors would like to know how to go about the task of investment, how much to invest at any moment and when to buy or sell the securities, This depends on investment process as investment policy, investment analysis,

valuation of securities, portfolio construction and portfolio evaluation and revision. Every investor tries to derive maximum economic advantage from his investment activity. For evaluating an investment avenues are based upon the rate of return, risk and uncertainty, capital appreciation, marketability, tax advantage and convenience of investment. The following Table

should give the clear picture relating to the investors investment decisions in various financial market instruments. The choice of the best investment options will depend on personal circumstances as well as general market conditions. For example, a good investment for a longterm retirement plan may not be a good investment for higher education expenses. In most cases, the right investment is a balance of three things: Liquidity, Safety and Return. Source- Delhi Business ReviewX Vol. 8, No. 1 (January - June 2007) Investment Options in India Source-Delhi Business ReviewX Vol. 8, No. 1 (January - June 2007) Fixed Deposits They cover the fixed deposits of varied tenors offered by the commercial banks and other non-banking financial

institutions. These are generally a low risk prepositions as the commercial banks are believed to return the amount due without default. By and large these FDs are the preferred choice of riskaverse Indian investors who rate safety of capital & ease of investment above all parameters. Largely, these investments earn a marginal rate of return of 68% per annum. Government Bonds The Central and State Governments raise money from the market through a variety of Small Saving Schemes like national saving certificates, Kisan Vikas Patra, Post Office Deposits, Provident Funds, etc. These schemes are risk free as the government does not default in payments. But the interest

rates offered by them are in the range of 7% - 9%. Money-back insurance Insurance in India is mostly sold and bought as investment products. They are preferred because of their addon benefits like financial lifecover, tax-savings and satisfactory returns. Even if one does not manage to save money and invest regularly in financial instruments, with insurance, the policyholder has no choice. If he does not pay his premiums on time, his insurance cover will lapse. Money-back Insurance schemes are used as investment avenues as they offer partial cash-back at certain intervals. This money can be utilized for childrens education, marriage,

etc. Endowment Insurance These policies are term policies. Investors have to pay the premiums for a particular term, and at maturity the accrued bonus and other benefits are returned to the policyholder if he survives at maturity. Bullion Market Precious metals like gold and silver had been a safe heaven for Indian investors since ages. Besides jewellery these metals are used for investment purposes also. Since last 1 year, both Gold and Silver have highly appreciated in value both in the domestic as well as the international markets. In addition to its attributes as a store of value, the case for

investing in gold revolves around the role it can play as a portfolio diversifier. Stock Market Indian stock markets particularly the BSE and the NSE, had been a preferred destination not only for the Indian investors but also for the Foreign investors. Although Indian Markets had been through tough times due to various scams, but history shows that they recovered very fast. Many types of scrip had been value creators for the investors. People have earned fortunes from the stock markets, but there are people who have lost everything due to incorrect timings or selection of fundamentally weak companies. Real Estate- Returns are almost

guaranteed because property values are always on the rise due to a growing world population. Residential real estate is more than just an investment. There are more ways than ever before to profit from real estate investment. Mutual Funds -There is a collection of investors in Mutual funds that have professional fund managers that invest in the stock market collectively on behalf of investors. Mutual funds offer a better route to investing in equities for lay investors. A mutual fund acts like a professional fund manager, investing the money and passing the returns to its investors. All it

deducts is a management fee and its expenses, which are declared in its offer document. Unit Linked Insurance Plans ULIPs are remarkably alike to mutual funds in terms of their structure and functioning; premium payments made are converted into units and a net asset value (NAV) is declared for the same. In traditional insurance products, the sum assured is the corner stone; in ULIPs premium payments is the key component. Need for the study: To study the perception of the people about investment of their savings. To understand basic requirement of the common man and their view towards investment.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE Psychology of Investments and Investors Preferences Every individual investor must follow three principles of investing: using a long-term investing approach, following the right strategy to maximize the return on investment and proper allocation of investible funds. While applying these three principles, an individual investor has to confront his/her demographics, lifestyle and investment psychology. Whether the investor's age or occupation or family income has a role of play in making choice of investment avenues? Is the investor choice affected by his overconfidence, reference group and framing of the available

alternatives? The knowledge of all these aspects is imperative for all progressive investors, researchers, financial consultants, academicians, students and the marketer of the financial products. Author: Dr. (Mrs.) Sushant Nagpal Basics Of investment-By Dr.A.P.Dash, Sr.Faculty, PMI In this paper he discusses the basic of investment and need for investment. Investment benefits both economy and the society. It is an outgrowth of economic development and the maturation of modern capitalism. For the economy as a whole, aggregate investment sanctioned in the current period is a major factor in determining aggregate

demand and, hence, the level of employment. In the long term, current investment determines the economys future productive capacity and, ultimately, a growth in the standard of living. By increasing personal wealth, investing can contribute to higher overall economic growth and prosperity. An Investors requirements in Indian securities market By-K.Balanaga Gurunathan Published in Delhi Business review. A report on financial planners in the growing economy like India By- Indian Institute of Planning and Management-2006 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY: PRIMARY OBJECTIVE To Study the various investment

avenues and the investors risk preference towards it. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES To find out the general demographic factors of the investors dealing in capital market. To find out the preference level of investors on various Capital Market instruments. To find out the type of risk which are considered by the investors? To find out the ways through which the investors minimizes their risk. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research Design A Research design is purely and simply the framework of plan for a study that guides the collection and analysis of data. The study is

intended to find the investors preference towards various investment avenues. The study design is descriptive in nature. TYPE OF RESEARCHDESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH Descriptive study is a fact-finding investigation with adequate interpretation. It is the simplest type of research and is more specific. Mainly designed to gather descriptive information and provides information for formulating more sophisticated studies. Sampling Design Selection of study area: The study area is in Indore. Selection of the sample size: 100 Sampling Methods Convenience method of sampling is used to collect the data from

the respondents. Researchers or field workers have the freedom to choose whomever they find, thus the name convenience. About 100 samples were collected from Indore city and most of the respondents were customers coming in to financial hubs and commercial complexes. Formulation of the questionnaire Data collection Primary data collected through Structured Questionnaire. Secondary data Earlier records from journals, magazines and other sources. Tools used for analysis Percentage analysis Chi-square test Kendall test

ANOVA Correlation Analysis Multiple Response Table Data Analysis and interpretatrion:- Age of the respondent :Table5.1 Age % Of respondent 20-30 25 31-40 36 41-50 27 50 and above 12 Total 100 % Of respondent 20-30 25% 31-40

36% 41-50 27% 50 and above 12% 20-30 31-40 41-50 50 and above Fig- 5.3 Income Group of the Respondent Table5.2: Income Group of the Respondent Income group % of Respondent Bellow 1 lac 32 1-5 lac 61 5-10 lac 7 10 lac and above - Fig-5.4

Fig-5.4 0- 1 32% 1-5 61% 5-10 7% 0- 1 1-5 5-10 According to survey most of the Respondent income group is above1 lacks to 5 lacs. Qualification of the respondents:Table5.3 Qualification Qualification Investor (%) High School 3 Graduate

48 Post Graduate 14 Professional 26 Others 9 Graduate 48% Post Graduate 14% Professional 26% Others 9% High School 3% High School Graduate Post Graduate Professional Others

Fig-5.5 Different Investment Avenues:Table 5.4- Individual preference in the investment avenues Categories Highly Preferred (%) Share market 8 Mutual fund 17 Insurance 29 Bank 28 Property 18 Total 100 Fig-5.6 8% 17% 29% 28%

18% Share market mutual fund Insurance bank Property Analysis:-The survey result shows that individual does not chose equity as highly preferred investment tool. Only 8% people have preference on other investment tool. Investment Horizon Table 5.5: Type of investment preferred Term Investment (%) SHORT TERM 31 LONG TERM 40

BOTH 29 Total 100 Fig- 5.7 31 40 29 05 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 SHORT TERM LONG TERM BOTH Series1 Analysis: The survey result shows that most of the people invest in

the market for long term horizon. Respondent who have invested in equity market Table5.6: invested in the equity market Yes No 19 81 Analysis:- According to survey largely population is untouched with equity investment only 19% respondent has invested in the equity market. Respondent first source of awareness Table5.7: Percentage of Respondent first source of awareness Medium/ channel Investor (%)

Investor friends and relative 37 Advertisement and hoardings 26 Brokerage firm 16 Banks 21 Analysis:- According to survey most of the people aware about equity market through the investor friends and relative. Income invested in equity Table 5.8 Percentage of income invest in equity shares Percentage of income Percentage of investor Below 5% 22 5 to 10%

44 10 to 20% 27 20 to 30% 6 22 44 27 6 05 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 Below 5% 5 to 10% 10 to 20% 20 to 30%

Percentage of investor Fig-5.8 Analysis :- The survey result shows that most of the people invest in the equity market 5-10% of income. Awareness about Religare securities Table 5.9 Respondent who aware aboutReligare Yes No 73% 27% Know about Religare 73 27 Yes No Fig- 5.9 Analysis:According to the findings Most

of the people (73%) know about the Religare securities. Preference for selecting broking firm Table5.10: investor preference while selecting broking firm Analysis : according to survey while selecting the broker firm people gives first preference to brokerage charge (42%) then other services. Category Rank 1 Brokerage 42 services 30 Research calls 16 Others 12

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS: From Correlation test, it is found there exist a positive correlation between the income percentage on investment and the participation in cash market. From One Way ANOVA it is found that there is significant difference between the annual income and the income percentage towards investment. From the Multiple Response test, it is found that the investors who invest around 5-10% of their investment mostly considers the market risk(18%) as the major risk which prevails in the market. From the Multiple Response

test, it is found that the investors whose investment is around 10% of their income, consider that the affordable margin amount for investment in Derivatives is up to Rs10000/-. Most of the aggressive investors are in 21-40 yr. age group. They should be concentrated as prospective clients. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY This is a two months study only. Data available was not sufficient, there was lack of availability of data as most of it was confidential for the companies. Sample size is two small. Language is one of the construe during questioner filling

Portfolio requires the churning of proportion of investment in each sector as well as company from time to time to give better returns. CONCLUSION In the current scenario, investing is very important and investing in stock markets is a major challenge ever for professionals. The young people should start investing earlier so that they can reap the benefits of investing in future. People should keep their eye open and keep updating themselves about various investment avenues so that they can get safe returns. References: Marketing Research by G C Beri- third edition

2000, Tata McGrawHill Publishing Company Ltd. Investment Management- V.K. Bhalla. www.nseindia.com www.stockedge.com www.religareonline.com