DEAR MILLENNIALS, HERE'S HOW YOU CAN CREATE A CORPUS OF RS 2 CRORE FOR YOUR RETIREMENT

The money-moves you make today and the in next ten to 15 years will be crucial in how you build wealth or retire comfortably. If your unique goal is to make Rs 2 crore, and more, by the time you retire, read here to know how you can go about it.

Introduction

"The early bird gets the worm." This childhood proverb is especially true when it comes to investing at a young age to retire rich. But you may wonder how to begin and where? If the idea of making Rs 2 crore sounds dreamy and far-fetched, especially if you have just started earning, we show you how you can do it comfortably, provided you begin investing today.

Here we explore two options.

1. Invest in the stock market
2. Invest in equity mutual funds

This is based on two factors unique to your requirement—the opportunity to invest small amounts at your age and the time duration that you need to stay invested.

1. Invest in the stock market

Historically proven, the stock market offers the potential of delivering high inflation-adjusted returns in the long run. Here's an example to show you how you can go about it.

Let's assume you start saving Rs 5000 every month in the stock of a particular company through a Systematic Equity Plan (SEP). Assuming a growth rate of 12% per annum, you could receive Rs. 50 lakh after 20 years through this monthly plan.

But if you increase your SEP investments to Rs. 10,000 every month, you could receive Rs 1 Crore for the same assumed rate of return. If you can stretch it further to increase your SEP to Rs. 20,000 on a monthly basis, you may be able to achieve your target of Rs. 2 Crore!

Over the long run, stocks have exhibited the potential of providing investors with inflation-beating returns. Hence, include stocks in your long-term plan in a proportion comfortable to you or as determined by your financial advisor, to help you develop a diversified portfolio of shares.

Additional Read: Looking For Peace Of Mind With Your Investments?

2. Invest in mutual funds

As a young investor, let's assume you are a working professional and have an aggressive risk profile for the next 15 years. So how can mutual funds help you generate a corpus of Rs 2 crore by the time you retire?

Here's how.

Consider investing Rs 40,000 every month in an equity mutual fund of your choice through a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) for your investment duration.

Assuming 12% annual returns and an investment horizon of 20 years, you could achieve your retirement goal of around Rs 2 crores.

Having a goal-based investment approach can help you achieve retirement goals and various other milestones down the line.

Most new and young investors find investing and managing money challenging. If you choose to seek financial advice, seek an expert financial advisor who will put your investment needs above and over their own.

Additional Read: How SIPs Work

Here are 2 guidelines to follow when investing for the long term.

1. Thumb rule to follow

At your age, you may want to take higher risks now than you would be able to at a later stage in life. Perhaps, your financial responsibilities now are fewer, and hence you could invest a more significant portion of your income in an aggressive product.

Hence, the first rule of investing in equity is to follow an asset-allocation rule known as the ‘100-minus-your-age principle’.

Let's understand this with an example. 

Let's say Aneesh is 30 years of age. Hence, according to the principle, Aneesh can choose to invest 70% of his money in equities and the remaining in fixed-income investments.

Let's assume Meera is 22 years old. Then, according to the thumb rule, Meera can choose to invest 80% in equities.

But Akshat, who is new to investing and starting to invest at 45, may not want to take that much of a risk. He then chooses to invest approximately 55% in equities according to the thumb rule.

When using the 100-minus-your-age rule of thumb, remember to re-balance your portfolio with age, allocating a smaller percentage of your investments in equities every year, or definitely in each decade.

2. Take into account inflated cost of goals

Before you begin investing, account for the inflation-adjusted cost of your financial goal and your time horizon to reach those objectives.

Be aware of the impact that rising prices and inflation can have on your money. In today's economy, it can be easy to overlook inflation when planning for your future.

When calculating the returns on your investment, you need to look into the interest rate and the real return rate that you can determine by figuring inflation effects. Allow a financial professional to help you calculate your real rate of return when planning for your retirement to help you create the right portfolio of investments that can give you sufficient returns after factoring in inflation rates.

With a definite objective in mind and a fixed targeted amount, here’s a guideline to keep in mind. 

Income minus savings = expenses

This simply means that when you receive your monthly income, a specific percentage must be invested before it is spent. Ensure that you follow this rule and not vice versa. Remember to save, invest and then spend the remaining to get a jumpstart on a sound financial habit that you can to carry on for life. 

Additional Read: Investing In Mutual Funds? Here's All You Need To Know

Conclusion

Being young and employed has its perks. And so, this is the perfect age to start saving and investing money. Even if you haven't taken any personal finance lessons, read any investing books or don't know how to manage money but want to retire wealthy, the key is to start now. Learning about money management, investments, and wealth-building strategies can help you increase your net worth to retire rich. Take advantage of time and your earning capacity to help you make your millions, starting today.

ICICI Securities Ltd. ( I-Sec). Registered office of I-Sec is at ICICI Securities Ltd. - ICICI Centre, H. T. Parekh Marg, Churchgate, Mumbai - 400020, India, Tel No : 022 - 2288 2460, 022 - 2288 2470. I-Sec is a Member of National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (Member Code :07730), BSE Ltd (Member Code :103) and having SEBI registration no. INZ000183631. AMFI Regn. No.: ARN-0845. We are distributors for Mutual funds. Name of the Compliance officer (broking): Mr. Anoop Goyal, Contact number: 022-40701000, E-mail address: complianceofficer@icicisecurities.com. Mutual Fund Investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully. Investments in securities market are subject to market risks, read all the related documents carefully before investing. The contents herein above shall not be considered as an invitation or persuasion to trade or invest.  I-Sec and affiliates accept no liabilities for any loss or damage of any kind arising out of any actions taken in reliance thereon.

Systematic Equity Plan (SEP) feature is offered by ICICI Securities. Any complaint / dispute pertaining to the same would not be entertained by Stock Exchanges.