In times when investors' attention is hogged by market-linked avenues like mutual funds and ULIPs, small savings schemes have become a forgotten breed.
Alongside fixed deposits, small savings schemes (also referred to as post office schemes) would classify as the most conventional investment avenues.
Assured returns and a sovereign guarantee (read the highest degree of safety) are the hallmarks of small savings schemes. And these traits appeal to risk-averse investors in no small measure.
Even for risk-taking investors, holding a portion of their investment portfolios in assured return schemes is vital from an asset allocation perspective.
Small savings schemes, in turn, would classify as the most comprehensive pool of assured return schemes.
In this note, we study the investment proposition offered by five popular small savings schemes.
Image: A man sits beside an ATM counter of the State Bank of India | Photograph: Deshakalyan Chowdhury/AFP/Getty Images
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