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Mutual Funds or Ulips

If investing is the goal; Ulips are not the products for you

I am 26 with Rs 45,00 monthly salary. Please suggest the best ELSS schemes for long term of ten years or more. Also please explain if for the long-term of 20-25 years, Ulips are better or mutual funds?
-Rahul

Tax saving funds is a good way to have equity allocation and tax deduction on investments under Section 80C. With three more months left for the tax season to end, you can pick from Canara Robeco Equity Taxsaver, Fidelity Tax Advantage or Religare Tax Plan. All of these are 5 star rated funds and have proven track record and history to match. The tax saving funds currently come with a three year lock-in, and once DTC comes into effect, these are likely to be treated like any other open-ended fund.

As for selecting between Ulips and mutual funds; if investment is your goal, mutual funds are any day better than Ulips. These offer diversification, are low on costs and offer ample liquidity and flexibility. Ulips on the other hand, come with restrictions of lock-in, liquidity and limited choice of moving between funds.



This article was originally published on December 23, 2010.

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