Why do people invest? Financial investments are important to secure your future against uncertainties and emergencies. Financial investment ensures that you have reasonable savings and are prepared for rainy days. It also helps you inculcate a habit and discipline of saving. You can better control your spending and saving pattern if you have a financial plan and one or more financial goals you are working towards.

The whole point of investing is to grow your wealth, so if you find yourself pondering over the best way to get good returns from investments, you are not alone. Let us look at how you can invest in different financial instruments in order to get good returns on your investments. 

• The temptation of ‘assured’ returns:
  In accordance with your risk appetite, you may want to invest in a variety of options; if you feel adventurous about your money you may want to invest in equity. With high risks, there is the possibility of high returns, but not everyone likes to ride on uncertainties. In fact, the key is to get a balanced portfolio that combines investments across varying magnitudes of risks. That said, there is a charm in the provision of assured returns under the guaranteed return plan. A guaranteed return plan bundles up insurance and guaranteed payouts in the same savings plan. Plans like the PNB MetLife Guaranteed Savings Plan offer you a lump sum benefit on maturity along with guaranteed additions on cumulative premiums. So, if you are looking for a savings plan that can help you build a corpus in order to fund your future needs, then these plans are your answer. 
• Get your money’s worth and more with Money back plans:
  Money back plans ensure that you get the dual benefits of life cover/protection against unforeseen events, along with a regular stream of income. These act as a systematic savings plan through which a life insurance cover is extended to you as protection from unforeseen events. So, you can rest assured that the needs of your beloved family members will be taken care of, even in your absence. Besides that, they bring you regular payouts. The best feature of the returns under a money back plan is the risk-free nature of such returns.

Overall, as a systematic savings plan, they bring you regular payouts, survival and maturity benefits.
Let us explain this with an example of the PNB MetLife Money Back Plan.

First, there are survival benefits to the tune of 10% of your chosen Sum Assured that you receive from 5th Policy Year to 9th Policy Year. Then there are maturity benefits, which means that in case of your survival till maturity, you will get 60% of sum assured at the end of the policy term. Finally, you have the death benefit in case of your unfortunate demise the highest of the chosen Sum Assured or 10 times the annualized premium or 105% of all premiums paid or maturity benefit, is paid to the nominees, irrespective of the survival benefits already paid to you. It is a solid way of ensuring a robust inflow of return on your premium. 

A Parting Note of Advice
As you ponder over the different options for investment, it is worth keeping in mind the allied parameters for assessing such avenues. Keep in mind your investment goals, both in the short and the long term. Are you saving to build a corpus for retirement or to fund your child's higher education or creating a source for a regular stream of income? Depending up on the goals, choose an investment that can readily serve your purpose.