Beyond bonds: the rest of the portfolio

Why diversify beyond bonds?

Bonds anchor a portfolio. They give predictable cashflow, defined maturity, and a place to park capital when equities feel stretched. But financial life is more than bonds. You need a tax-saving instrument here, a liquidity buffer there, insurance covering specific personal and family risks, and a plan for what happens to all of it after you. We bring the same disciplined, indicative-pricing approach to these other building blocks — same language about risk, same refusal to quote returns as “guaranteed” when they are not.

Fixed Deposits (FDs)

What they are

Term deposits with banks or non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). A fixed interest rate is contracted upfront for a fixed tenure ranging from seven days to ten years. Returns are paid by the depositary institution and are subject to that institution’s solvency — not to any indicative-market revaluation.

Why people choose FDs

Predictable returns, principal protection up to ₹5 lakh per depositor per bank under the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) scheme for scheduled commercial banks (indicative; subject to change by regulators), simple to understand, available at flexible tenures, and a long history of being the default Indian savings instrument. Senior citizens often receive an additional 0.25–0.50% (indicative; varies by institution).

What to watch for

Headline rates vary significantly across banks and NBFCs, and so does the credit profile. The highest indicative rate on the screen is not always the best risk-adjusted choice. Premature withdrawal typically attracts a penalty in the order of 0.50–1.0% on the contracted rate (indicative; institution-specific). NBFC FDs are not covered by DICGC; carefully review the issuer’s credit rating and history before allocating sizeable amounts.

How we help

We track indicative rates across our partner banks and NBFCs — rates change weekly — and recommend the structure that fits your liquidity needs, your tax bracket, and your tolerance for issuer-specific credit risk. Where a sweep arrangement with your savings account is suitable, we walk through that too.

Pre-IPO equity

What it is

Equity in private companies that have not yet listed on the stock exchanges. Investors acquire shares before the company’s Initial Public Offering, potentially at a lower valuation than the eventual IPO price. The deal flow typically comes via brokers, ESOP secondaries, or private placements arranged by the company itself.

Why investors are interested

Possibility — not a promise — of capital appreciation if the company IPOs at a higher valuation. Access to late-stage growth companies before public markets have priced them. Differentiated allocation in a portfolio that already covers listed equities and fixed income.

What you should understand before considering pre-IPO

High minimum ticket sizes — typically ₹5 lakh to ₹25 lakh and above per opportunity (indicative; deal-specific). Long, illiquid holding periods: lock-up from the purchase date until 6–12 months after listing is common, and if the IPO never happens, there is no easy exit.

Valuation risk: private-market valuations can differ materially from public-market valuations on the listing day. The IPO may price below your entry — and in that case the loss is real, not “on paper”. Limited disclosure: private companies are governed by lighter disclosure norms than listed peers, so the information you can verify is narrower.

Liquidity risk: pre-IPO shares cannot be sold like listed stocks. Secondary markets exist but with wide spreads and irregular volumes. Regulatory and business risk: the company may face changes in its business, leadership, or regulatory environment that delay or cancel listing plans altogether.

Suitable only for sophisticated investors with the financial capacity to absorb a total loss of capital and the time horizon — typically three to seven-plus years — to wait for an exit.

How we help

We bring opportunities (indicative valuations and pricing) only from companies on which we have done meaningful diligence — the founders, the cap table, the latest funding round, the sector context, the listing timeline if disclosed. We do not push pre-IPO as a primary recommendation. We always discuss the risks first and only proceed if the allocation makes sense within your overall portfolio.

Insurance

Life insurance

Pure protection — term plans — to provide a defined sum to your dependents if something happens to you during the policy term. We strongly favour term plans over Unit-Linked Insurance Plans (ULIPs) and traditional endowment plans for pure life cover. Term plans are dramatically cheaper for the same sum assured and they do not blend insurance with investment, which keeps the decision honest in both directions.

Health insurance

Hospitalisation costs are the single largest unexpected expense most middle-class Indian families face. A working professional with dependents and no health cover is one unfortunate diagnosis away from depleting decades of savings. A well-structured family floater or individual policy with an appropriate sum assured is a baseline, not a luxury.

How we help

We assess your specific risk profile — dependents, existing health conditions, current employer cover and its continuity post-retirement — and recommend a plan from our IRDAI-registered insurer partners. We disclose insurance commissions in writing on the recommendation note so the conversation about “why this plan” is separable from the question of how we are paid.

Loans

When loans make sense in a portfolio

Some financial moves are loan-funded by design — home, education, occasionally vehicle. We help structure these so that the EMI is affordable across realistic income scenarios and the total interest paid over the loan’s life is understood at the outset, not discovered amortisation table by amortisation table.

Loans against securities

A loan against your existing portfolio of mutual funds, listed equities, or bonds, for short-term liquidity needs. The advantage is that you do not have to liquidate the position and trigger a capital-gains tax event. The trade-off is interest cost and margin maintenance — if the value of the pledged securities falls, the lender may call for top-up collateral or partial repayment. Useful in specific situations; not a default solution.

How we help

We compare offers from our partner lenders — published interest rates are indicative and subject to your specific credit profile — and explain the trade-offs in plain language: rate vs tenure, fixed vs floating, processing fees, prepayment penalties, and conversion options.

Estate planning

Why it matters

A portfolio without a clear succession plan can become a multi-year legal headache for your family at the worst possible time. Estate planning is the paperwork that protects what you have built — and ensures the wealth transfers without dispute, delay, or unnecessary tax leakage.

What we help with

Nomination across your investment accounts (very frequently missing or out of date), updating bank, demat, and mutual-fund nominations to reflect current intent, basic Will-drafting referrals to legal partners, and understanding HUF and trust structures where the family situation calls for them.

What we do not do

We are not lawyers. For Wills, codicils, family trusts, and any contested succession matter, we refer you to qualified legal professionals with whom we have working relationships. We help with the financial-product-side documentation that complements the legal work.

Important notes

All prices, rates, returns, yields, and valuations shown anywhere on this site are indicative. Actual terms depend on the time of transaction, the issuing institution’s prevailing offer, your specific profile (KYC, residency, accreditation where applicable), and broader market conditions.

We are not a registered Investment Advisor under SEBI. We operate as an Authorised Person of SMC Global Securities Limited and Prudent Corporate Advisory Services Limited. For insurance, we transact through IRDAI-registered partners.

For tax-specific questions on any of the products discussed here, consult a qualified chartered accountant or tax advisor. For Will drafting, trust formation, or any contested succession matter, consult a qualified lawyer. We refer in both cases.