4 Investment Ideas to celebrate this Father's Day
Like the US and the UK, India also celebrates its annual Father's Day on the 3rd Sunday of June each year. Father's Day has origins in the Catholic Church which felt the need to recognize the role of the father in parenting. However, it was only in the early part of the 20th century that the celebration of Father’s Day became popular. What started out as a trend in the Western World has caught on in a big way in India too!
Father's Day has become a major celebration in India with the proliferation of the internet and social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. For most sons and daughters, this year is likely to be no different. Father's day will begin with a well-thought out gift for your dad and end with a special dinner to commemorate the day with your father. In between the day is likely to be interspersed with informal fireside chats, long walks in the park or even a bunch of Selfies posted on Facebook and Instagram.
As you plan to surprise your father with his favourite Park Avenue tie or the Hush Puppies shoes that he was always planning to buy, this year we call upon the sons and daughters to think a little beyond the ordinary. While your father will always cherish any gift given by you, most gifts have a limited time span. Here are a few ideas that you can gift to your dad, which will not only be thoughtful but also have an enduring value for your dad.
1. Start a Mutual Fund SIP for him in a small way..
If you are an earning member, then you can probably afford to gift your dad a slightly more generous Mutual Fund SIP. What do you do if you are relying on your pocket money and allowances to buy your dad a gift? Well there is nothing to worry. You can start a mutual fund SIP for your dad with as low as Rs.500 per month. While this may appear to be small to you, it will surely give a lot of joy to your dad seeing your willingness to participate in his wealth creation efforts. Above all, when you look back at this investment at a future date, you will realize that the power of compounding has made the corpus much larger than you could have imagined in your wildest dreams.
2. Gift him a solid dividend yield stock for his future
This is not a very common idea, but something really worth trying. A dividend yield stock is a stock that pays a dividend yield of 5-7% on the current price. If you scan the list of stocks, there are a number of good quality PSU stocks that give such attractive dividend yields. The beauty of high dividend yield stocks is that their downside risk is usually limited and as the company improves its performance, the dividends also grow proportionately. If your father is still sceptical about equities, tell him the story of how Rs.9500 invested in Infosys in 1993 would have grown to Rs.4.5 crore today. Also explain to him what would be the dividend yield on your original investment. After all, equities are the best bet to grow wealth in the long run. Dividend yields are the icing on the cake!
3. Gift him special retirement insurance and health insurance plans
It is very likely that in his professional pursuits your father may have forgotten about his own future post-retirement.While they may not be fully aware of it now, there might come a time when your father reaches the age of 70, and he may find himself lacking the necessary resources or eligibility to obtain retirement or health insurance. It is important to plan accordingly to address this potential concern. Utilizing a gratuity calculator and incorporating it into your financial strategy can assist in determining the appropriate savings and investment amounts needed to ensure your father's financial security during his retirement years. This Father’s Day you can fill that gap. Most such plans entail a very small outlay each month and it would be a lot more useful than a lot of other fancy gifts. Remember, medical costs are shooting through the roof, and a health policy will be a great value addition to him in his later years.
4. Give him a time share so he can enjoy his holidays later
You know that your dad has been secretly yearning for that quiet holiday in Maldives but has been postponing it due to other more immediate priorities. Here is a chance to give him that wonderful gift. Use this Father’s day to give him a time share, which he can monetize at a future date. Such timeshares are quite economical and your father can have a wonderful holiday in the beaches of Maldives. He will surely cherish this gift when he is basking on the sun-kissed beaches of Maldives at a future date. It may not exactly be an investment but then what greater investment for you than seeing that indulgent smile on your father’s face.
Of course, you can still go ahead and buy that stone-studded cufflinks or his favourite pair of sneakers. But this is the appropriate time for you to gift your dad something that he can cherish and enjoy in the years to come. For you that will be money well invested in your father's happiness. After all, isn’t that what Father's Day is all about?