Investment options for Merchant Navy Professionals | CNBC MFCorner
A good investment is not only a necessity but has now become the need of the hour. With our growing demands and changing lifestyles, one must think of an investment plan for a secured present and future. Even though individuals have the opportunity to plan their finances, not everyone knows ‘when’ and ‘how’ to invest, especially Indians working overseas, on the sea or in foreign countries like the USA. A little financial advice from financial experts will help these individuals to invest in profitable markets giving them a better idea of the need for financial planning during their professional life and for their time of retirement.
Sharing his opinion and clarifying the investment plans for merchant navy professionals, officers, and engineers, Mr. Tarun Birani, the CEO of TBNG Capital Advisors speaks about the investment solutions in the current scenario in an interview with Sumaira Abidi from CNBC MFCorner. He discusses the absolute need to focus on making a financial plan considering the risk levels and span of the merchant navy professionals, officers, and engineers’ jobs along with options for small-term, mid-term, and long-term goals. He further shares insight on the value of investing in global and domestic markets and opportunities in global assets. The first question raised to Mr. Tarun Birani was as below.
Question: How should merchant navy professionals, officers, and engineers invest in the US and the Indian markets?
Answer: 2020 has been a classic year of behavior testing. Investors’ behavior has been tested so beautifully this year. Looking at March 2020, we saw a 30% drawdown, the term today, we are already up 50% from that level. This year has been a roller coaster for a lot of people who have temperamentally behaved correctly and invested their funds wisely. They are the ones who have won the investment race. While many have been sitting at the sideline and waiting for the markets to get better. Merchant Navy is of the professionals that pay in foreign currency depending on the company and Country one is working for.
Merchant Navy professional must first focus on making a financial plan for themselves because this is one area where most of the people indulge in random investments, depending on the behavior of the market. So it is advisable for all the Merchant Navy, officers, and Engineers to create a strong plan for themselves and prepare for financial freedom because compared to many other professions, the risk levels are much higher in the merchant navy job. The time span of the job is lesser compared to other jobs.
A detailed suitable analysis about the product, defending the risk tolerance, long, short, and medium-term goals must be foreseen by each one. For NRI, the best debt investments are an NRE FD. This mode of investment provides a tax-free income, that one can earn and if you are looking for a long-term horizon then it is best to look for an emerging market like India to focus most of your investments. Merchant navy and officers retire back to their homeland that is India after their tenure of work, hence it is wise to invest in the Indian market rather than in the US. Given the example of the current situation, the value of the rupee might increase compared to the value of the dollar in the future, so investing in the Indian market is going to be very beneficial in the long run. For global assets, there are a lot of global opportunities funds that are available in India, so the merchant navy officers can use this route to invest their funds and enjoy the benefits of tax-free income.