It is highly possible that you would be sitting on surplus cash, after selling an asset and waiting to look at the right investment opportunity.

What this means is that the money could be lying idle in the savings account at 4 per cent interest, whereas you could get slightly more elsewhere.

Let us first define short term

There is no fixed definition of short term. In fact, it is relative. If one year is short term for one individual, it could be long term for others. However, for the sake of investment opportunities, let us take short term as 1 year.

Accordingly, here are some best short term investment opportunities for individuals.

RBL Bank Fixed Deposit

This has to be among the best short term investment bets for individuals looking at less than 1 year investment horizon.

For example, a 241 days to 364 days investment gives you an interest rate of 8.25 per cent in RBL Bank deposit, the effective annualized yield is almost 8.51 per cent.

If you are looking at a slightly shorter tenure of 181-240 days, you would get an interest rate of 7.75 per cent. This is pretty good in comparison to almost every bank in the country.

Yes Bank Savings Accounts

If you have large balances and are looking for an opportunity to invest, in the meantime you could park your money in the Yes Bank savings account. The account, gives you an interest rate of 6 per cent. This is 50 per cent more than what other banks give on savings bank interest rates.

So, if you have very large surplusses you would be surprised at the amount of money you can earn by opening an account in Yes Bank.

The good thing about the Yes Bank is that you need not worry when you would need the money. You get interest on the daily balance and as soon as you need the money, you can take it.

Now, what is more interesting is that interest earned on savings account is more tax efficient than fixed deposits of banks. Under IT Section 80TTA, up to Rs 10,000 qualifies for tax rebate.

Ultra Short Term Funds - great short term investment bet

There are many ultra hort trem investment funds, where you can park your money. However, for a short term investment horizon of say less than 1 year, they are not very tax efficient. However, they can provide annualized yields of around 7-8 per cent.

Kotak Mahindra Savings Account

The JIFI Savings Account of Kotak Mahindra offers you an interest rate of 6 per cent - the same as Yes Bank.

There are various other benefits including rewards point by using the debit card, converison to fixed deposit for balances maintained in the account.

We wish to state that while some of the banks mentioned may not have branches everywhere, what you can do is open an account online. These days there is hardly a need to visit the bank. Most banks will send an executive to facilitate opening of an account.

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