Obviously there are a wide range of investment options:
- Deposits
- Government Savings
- Investment Funds (wide variety)
- Direct Equities
- REITs
- etc etc etc
But it comes down to potential risk versus potential return. Clearly Deposits will give a very low return (particularly when you deduct DIRT), but you have security. So are you more focused on a return of your money or a return on your money?
If you are looking for a higher rate of return then you will have to take some investment risk. That risk may pay off or it may not.
You also need to consider your investment time horizon. If you are prepared to take say a 7 to 10 year time perspective then perhaps a mix of Deposits and Equities (either a direct portfolio or an Equity Fund) might work. But investments in higher risk instruments require you to be able to live with the ups and downs of markets. So if you had a paper loss of 10% or 20% at a point in time, would you look to cash out?
Most investments will involve a level of taxation - DIRT, Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax, etc. Generally Government Savings (incl Prize Bands) are paid tax free, but again returns are very low.
So I would ask:
- what level of return are you seeking?
- what is your investment time horizon?
- are you prepared to take investment risk to possibly achieve your desired return ?
- are you more concerned with capital security than capital return?
- what retirement income and other assets do you have?