Want to know what Mr. Rohan Sharma did to win over his wife's heart forever. He gave his wife Seema a Valentine's Day gift that she'd always cherish.

Instead of buying her an expensive saree (though Seema would have loved that to no extent and which Mr Sharma gifted her later) or a diamond ring, he gifted her with an investment. An investment that gave manifold returns to his wife in five years.

From 2000-2004 every year before the V-Day Mr. Sharma would purchase mutual fund units worth Rs 10,000 each from Reliance Vision Fund and Reliance Growth Fund and gift them to his beloved wife.

In all these five years Mr. Sharma was tempted to buy precious consumables for his wife. But he made a wise decision to gift MF units to his wife, he now thinks in hindsight.

For the Rs 1,00,000 that he'd invested over a period of five years had in 2007 multiplied to Rs 7.72 lakh. That's a staggering return of 672% in five years. Divide this figure by 5 and you get a 134% return on a year.

• 5 great mutual funds 

Didn't someone say that a journey of a thousand miles indeed starts with a small step?

A journey that began on February 14, 2000, with just Rs 20,000 had now turned into a fortune. Wondering how this happened?

Scheme Name/ Transaction Type	Transaction Date	Rate (Rs)	Units	Amount	NAV Date	Latest NAV (Rs)	Balance Units	Present Value
Reliance Vision - Growth
Purchase	14-Feb-00	29.53	338.64	10,000	7-Feb-07	190.32	338.64	64,450.16
Sub Total / Weighted Average:				10,000			338.64	64,450.16
Purchase	14-Feb-01	19.93	501.79	10,000	7-Feb-07	190.32	501.79	95,501.42
Sub Total / Weighted Average:				10,000			501.79	95,501.42
Purchase	14-Feb-02	19.03	525.52	10,000	7-Feb-07	190.32	525.52	100,017.35
Sub Total / Weighted Average:				10,000			525.52	100,017.35
Purchase	14-Feb-03	27.41	364.79	10,000	7-Feb-07	190.32	364.79	69,426.41
Sub Total / Weighted Average:				10,000			364.79	69,426.41
Purchase	16-Feb-04	68.93	145.08	10,000	7-Feb-07	190.32	145.08	27,611.95
Sub Total / Weighted Average:				10,000			145.08	27,611.95
Reliance Growth - Growth
Purchase	14-Feb-00	45.56	219.48	10,000	7-Feb-07	283.19	219.48	62,154.06
Sub Total / Weighted Average:				10,000			219.48	62,154.06
Purchase	14-Feb-01	26.36	379.36	10,000	7-Feb-07	283.19	379.36	107,431.72
Sub Total / Weighted Average:				10,000			379.36	107,431.72
Purchase	14-Feb-02	24.11	414.76	10,000	7-Feb-07	283.19	414.76	117,454.55
Sub Total / Weighted Average:				10,000			414.76	117,454.55
Purchase	14-Feb-03	30.33	329.74	10,000	7-Feb-07	283.19	329.74	93,377.60
Sub Total / Weighted Average:				10,000			329.74	93,377.60
Purchase	16-Feb-04	80.05	124.92	10,000	7-Feb-07	283.19	124.92	35,375.98
Sub Total / Weighted Average:				10,000			124.92	35,375.98
Grand Total / Weighted Average:				100,000				772,801.20

While one should not expect of such sky-high returns one can at least give her/his best shot.

Well, Mrs. Sharma now thinks that she could now easily provide for their son's MBA fees and their daughter's wedding who was now of the right age to get married. And all this would not have been possible without Mr. Sharma's sagacity.

On his part, feels Mr. Sharma, it was indeed a visionary thing he did. He could have easily splurged his hard-earned money to buy precious consumable and non-durable gifts that could have brought ephemeral happiness to his wife. But then they would have been no substitiute for the value of those MF units that Seema now owned in her name.

• Mutual funds: How often should you invest?

Now this is not to say, in the least, that one must not gift her/his Valentine a pack of chocolate, a teddy bear or any such thing that s/he feels to show that they care and love.

Now this also does not mean that anyone investing in the above will generate similar returns in the future. Definitely not, but what we are talking here is that some gifts when thoughtfully given can be lot more fruitful than others.

So besides the depreciating (goods whose value decreases over time like a car or a refrigerator) or consumable gifts that you can give, let's see what are some of the choices on offer for your spouse. These choices if exercised judiciously can bring bliss in your relationship.

Time: This is one gift that all of us owe to our spouses. We are living in an era of unprecedented 'Time Poverty'. So most of us don't even have time to think of the big issues that affect our life. So whether it's a romantic dinner, drive to the nearest hill station or a movie, this one still seems to be one of the most popular ones.

Education: An investment in education can yield rich dividends. One of my friends Rohit took a loan and encouraged his wife to pursue a nutrition and weight management course. Today she is one of the finest nutritionists in the country.

Gift of Dreaming Big: No one has told you that you can make it big in life. Well intentioned family members, friends, colleagues and acquaintances can do a lot more harm by providing free wisdom on what you can or cannot do. The best gift that you can give is the gift of motivation and encouragement.

Seed Capital for her business (money needed to start a business)

Bluechip Stocks (stocks of companies that give long-term value like Infosys)

Mutual Funds

Other Investments (Public Provident Fund, Equity Linked Saving Scheme etc.)

Insure her/him for critical illness and disability covers if you haven't.

Gold Exchange Traded Fund.

• Now, a golden mutual fund

And last but not the least a teddy bear or a greeting card or simply oodles of cash that s/he can use fruitfully.

I am sure most of us must have seen the Mastercard ad, which says, "There are some things which money can't buy, for everything else there's Mastercard".

Now whether you give your gift through your Mastercard account, brain account or your heart account, make sure it is something that makes her/him feel you care enough to give something that s/he will remember for the rest of her/his life. 

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Amar Pandit is a certified financial planner and runs the Mumbai-based firm My Financial Advisor.