What does it take to build a strong investment portfolio? I'd say a little bit of mindfulness, planning and a certain amount of discipline will get you to build a decent corpus for achieving your life goals.

But first, let's start with the basics. You've got to:

1) Define your life goals

2) Calculate how much money you'll need to make them a reality

3) Build a long term, diverse investment strategy. In the wise words of Zig Ziglar, "You need a plan to build a house. To build a life, it is even more important to have a plan or goal."

In this article, I'd like to bring your attention to life insurance - a key component in any strong and diverse portfolio; the role it plays in realising your life goals and why it is necessary for long term capital building.

Meets contingencies: Life insurance is an important investment simply because it helps secure your family's well-being should you one day not be around to support them. It is by large, a liquid asset meaning, your family can tide over a financial roadblock using policy pay-out. This, will ensure that your family may not have to worry about selling assets to meet contingencies.Realise your family's life goals: Nobody likes to think about it, but we're all trying to provide for our family as best we can. Even in our absence. You'd probably find it reassuring to know that your family can fulfil their life goals by using the insurance funds they receive if you, the policyholder, were not around anymore.

Pay off outstanding loans or debt: Life is unpredictable. If for some reason you aren't around to pay off outstanding loans, your life insurance pay-out can be used to repay any of your existing loans or debt. Also, if the policyholder is in an injury causing accident, the Waiver of Premium rider adds that additional layer of protection for your family, if opted for.

Saving tax: There's nothing better than being given an opportunity to save your earned income and accumulate savings. As per the Income Tax Act 1961, section 80(C), you can claim an exemption of up to Rs. 1,50,000 lakhs against the premium that you pay towards your insurance policy on your taxable income subject to conditions specified therein. In addition, even the pay-outs that your loved ones receive are tax exempt under section 10(10)D of the Income Tax Act 1961, only if the annual premium is less than 10% of the sum assured.

Multiple beneficiaries: You can have one or more beneficiaries to your life insurance policy and decide the amount each of them gets in your absence. You can even choose to add or change a beneficiary during your policy tenure

Beat inflation with unit-linked investments: When you make an investment, you are looking to grow your money. To thrive well under dynamic market conditions, you might want to look at investing in unit-linked insurance plans. ULIPs offer a combination of life coverage with an opportunity to invest in funds as per your risk appetite, long term. Additionally, the ability to switch between equity and debt enables you to tide over market volatilities to an extent.

Life insurance, thanks to ULIPs, doesn't just protect you from an untoward fatality, but it is also an investment tool where your hard earned money compounds over time. Think of it as a way of safeguarding your family and your life goals, and at the same time ensuring continuity of investments. Invest early to sit back and enjoy life as you have envisaged it, later.