Please refer to R Balakrishnan’s views on “Insurance vs Mutual Funds” in MoneyLIFE of 9 October 2008. It makes interesting reading. However, some facts need clarity. For instance, he says that “the commission can be as high as 40% of the first year’s premium.” Are you referring to this rate of commission in general or particularly to unit linked insurance plans (ULIPs)? You need to be very...
For the past two months, the global economy has been badly shaken up by the failure of some of the world’s largest banks and financial companies. The US and some European countries have officially acknowledged to be in a state of recession. The US government has allocated a huge US$800 billion to bail out its failed financial institutions and this may increase to US$2 trillion in the coming...
Stick to what is safe, even if the returns are not very high
Over the past nine months, the Sensex dived precipitously from a high of over 21,000 to nearly a third of its value when it sank to 7,700 (intra-day) on 27th October. Millions of retail investors have suffered heavy losses on equity as well as ‘safer investments’ such as mutual funds, unit linked insurance plans (ULIPs), fixed...
