In the last issue, we had mentioned that some institutional value-buying, which was anticipated, would provide a little respite to the market’s free fall. On the week-ended 24 October 2008, the Sensex terminated its fall at 8,701. In earlier issues, we had mentioned several levels at which the Sensex could have possibly taken support. None of these held, given the ferocity of the fall. On the...

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...