Investment query for someone needy

ashish said:
icici direct ?? She has her own savings account in ICICI and she last week visited the branch for some work there the investment relation officer suggested her upon her request what will be the best since then she is pressing on SIP in ICICI. Dont know if she goes via this way if still ICICI will charge her any monthly fee as you said some 30 bucks.
Click to expand...

ok, looks like she is a new comer to investing and does not have any demat account. Probably like @Crazy_Eddy said, the bank's relationship officer (glorified name for their marketing people) are pushing some in house Ulip plan on her saying it will close shortly etc etc. Just stay away from those banks marketing people. They get up to 48% as commission from your investments in ICICI prudential insurance plans. And ULIP is not for new comers. Tell her to think properly first and not get taken in by false promises made by bank staff.

Will walking to an MF amc office clear all the air regarding investment? Will they be in a better position to assist on even more options?
Click to expand...

No. A mutual fund AMC is just a back office to take your investment money. They are not there to give investment advice and even if they give advice they will push their own funds on you.


For investing in any company's stocks, one needs to have a demat account. For investing in FD's, mutual funds, no demat account is required. I say its better to read up on those other schemes like PF, PPF, ELSS etc where lock in and maturity period is long term of 3+ years and decide whether she wants such long term lock in for investments for the returns they provide.

She needs to take a breather first to calm her mind and not jump into investing blindly. First read up all about investing while commuting in the train or when she has some spare time. Only then when she feels she's ready take to investing. Just blindly putting money into something someone told will lead to losing even that little money she had hopes for.
 
Banks are pushing ULIPs to customers very aggressively these days. They market them as the holy grail of investment. Rest assured that anything that is in their best interests to push is likely not something that is in your best interests. Basically, its a Insurance + Mutual Fund product where the money invested is diverted towards both. So, if you are not interested in the insurance, you are wasting part of your money. Further the expense ratios will be much higher than a traditional mutual fund and also ULIPs have far less transparency on the returns.

Go though this link. It explains a lot of the downsides with ULIP compared to MF's

https://www.iifl.com/blogs/ulip-vs-mutual-funds

If you want to invest, chose an investment instrument like MF or Bank Deposits or PF/PPF. If you want long term investment with tax saving, PF/PPF already offer that. ELSS MF's also offer that.

If you want insurance, go for a dedicated insurance plan that suits you.
 
Back
Top