Your cover story on online money making (World Wide Wealth, 17 May) was a mind opener. I was aware of the ever-expanding reach and usage of the Net but hadn’t imagined its income earning potential. If thousands of people are earning from the Internet when just 3.5% of India’s population (40 milllion) has Net access, I wonder how potent the medium will become when at least 50% (500 million) people get online as customers or just for surfing the World Wide Web.
-Shiv Mehta, Jodhpur
You are right. Impressive as the income generation from the Net already sounds, what we are witnessing is just the beginning of a great revolution. Online market of goods and services will be more rewarding and efficient than physical markets for every participant.
I find MONEY TODAY very informative. I admire your efforts in trying to evaluate an individual’s investment plans in the Portfolio Doctor column. However, I believe there is a loophole in all your analyses— there is no mention of a “child policy” in your suggestions. I believe a “child policy” should be an integral part of every portfolio. And here I am not talking about just building a corpus for your child’s education but having a policy which will help in his or her educational needs in case of an unfortunate event.
The best options nowadays are the Ulip child plans, such as HDFC ULYS or ICICI Smartkid, etc. These are market-linked and hence will offer better returns in the long run. Most Ulips today also offer monthly mode of investment, which means that they act as mutual fund SIPs. The same objective can be achieved by putting a lump sum investment in one of the diversified equity funds and locking it for 15-20 years. However, I feel this line of approach will meet the target only if the family does not withdraw the funds as and when needed.
-Capt Harsh Johari, e-mail
Thank you for your suggestion. However, insurance plans, especially child plans, are definitely not the best investment products for building a corpus for higher education. There are better financial instruments that work more effectively and offer higher rate of return. That’s why we seldom recommend “child policy” in Portfolio Doctor. Moreover, Ulips are rightly marketlinked and will work in the long term as the markets go up. However, do not get influenced by the returns these policies have offered in the last couple of years wherein all investment products have given great returns.
I appreciate MONEY TODAY’s courage to publish the article “Confessions of a mis-seller, 3 May”. In the history of personal finance magazine I am yet to come across an article which is as revealing as this.This article will go a long way in breaking the unholy nexus of commission earning adviser and sales manager.
-Sourabh Datta Gupta, Kolkata
Running the “Confessions” column required some effort on our part, and even more so on part of the former banker who agreed to share her experience with us so candidly and fairly. Like you, we too hope it helps the investors’ cause.
