Here is a real-life story of the games banks and insurers play with your money even as the regulator watches from the sidelines

V Ganapathy

People invest their hard-earned money to earn returns and grow their nest-egg. But the investment climate has become extremely toxic today. Over the past few years, millions of savers have been sold market-based schemes from insurance and mutual funds, by their ‘friendly bankers’, which have led to large losses. Everyone offering financial products uses disclaimers and gets away. Sure, there are regulators. But they have a hands-off approach to regulation. They insist on disclosure; that done, financial companies and their intermediaries are pretty much left to target savers at will. You see, investments in market-based schemes are always fraught with risks. So, if you chose to invest in a mutual fund or in a unit-linked insurance plan (ULIP), your intention was to make money; so, if there is a risk, you have to face it—even if this risk is due to the wrong advice given via mis-selling. Here is my encounter with one such toxic product that was on offer in the marketplace.

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