No this story is not about greed. There was a farmer who had a hen that laid golden eggs. The farmer was a bit of a miser. He looked at the hen and thought – all the expense is because of the front side – and all the income is because of the back side.

He decided to cut the head – to save the expenses!

When it comes to philosophy or spiritual thoughts too – many people say ‘I am spiritual, not religious’ – sounds like a joke, really. I know ‘bhakts’ of Shankaracharya (of Kanchi) who would go there in grand silks (he was always against silkworms being destroyed), seeking his blessings for a wedding, and then asking for dowry. Selective acceptance of a guru’s advise is I think absolutely stupid.

This happens to many financial advisers too. Clients use half the advise and then make a mess of the what the adviser has told them. When I say do not take unit linked insurance. I am ALSO SCREAMING ‘take the cheapest term insurance that you can buy for your age, for a period you want, for an amount that is suitable for you’. If you just say ‘Subra says do not take insurance’ – bad luck to your nominee.

Sometimes it is easy to interpret what the adviser has told them. Sometimes it is not. I keep screaming that real estate is not a good investment over a long period of time (say 30 years). However it is true IF AND ONLY IF you keep the money in a good well performing equity portfolio (direct or mutual fund). If the money is lying in a bank fixed deposit – yuck you would have been far, far better off with buying the house.

There are tons of such examples. It is necessary to understand the advise in full. Remember I too have ULIPs – but I bought it when it was cheap, and I did reverse engineering to find out how the cost will hit me over long periods of time. However I am still planning to surrender it, because of fund manager issues….:-)