An asset should bring you money. If this is the definition of an asset – your golf kit, your gold jewellery, your Mercedes, the house in which you live, – normally what people consider assets suddenly look like ‘expense’ rather than an asset! Every cheque that you sign is either an expenditure or the purchase […]
If you have a financial planner with a ‘product sale’ mentality – especially who has sold loan products also in the past, there is a good chance that he would suggest leverage. Leverage means borrowing. So read on… Financial planner: Borrowing sensibly is a good way to build wealth. Do a disciplined borrowing and you […]
Suzie Orman says: Keep enough money in ultra safe accounts to cover life’s emergencies, – say 8 months expenses – but no more. Financial planners talk only of an income emergency. They do not talk about an asset emergency. When your assets crash and you are reluctant to sell at the current prices it is […]
I recently received the annual report of a financial services company. Like all financial services company this company also has an insurance business, a financial distribution company, a mutual fund, …the works. A quick glance clearly shows that this company will NEVER make money in ANY of the abovementioned businesses during my life time. Surely […]
It is amazing that financial services – mutual funds, life insurance and banking are seen as villians in terms of charges in a country which has so many real estate deals! Who can become a builder, who can become a broker, how much brokerage to charge, should prices be quoted for built up, super built […]
The reason it will take years for the market to reach equilibrium – where buyers and sellers can easily meet – is that the market for newer homes has more sellers than buyers! Who is selling? The first is those who bought in the past few years and owe more on their house than what […]
If you are associated with financial services you know ‘misselling’ is a major problem. So I decided to see how much of misselling happens in other products and is it as damaging. The answer is a resounding yes. The financial services sector has regulators (RBI, SEBI, IRDA) who at least make some noises about misselling. […]