If you have wondered what are soft commissions here is the answer. There are some legitimate expenses and some not so legitimate expenses. Soft commissions are what sales people call ‘entitlements’. It could be in the form of a contest – the top 100 winners go on an all paid trip to South Africa, Goa, […]
In all my financial interactions – be it planning for clients, training, teaching or writing, people have come to me with some problem which they think is unique. In all the financial problems, I am able to find a pattern. Believe it or nor, people more often than not choose the problem by their behavior. […]
Or Why you do not need an investment consultant or an Investment Advisor ! If you need bypass surgery, you should find the most qualified surgeon available.This need not be the most expensive surgeon. Some surgeons are better at PR so they command a higher price. Some surgeons are good but in smaller hospitals. You […]
Frankly this is not a ‘how to sell life insurance or mutual fund’ tutorial but just a note on how desperate the industry is to sell! ALL the life insurance companies – Aviva, Hdfc Standard Life, Icici Prudential, Tata AIG, Birla Sunlife, Max New York Life, Reliance, Kotak, – have called me at least 10 […]
Well frankly I do not know whether it is a good time to invest in gold or a great time to get out of gold. But let us look at the obvious reasons to buy or sell. Obvious reasons to buy: 1. The world is busy printing money so value of currencies will fall but […]
Shariah Investments in my portfolio, no thanks! Benchmark Mutual fund announced a Shariah compliant fund recently. Of course many mutual funds (Reliance, UTI, to name 2) are all in the process of launching and managing a Shariah compliant fund. What is a Shariah compliant fund? And what does it do? Shariah, the religious law of […]
Darren Gough and IPL – yes you can see some connection, but can you see the connection between Darren Gough and Financial planning? Well neither could I…but here is the connection. Telegraph , UK did an interview regarding Darren’s financial habits – and it was interesting. Nothing flamboyant. His best investment he says – is […]