Hi, I am a former financial planner in AIA, one of the larger insurance companies the world. A financial planner is in substance a salesman according to my experiences. And today I would like to tell you some facts about investing in mutual funds products. These kinds of products are getting more and more popular over the last few years. But in my opinion, many of these customers do not really need such a product. I’ll explain the basic structures to you now.
The first thing you need to know is the operating structure and the coordination between insurance companies and fund managers. When you pay your monthly installment to the insurance company, the company sends the money to the fund managers. Some of these mutual funds platforms offer multiple funds for you to switch from, from 10 to over 300 funds. You can allocate your payment to several different funds, and buy specific unit of funds. Then if the fund did well increase their prices, your existing units become more valuable and you become better off.
The first cost you would be charged is for the guy who talked to you about this product you just signed. They are the ones who find the customers, persuade them or even deceive them into believing this is the product he has been finding. Insurance companies stand so firmly with indestructible cash flow all because of these great salespersons. And the companies are willing to give them the amount they worth to keep them motivated and keep the cash coming in. The company can pay out as much as fifty percent of all the payments in the first year of a policy as the commission for a sales person.
On your monthly statement may find that the account value is not exactly the amount of money you own. There is another value called the surrender value usually printed in little text. That’s the real amount you own which is the amount you get when you stop the account and get back your money. The fee for the insurance company is calculated as a percentage of your account value. Therefore, they would want a higher account value and a lower surrender value. The cost percentage is usually not high apparently. But if you try to do a spreadsheet simulation, you will see how much of the money generated from your capital goes to the insurance company. It may surprise you.
The final man cost is given to the fund manager. Fund manager is the person who manages your capital. They invest the money on stocks or other assets depending on their policy. Usually, each fund has some particular characteristics like area focused or industry focus to give customers the desired options.
So now you know. You can go ahead and decide whether to answer the call from your ‘personal financial planner’ next time. God bless.
Learn more about investment, check out forex day trading system