I
seriously am in a fix…
Where
do I start this idea from is a million dollar question today. There is not one
issue that has taken the market off its hibernation mode but, several in number
which means that it’s now a chronic disease which needs a panacea!
I am
stunned by the fact that while these fraudsters are easily able to net in the
savings of the people without an iota of doubt arising from the side of the
investors, there are thousand rejections coming from the same bunch of so
called wise investors when it comes to instruments and schemes from reputed and
well established houses!
More
than a why the question that pops up is how??
How
is it that such firm as AT group, Seashore and Sharada have been successful in
fooling people with more than financially seductive offers which are perhaps
beyond the radar of the authorities framing regulations for this industry as
such or is it that these type of companies and groups are autonomous in nature
and have no rules governing their sources of investments and revenue
generation?
How
is it that such companies have been able to amass wealth and their promises
have not even caught the eye of the authorities policing over such dubious
schemes and companies per se?
Stranger
than all is the question as to how, people who bargain left and right while
buying a Kilogram of vegetables, cross examine a durable or for that matter, an
android, take their time to decide about a son in law or daughter in law, fall
into the trap of juicy returns, without even a second thought and park in their
hard earned money with such firms?? How?
How
urgent is it to invest in a scheme which offers and promises 12pc returns every
year (the person talked to claimed that the bankers were unknown to such
schemes available where in the govt bond funds gave a return of 1pc every
month) vis a vis a scheme assured by the government or for that matter
certified by the authorities like RBI, AMFI or IRDA where the returns are
around 10pc, promised by the foxes in disguise?
Why
do we keep on making mistakes and then crib that the investments market is as
such a crap when it is we who desire to be made fools by those who design and
implement their strategies to be a conqueror of wealth of the fools!
While
we know how to save money by working hard, they know how to make money by
flushing such funds of yours and mine, in a day.
Day
in and day out, my meetings with different classes of people here in
Bhubaneshwar has made me understand that none of them understand as to why they
want to invest nor are they aware of the schemes they are investing into except
for the fact that they park in the money more on the basis of brand name than
the benefits it accrues to them in the near future. The returns that would come
to them in future are also dismal.
While
such classes of investors as mentioned above are common, it’s now not so
uncommon to find the so called wise and greedy investors who had guts to park
in money in lacs with companies like AT group and Seashore but had little money
to protect their own future and life!
Strange
as it may seem, there are people as well who have taken protection for life
beyond a required limit so much so that even the IT department was tempted to
issue a notice to them wherein it has asked the person in question to clarify
the sources from which he was paying the premiums which per annum were twice
the salary he earned per annum!
I
can cite n number of such cases where these so called businessmen and
entrepreneurs have been effortlessly able to fool us, amassed crores of rupees,
dumped the amount somewhere which is untraceable and perhaps in the lifetime will never be
seen again but it won’t serve any purpose because we don’t want to wake up
against Ponzi schemes however, have our feet ready to kick the butt of the
financial consultant or the manager from a reputed financial firm who genuinely
wants to give us an advice.
The
point of punching in the keys and wasting the time scribbling this all is that
I desire to spread the information far and wide about the awareness levels we
have with regards to investments in financial markets and about how much more
we need to get ourselves educated so that no companies with false claims and
glittering returns can fool us. As we ask a thousand questions and cross check
with n number of sarees before we pick one from the lot, there has to be a same
thought and process in understanding as to why I need to invest here or why
not?
Being
a common man does not mean we can shelve our responsibility of being aware
about the market regulations and load the same onto the financial
intermediaries who only are there to earn a rupee extra from every sale done!
We cannot blame for the erosion in the value of our investments on the sales
manager or the financial consultant only because, if it is my money, I need to
grill the person before me, cross check with the market information available
and then invest instead of blindly following the person representing the company…
Remember…
an investment is like your own child. Ask questions and be satisfied the same
way as a father would be about the groom before marriage is fixed for his
lovely daughter. A small clarification to those many who feel insurance to be
investment – it’s an assurance to the life of your own as well as to the lives
of those who love and live with you. Hence, instead of planning it later, plan
it immediately and weave a net of financial safety so that the loved ones do
not fall into the abysmal situations when you are not around!
