Synopsis
Though awareness is rising, insurance buyers still make costly mistakes. Find out what these errors are and how you can avoid them.
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Buying life insurance has become a priority for many after Covid. The pandemic has claimed over 1.6 lakh lives in India. In many cases, breadwinners have succumbed to the virus, leaving families in disarray.
To be sure, Covid has created more awareness about the need for adequate protection. There is a distinct shift towards considering life insurance as a tool for financial security, reveals a recent Tata AIA Life Insurance Consumer Confidence Survey. Almost half of the respondents said they need to buy a life insurance policy in the next six months. During the pandemic, 51% of respondents bought life insurance, of which 30% were first-time buyers.
Just 38 percent of Franklin Templeton’s unitholders voted: SEBI-appointed observer
The observer elaborated on a number of steps that the fund house could have taken to ensure a more robust exercise January 21, 2021 / 03:14 PM IST
The observer’s report on the recently-concluded e-voting held by Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund (FT MF) was submitted to the Supreme Court (SC). It said that the e-voting exercise was generally conducted according to the e-voting notices sent by FT MF. “However, there were many grey areas in the procedure adopted, which raised doubts and apprehensions in the minds of investors,” the report said.
The observer elaborated on a number of steps that the fund house could have taken to ensure a more robust exercise. For starters, it said that unitholders of the six schemes that are sought to be wound up, should have got one vote for each unit they held. The fund house had, on the other hand, allowed investors only as many votes as the number of foli
Balanced or aggressive hybrid funds saw sustained outflows last year as subdued performance and mis-selling led investors to pull out money. Last year, the category saw outflows of over Rs 24,000 crore, data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) shows. “Balanced funds were sold and misunderstood as ‘safe’ products. Last year’s market crash, however, led to significant capital erosion, which prompted investors to move out of such funds. A lot of investors had also invested on the premise that they would get consistent dividends, which did not materialise,” said Amol Joshi, founder, Plan Rupee Investment Services. The funds were also mis-sold by distributors, especially by a number of bank branches, which sold them as products that could provide consistent dividends, said people in the know.
Read more about Franklin Templeton gets investors nod for winding up six schemes on Business Standard. The fund house could take second vote for appointing a liquidator
In the meeting with unitholders, Franklin Templeton denies allegations of favouritism to select investors
Unitholders asked trustees when they would get their money back and what could happen if schemes are re-opened for redemptions December 30, 2020 / 02:57 PM IST
The first meeting of the trustees and the unitholders of the six debt schemes that Franklin Templeton India was held on Tuesday. The fund house’s President, Sanjay Sapre, denied allegations that some investors may have withdrawn their money before redemptions were suspended. Sapre said that this was an allegation and there was no evidence supporting such a claim. “The redemption patterns don’t appear to indicate any difference in redemptions with respect to specific individuals or advisors,” he said. The meeting was held over video calls, as part of the four-day voting exercise.