How much should a professional charge as a fee? This is a question that I have found almost impossible to answer. Let me tell you why. Suppose you have a client who has a slightly complicated family relationships. The client is a 65 year old widow who is rich, and has the following assets: One […]

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People end up asking me some very basic debt market questions too…so here is an attempt to help them…if they do not know the basics Continuing the debt class, have you ever wondered what assets can you invest in to meet your debt requirement? Well there are many – and most of them you know […]

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I have a friend who says whenever he gets a raise – or around that time – his father has some demand worth Rs. 30-40k come up. It could be remodeling his furniture, change of a/c, new washing machine, …a vacation etc. His father used to work in a private sector company and retired as […]

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First of all let me make a distinction between a saver and an investor. A saver puts his money in instruments which give fixed or very closed to fixed kind of returns. Examples of this are bank fixed deposits, PPF, National savings certificates, Endowment insurance policies, Retirement plans fully in debt instruments, etc. etc. These […]

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Ok not exactly poor, but you are 30 years old, married to a 28 year old earning well but BROKE. Poor maybe too harsh – but if all you have to show for 6 years of working is say Rs. 10 lakhs in the bank, well you are almost there. Your story? Let me tell […]

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All the articles in the financial services industry are written by people who have a vested interest in either the advisory business or in the sales business. By ensuring that you have an adviser there is a good chance that you will be nicely domesticated and beaten to submission. This will ensure that you say […]

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Most of the Governments of the world have been subsidised by the middle class. Let me explain. The biggest borrower in India is the Government of India – about 80% let us say. Now this government along with the RBI can decide the interest rates for most of us. They decide: at what rate PPF […]

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