Are you interested in:
1. Getting unbiased, independent financial advice from a panel of experts
2. Pay no commission or get huge savings in distribution costs of the product.
3. Contribute to the financial well being of the underprivileged fellow Indians
Is it possible to have all three? Sounds interesting? Take a moment to read on.
We invite you to be a member of an Association of Indian RupeeManagers (AIR), an investor group where you get the best financial advice and do not pay any commission. The group will negotiate with Financial Services Company for commission free financial products that will entail huge cost savings for you. You also get to invest in financial products chosen by a panel of financial experts.
The Background: WHY
All financial products come with a distribution cost attached. The distribution cost includes financial advice and the logistics. The logistics include document handling, travelling expenses and office expenses of the advisor.
For example, a term insurance of Rs 10 lacs for a 30 year old, the annual premium for a 20 year term policy from LIC costs Rs 3821/-. However a group term insurance will cost approx. Rs 1500 only! This translates into a saving of approx. Rs 2000+
This group insurance cost will depend on the size as well as the age & income profile of the group. The best part is that depending on the profile of the group, the price quote can be negotiated with an Insurance company.
Other than group insurance, there are group schemes available for retirement planning too. For example a Group Superannuation scheme, a unit linked scheme, charges only 0.5% as premium allocation charges compared to 15-40% in other ULIPs.
Further, as the group grows, it can negotiate with a Fund House/AMC for discounts on the trailing commissions or the expense ratio of the fund that the group decides to invest.
Benefits:
Cost Savings: Being a part of the group saves you a lot of money. As we saw that in a group term insurance, the cost savings are to the tune of around 50-67%. For the superannuation fund, the saving is more than 15% on your investment for the first year. If the group can negotiate a lower expense ratio by 2% in a fund, the saving in terms of costs is over Rs 2 lacs over a 20 year period for a monthly investment of Rs 10000/-
Informed Advice: The investor group will be mentored by a panel of informed and independent financial experts. The panel of financial experts will decide on the financial products that the group will put their money on. Therefore, the group will be benefited with independent as well as expert advice.
Workshops: The members will get the benefit of the Financial Health Check & Planning workshops on a discounted price.
It’s Not For Everyone: Eligibility:
Membership to the group is open to earning individuals and those who are in the age group of 25 to 35. All members have to agree to set up an automatic ECS for their investments. This ensures convenience for both the members as well as the administration of the group.
The eligibility criteria can be reviewed from time to time by the trustees of the foundation.
Caution:
It is important that the membership is closely monitored so as to not let in rogue elements. A few rotten apples can make the entire basket rotten. So we have to be cautious not to let in members who may want to make false claims.
How to become a member:
If you want to become a member of the AIR (Association of Indian RupeeManagers) Group under the aegis of Financial Literacy Foundation (FLF), take the following steps:
1. Download the Application Form
2. Send the completed form to FLF along with a deposit of Rs 1000/- only. This deposit will be considered a donation if there is no claim for refunds. This deposit is to indicate your commitment to the group and will help the FLF defray costs of administering the group. The cheque is to be issued favouring “Financial Literacy Foundation” and to be sent to Financial Literacy Foundation, 10-B, Mahagun Mansion, Vaibhav Khand, Indirapuram, Ghaziabad – 201010.
You may also deposit the amount in cash/cheque to the Foundation’s Current Account No. 60046469290, Bank of Maharashtra, Indirapuram, Ghaziabad.
Most Important:
The bigger the group, the bigger will be the benefits. We request you to spread the word and ask your friends to become a part of the group.
TimeLines:
The last date for filling up the membership form is 31st July, 2010.
We are in talks with various financial service providers and the first product that we buy together will be before 30th September, 2010.
So, join in and spread the word!
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I downloaded and started filling out the form when I realised that I have to give you more of my personal info that not ! Where / what is your privacy policy ?
@Mukunth. Thanks for your interest. All your data will be completely confidential. Please rest assured. We will upload the privacy policy shortly on the FLF site.
Dear Ranjan
I referred the application form, one quick question..why you need details of PAN no and proof of address and identity?
@Amit & @Mukunth. The PAN card, address proof and identity proofs are required as per KYC norms specified by the Regulators. Moreover, we don’t want rogue elements to get into our system that can corrupt our group.
Plus, we will not sell or rent your personal information to anyone, for any reason, at any time.
We’ll put up a privacy policy soon. Thanks for pointing it out through your comments.
Dear Ranjan,
I am living outside India, can I pay the membership fee through net banking? It will be valid and acceptable? If yes! then how will I get the receipt or confirmation of payment?
Please advice,
thanks in advance,
@Amit. How long you will be outside India? We’ll setup a Paypal payment system very soon.
Dear Ranjan,
Even I don’t know how long I will be outside India!!! I am working here in middle east.
Anyway..my friends or relatives can deposit a cheque or cash behalf of me? I will fill the form and mail it to them..is it possible?
Thnx,
Ranjan,
Your intentions are noble – agreed, but we the general public need some sort of assurance that the details we provide will not be misused / tampered in any way. Apart from my personal details, you are also asking for an ECS to be set up…why not open up a company and solicit the same info ?
@Mukunth Financial Literacy Foundation is a registered society. Does being a Company entails more confidence?
In any case, trust is an important factor, I agree.
Ranjan,
Of course, I can refrain from joining but am more curious on this ! Why not make the “official” KYC letter as an alternate means of identity document from applicants ? Just a thought…
“Trusts” themselves are going down the drain nowadays !! Am still not convinced
I believe in your financial literacy drive. Unless masses become literate we can not make progress.Progress can not happen in isolation.
Best of luck!
@ Dr. Sabde Thanks. We know that we are doing something new and there are bound to be doubters. There would be people who have an eye for minute details while missing the main idea. So it’s nice to hear that you believe in us.
Why have you limited the age profile between 25-35. And is an ECS mandatory?
I like the idea. Best!
@Rajesh. We are just getting started. We thought that we should start with a small and homogenous group. We put an age bracket because of that.
Moreover, we want the cost of administering the group to be minimal. ECS would help in that. Moreover, once you have setup an ECS, further intervention in manging your investments will be minimal too.
Thanks for your good wishes.
Is your age group a certain restriction or are you willing to take in a few people outside the age group. I just fall outside the age group.
@Mahesh The age bracket is not iron clad. It’s a guidance. So we’ll take in members who are on the fringe.
New post on “Trust” partly triggered by the comments . Check out http://ranjanvarma.com/why-do-we-trust/
Hello Ranjan,
I would be interested, I work in USA on a 2 year assignment, have been reading your blog on and off. Please let me know more details and when you will be setting up paypal a/c
Thanks
In the application form, there is a field for “reference” details.
Could you let me know as to who can act as a reference.
@Muni Babu any colleague or friend can be your reference.
Hi Ranjan,
Curious to join the group…but I am NRI by residence, can I join your group ? If yes, would you accept the softcopy of application form. As one of our readers mentioned, me too have reservations in revealing soo many personal details (for privacy as well as fishing reasons). As I am already investing in mutual funds through my online account, can I continue investing through same account as a member of AIM and can I I transfer the money to your account, if I opt to join your group ?
Thanks
@Jagan. Thanks for your interest. NRI are allowed to invest in India and there would not be any issues on that count. The reservations against giving out personal details can be addressed by people who have joined the group and can testify about us. But since this is a new thing, we need to be trusted.
Thanks again.
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I know the deadline has passed, but was it a hard deadline…can people still enrol?
We need to create more buzz about it. Still don’t have a good number joining in.
i am willing to join the group,but the problem is i am sixty years of age. can i join
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