Yes, this is a few years' old story but worth refreshing.
Lack of financial literacy can cost you big time as reputed banks target the gullible with money to spare. PMS, MFs and Insurance products are sold to customers without any understanding of needs.
All I say is....Choose your financial advisor wisely....
Suchitra married Shekhar in 1997, got divorced after a decade & received few crores in alimony as a means of livelihood for herself & for her daughter
Her bank sniffed out the hefty deposit in her Savings account & enticed her into its PMS promising 24% returns P.A. She trusted her banker & handed over Rs 3.60 crores, by signing a POA that is akin to signing one’s own death warrant.
The money was now available both for investments & insurance and the bulk of it found its way into ULIPs. There was a toxic churning from one scheme to another to maximize front-loaded commissions.
Result after five years: - 83 lacs direct loss from investment, - 29 lacs commission paid to the bank, - 8 lacs lost from an insurance policy, - 10 lacs valuation decline in another insurance policy, - 4.5 lacs STCG tax (including 1.85 lacs penalty to the IT department due to non-disclosure of gain by the bank to her) - 58 lacs interest on home loan earned by the bank.
When she wished to surrender her insurance policies, the bank didn't act by contending that they no longer had any tie-up with Tata AIG.
Her appeal to the Economic offences wing was dismissed. Market watchdog, the SEBI intervened & found that the money was invested in 38 different funds, & many of them were 'not in line with her risk profiling'.
Finally, her losses were 'Amicably Settled' after a four-year long battle with the global banking major.
If a well-known celebrity could be cheated in such a way, it is surely bound to happen with others as well.