You don’t have to win a lottery or inherit a fortune from a distant relative to become wealthy. The latest scientific evidence suggests that you can do it all by yourself, without inside connections, vast business experience, or even luck! There is no such thing as an inherited tendency toward success or wealth. In fact, average and wealthy people seem to be remarkably similar.
 
Money does indeed change everything: Financial challenges mount exponentially as you add more digits to your bottom line. The list of responsibilities is almost endless. Well, some people will doubt & think that being financially free seems to be an impossible dream to attain. - Never ever doubt about yourself! - To have financial freedom is not impossible and is within your reach if you possess the fundamental understanding of how wealth is created and accumulated.

By far equity as compared to most other asset classes is the only option which gives handsome returns in the long term. To accumulate wealth, substantial equity exposure is inevitable. Rather than being afraid of the ups & downs in the market one should try to gain maximum from the swings that are brought up by the share markets.

One’s participation in the stock market is broadly through three channels viz. Direct Equity, Equity Mutual Funds & Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIPs). If one does not have time & expertise to regularly monitor his/her direct equity portfolio then it is recommended to participate in Equity Markets through MFs or ULIPs.

ULIPS / MFs:

Generally speaking, ULIPs can be termed as mutual fund schemes with an insurance component. However it should not be construed that barring the insurance element there is nothing differentiating mutual funds from ULIPs. Despite the seemingly comparable structures there are various factors wherein the two differ.
Modifying asset allocation:
ULIPs: Generally permitted for free or at a nominal cost 
Mutual Funds: Entry/exit loads (if any) have to be borne by the investor

Tax benefits:
ULIPs: Section 80C benefits are available on all ULIP investments
Mutual Funds: Section 80C benefits are available only on investments in tax-saving funds

Can 80C investment be switched between equity & debt during the lock in period?
ULIPs: YES
Mutual Funds: NO. Once invested in ELSS the amount is locked in equity for 3 years.

Taxation of switches (as per prevailing tax laws):
ULIPs: The switch between debt & equity is not subject to taxation.
Mutual Funds: The switch between debt & equity schemes is taxable as capital gains.

Both MFs & ULIPs have their advantages & disadvantages. Some would argue that one has to keep his investments & insurance separate. For them insurance only means term plans & investment would probably mean MFs. This approach definitely makes sense. But let us look at things from other angle too. Various products fit into various needs at different times. The Single Premium Plans of ULIPs make them an attractive option for building a substantial corpus along with some life cover as added advantage. Due to lower charges they are better investment options amongst all the insurance plans. Let’s look at some of the features of Single Premium Plans.

Features of Single Premium Plans:
• In Single Premium Plans you can have a sum assured of minimum 500% of the premium amount, as premium payment upto 20% of the sum assured is eligible for tax benefit under Sec. 80C and the amount payable to you is eligible for tax benefit under Sec. 10 (10D).
• The premium allocation charges at times can go as low as 1% if a person wants to invest a good enough sum like Rs 500,000 and above.
• Even the fund management charges can be low from 0.75% - 1.50% depending on the type of fund you invest into. These charges are low as compared to Expense ratio of many mutual funds.
• Ensure liquidity using partial withdrawal (subject to conditions) facility.
• Automatic Withdrawal Plan- Some policies have the option of withdrawing the maturity amount in installments instead of lump sum withdrawal. Due to this facility the product scores over a pension plan. As pension received is taxable but as per prevalent tax laws withdrawal from life insurance plans are tax-free.
• They provide the investor with various fund options for investment like, pure equity fund, pure debt fund, money market funds or combinations of debt & equity funds.
• Most ULIPs allow 4 free switches every year. Subsequent switches may be charged at negligible rate. These switches enable smooth portfolio rebalancing between debt & equity.
• Some of them have an option of automatic transfer system which allows you to invest a lump sum amount in their money market fund and transfer a pre-defined amount every month into any one of the chosen equity funds, similar to MF SIP. This will help you to avoid any risk arising out of the market volatility.

The charges, automatic transfer system, automatic withdrawal plan are some of the features which make it a good investment.

Let’s understand the importance of Single Premium ULIPs with the help of numbers:

Option 1: You invest Rs. 1, 00, 000 as Lumpsum in a taxable instrument generating returns 12% p.a. Assuming you are in the highest tax slab of 30%, the net (after tax) returns which you earn are just 8.4% (12 - 3.6(30%*12)). Assuming your term of investment is 30 years; your net accumulation from this investment is Rs. 11, 24, 290.

Option 2: You invest Rs. 1, 00, 000 in a Single Premium ULIP plan for 30 years. The very first benefit is this 1, 00, 000 investment qualifies as deduction u/s 80 C (provided your sum assured is at least 5 times the premium). Secondly as per the prevailing tax laws, the maturity amount from life insurance plans is also tax free u/s 10 (10 D) (subject to SA being at least 5 times the premium paid). So due to this your entire returns from this ULIP are tax free. Assuming you earn a return of 12% in this case also, the accumulation after 30 years comes to Rs. 29, 95, 992. Over & above this throughout the term you are even insured for Rs. 5, 00, 000. That’s like a cherry on the cake!
Please note: The charges are not taken into consideration. Assuming the charges of Single Premium ULIPs are less; hence they might not affect the accumulated figure drastically.

The aim of the above comparison was just to show you the impact of tax saved in case of such ULIPs. The free switches make them much better option cost wise as well as tax wise.

The proposed new direct tax code says that the proceeds from life insurance plans will be taxable on maturity. If it applies only to policies bought after 1/4/2011, then it makes sense to invest in such Single Premium ULIPs right away to avail the existing tax benefits. Even if there is a tax of say 30% on maturity, proceeds in your hands would still be Rs.21,27,194 which is substantially higher than Rs.11,24,290 .

Such Wealth Creation Plans give the investor the dual benefit of protection along with the potentially higher returns of market-linked instruments. The liquidity option offered by the wealth creation plan is far more than that offered by the traditional plans. These plans also might help you achieve things that you always dreamed of, if you do a proper investment and keep a track of the funds in which you have invested in.

~ If we command our wealth, we shall be rich and free. If our wealth commands us, we are poor indeed. ~
        - Burke, Edmund

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This entry was posted on Monday, December 7th, 2009 at 2:15 am and is filed under Mukesh Dedhia's published articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.