One Quick Tip Regarding Investing (Know How You Will Get Your Money Back!)

Reading Time: 2 Minutes

Hi guys!

Going to be SUPER short tonight, because I’ve just wasted a good couple of hours and I’ll explain why.

Earlier MrsFrugalSamurai just stumbled onto some old letters from SIX months ago which she neglected to open.

Cos who uses letters any more right?

Well dear, apparently some financial institutions still do.

I love my wife.

She keeps life interesting.

Lo and behold, in one of the letters was an outdated life insurance plan to the tune of about $20k or so.

To say she was shocked was an understatement.

Because to think that the value of her life is worth less than a Toyota Prius?

Anyhow, her family must have visited a financial planner when she was a baby and taken out a policy on her.

One glance at the letter and my financial radar was SCREAMING.

Buried in the paperwork, was a figure called ICR.

The ICR is what is called an indirect cost ratio, and explained as:

“The estimated proportion of the indirect management costs to the total net assets of an investment option. These costs are deducted before the unit price is set, rather than being deducted directly from your account balance. The ICR does not take into account any rebates you may have received”.

In other words, this is the cost which the fund manager takes out BEFORE they value the individual unit price in a fund.

Or in even simpler words, this is a cost they charge us.

Hers sits at a whooping 2.19%.

I was outraged.

In this day and age, a 2.19% fee represents bloody dailylight robbery. To think that the fund was gouging this every year for the last 30 or so years is just… wow. “Shakes head”.

No WONDER banking and financial services was SO lucrative in yesteryears… sigh.

Anyhow, so 5 minutes later, I registered, logged on behalf of MrsFrugalSamurai and tried to find a way to cancel the insurance plan… and tried… and tried.

Try as I might, there was no information online, nada, nil, negative.

I then tried to find the relevant forms to withdrawal on their website… same outcome, couldn’t find it.

Hm.

Was there any information on the company’s website regarding this life insurance at all?

Nope.

Or at least, I couldn’t find it, and I’ve been bloody looking for the last hour. Only thing I could find is some investment performance pdf’s.

Which made me wonder, is this even life insurance? Could it be an life annuity bond or something similar?

I even tried Dr Google, and still couldn’t find any information.

Annnnd that’s the tip.

If you are going to invest in something, apart from doing your own research and understanding the risks etc. etc. make sure you have an exit plan.

More importantly, make sure that the person/company you are handing money to, is clear and concise with how they will return your money.

Because if they can’t make it easy for you to get your money back now, how easy will it be when you really need it back?

As for us, as the last resort, is to wait until their offices open tomorrow and hope that MrsFrugalSamurai has the sense to call (she will, but 6 months later) and find out about what she is “invested” in, and also how to get her bloody money back.

Oh and if anyone can find info on what a Flexible Security Plan is… please let me know! Thank you in advance.

Did you enjoy this post? If yes, put your email in and click on the little “subscribe” button at the top right. So come on, be a subscriber and get it straight to your inbox fresh out of the oven!

Or you can follow me here:

https://twitter.com/frugal_samurai

https://www.facebook.com/thefrugalsamurai/