When Are ULIPs The Right Choice

Based purely on content from a search engine's results, one could form an opinion that Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIPs) offered by insurance companies are costlier and lack the same transparency as mutual funds, besides generating much lower returns after 5 years, which is usually the lowest installment premium paying term for a ULIP investor.

- ASHOK KUMAR

Now, if one shifted the needle from 5 to 10 or 12 years, much of the above criticism stands weakened. To understand a financial product better, one must determine its optimal holding period first, and then compare costs.