Smart Investor Alert

5 secrets your bank’s customer relationship managers won’t tell you

- Devangshu Datta

LET’S SAY, YOU ARE AN earner with a reasonable saving habit. You want to invest and gain better returns than what you get from fixed deposits. You have little idea how to do this, and your work leaves you with even less time to learn.

One day, you receive a polite phone call from your bank’s client or customer relationship manager (CRM). The bank has noticed you have cash to spare and they’d like to help you make investments. A friendly young person smoothly talks you through some options and presents you with a list of suggestions. Simply sign a few forms and your investment needs will be taken care of, quickly and painlessly, they suggest.

This fills a genuine need for hassle-free financial advice to those who are keen to invest but are either overwhelmed by the paperwork and financial rigmarole, or apprehensive about fine-print minutiae and hidden costs. However, a CRM’s advice could lend itself to what is known as a principal–agent conflict: The objectives of the principal (you) are not perfectly aligned to that of the agent (the bank, often represented by the CRM).

Don’t get me wrong. Customer relationship managers often give good advice. But that’s incidental to their interests. Investments are a long-term process where you may have to take periods of under performance in your stride. So, even if you suspect a principal–agent conflict, once you’ve committed, you are in for the long haul.