
Originally Posted by
umi001
I'd say no. Why? Because you can always invest your money in the instruments that they invest in, and you'll be able to pocket all of the return. Or, if your capital isn't that large, you can invest in mutual funds - they will have service fee/percentage, but it's likely to cost less compared to the insurance companies.
I'd say go for plain vanilla insurance - just your standard life insurance, no riders attached, unless you can ascertain that those riders will not add to your premium (it is best to get insurance while young, as your premiums will be lower). Then invest the rest of your money in a mutual fund. There are some funds that allow you to start at just 10k - and you can keep adding to your principal monthly, so your savings can keep growing and earning money. You can also select which funds to invest in, depending on your risk profile - money-market based funds will offer lower risk, but lower possible return, while equity- and derivative- funds may offer higher returns (sometimes much higher), though with the concomitant increase in risk.
Alternatively, if you think you're up to it, you can also invest in the financial markets yourself - again, I think you can start with just 10k in the stock market, and same for some money-market instruments. Of course, this takes more effort - you have to keep abreast of market conditions - and more knowledge - you have to know what market indicators are, and what movements in the market might mean to your investment - but you'll pocket all of the gains that your investment makes.