Hi People,

I have just had a visit from some young people from my grandson's school, they are trying to sell me some scheme that is supposed to teach my grandson to save, we have to put 1,000 baht in every month and after 3 years they give us a bonus of 15,000 and the scheme keeps going, i am told that after 12 years which is when our grand son reaches uni. and we will want the capital to pay the fees that they give the money back [ capital] this is backed by the bank and some insurance company, i am worried because they did not bring the policy for me to read, , wondering if others have had simular approaches????

My advice would be, tmrw morning go to your grandson's school and talk to the Head of the School what's all about and if it's legit.

And ask him also if you can look at the policy

Sounds like a classic annuity...peddled by insurers worldwide.

Questions to ask

1) what are the fees ?

2) If you needed the money in 6 months, what penalties would there be on withdrawal ?

3) What will the money be invested in ? What assumed rate of earnings are they offering, what choices do you have ?

4) Is the money actually being used to buy an insurance policy for your grandson ?

if they can't or won't answer ....tell em to take a hike.

There was something like that at my wife's school bot sure what came of it no one took them up on the deal. It has been around for a few years so I would suggest to ask for names of people to contact who are in the program and have received the 15,000 baht after 3 years . Testimonials you can verify.

I am a big fan of teaching children about saving and investment from a young age but i am not sure how this scheme (as described) will help with that. Surely better if he (your grandson) has to save money that he has earned.

Ask them, or the people behind them what the internal rate of return (IRR) on the scheme from now till the payout date in 12 years: this will be a percentage figure, and, if accurate will give you a better idea of the value of the scheme than listening to the sales pitch. if its a reputable bank/insurance company they should have this. Google to find out more but think of this as the savings rate over the life of the scheme.

its called the teachers piss up fund

I am a big fan of teaching children about saving and investment from a young age but i am not sure how this scheme (as described) will help with that. Surely better if he (your grandson) has to save money that he has earned.

Ask them, or the people behind them what the internal rate of return (IRR) on the scheme from now till the payout date in 12 years: this will be a percentage figure, and, if accurate will give you a better idea of the value of the scheme than listening to the sales pitch. if its a reputable bank/insurance company they should have this. Google to find out more but think of this as the savings rate over the life of the scheme.

And when you have calculated (adjusting for expected inflation) how poor (likely) the real rate of return on the scheme is you can use this as a (hopefully) valuable lesson, for your grandson, on the time value of money!

Thank you all for your imput, i will investigate further, as suggested ask the school head, i have asked these people for a look at the contract, before we sign, they were trying to push my wife to sign first, but i am worried that if she did that we might be caught with paying for something we did not want.

once again thanks for the help.

regards eddie.

Pah just teach him/her yourself and save the heartache of the funds going "astray" in someonelse's care

15k 'bonus' after only 36k has been put in would appear a very good return, if it can be withdrawn then, and not left in for another decade or more ?

One wonders what sales-commissions are being earned with this scheme ? And how safe & secure the scheme-provider is ?

File under 'suspiciously-good', IMO.

Mrs Ricardo refuses to enter our local bank, unless I go with her too, because of the rush to press good deals upon her.

It's quite common IME, for sales-people to involve an authority-figure (teacher, village-headman, bank-manager, policeman etc) in their pitch, as it may make it harder for an ordinary Thai to refuse their 'generous offer'.

I usually listen carefully, ask thoughtful questions in a respectful manner, and then offer to take their sales-literature to discuss, with my family's professional financial-adviser, this often results in back-tracking or a failure to return at a later date, problem solved in a face-saving way. Our professional-adviser (OK, it's me, I 'll admit it !) is often unable to accept their kind offer, if they do come back, as it doesn't fit with our wider financial-planning & risk-averse strategy.

Lose the middleman.

Open the bank account yourself.

Make deposits on a regular basis,taking the grandchildren along.

They can then see the funds grow slowly but surely.

I did this for my own kids,they were given access at 18.

If it smells like a rat, then it probably is a rat.

teech kid to save. ever heard of a PIGGY bank.