It’s occurred to me that I’ve never written about Investment-Linked Policies (ILPs) on Financial Horse before. Whether rightly or wrongly, there’s quite a lot of negative perception around ILPs in the market. But as investors, it’s wise to consider all investment options. So when Manulife reached out to me, I was interested to delve further into the issue. Understand the product, think critically from first principles, and form your own opinion. Note: This post is sponsored by Manulife Singapore. All views and opinions are from Financial Horse.

Basics: What is an Investment Linked Policy (ILP)?

MoneySense (a Singapore government site) has a great definition of Investment-Linked Policies: Investment-linked policies (ILPs) are policies that have life insurance coverage and investment components. Your premiums are used to pay for units in one or more funds of your choice. Some of the units purchased are then sold to pay for insurance and other charges, while the rest remain invested....