There is an old latin phrase - Caveat Emptor or buyer beware. This is much more important in financial transactions but seldom applied. People who take pains to compare clothing, try it out, etc do not think twice before investing. Just because my banker / broker says a ULIP or an NFO is good doesn’t make it so, I need to read and understand what the product is, what are the risks associated with it, what does it cost, what are the tax implications as well as benefits, why do I need this, what is the track record of performance and what can I expect as returns in future etc these are the questions that need to be asked but seldom asked. The investor who asks these questions become an aware buyer. The investor who doesn’t learns that he has made a costly mistake, remember you can always buy a new pair of jeans if you don’t like the one which you bought, it is never that easy to sell an investment and buy another one as most investments require investments in thousands and are bought with hard earned money