In this time of a disastrous financial global meltdown, it is appropriate to examine the role banks play in the management and protection of our wealth. It is worrisome that the same people who have been entrusted to grow our wealth via sophisticated investment instruments have single-handedly succeeded in losing billions of dollars of investors' money.

Every time I see a bank advertising in glorious language its projected returns in an attempt to entice investors, I always wonder why the risks and disclaimers are printed in such fine print at the bottom of the page that one might have required a magnifying glass to read them.

Perhaps it is time we took a serious view on the risks involved in parting with our hard-earned money to sales staff from banks who have limited knowledge about what goes on inside the wealth-generation capabilities of the same organisation they work for.

I get unsettled by sales staff reciting from prepared glossy-looking pamphlets portraying a wonderful future of financial abundance. Nothing, it seems, can unfaze them from bullishly forecasting promising returns. The risks and downsides are usually not highlighted clearly to investors.

For the financial savvy who do not rely on banks to grow their wealth and who believe the only person who has a genuine interest in building one's wealth is our ownself, this problem is of no big magnitude. However, for the lay person who has grown up to believe that banks are their saviour and key to financial freedom, I fear for their interests.

I recall how my father-in-law was somehow enrolled in a 18-year insurance linked savings programme at age 50 with a reputable bank that not only required a monthly contribution of $500 for 18 years, but also had premature termination clauses which he was not made aware of.

Ironically, all he wanted when he stepped into the bank was to open a savings account. How could the sales staff expect him to continue to contribute his premiums beyond retirement age? Did the bank genuinely have his interest as priority? Did the bank make the 'cons' of such an instrument apparent to him? As he was unable to continue servicing his premiums after several years, he had to prematurely terminate his investment and in the process, sustained significant penalties and losses. He would have been better off with a normal savings account.

I am often reminded of two words by associates in the financial sector with regard to investments - 'due diligence' and 'regulation'. Are investors trained to do their 'due diligence' before plonking their money in financial instruments? Or have we grown to become so accustomed to the 'safety aura' that supposedly reputable banks exude so much so that we throw caution to the wind? What does 'regulation' mean? How does regulation protect our interests? Who regulates the sales staff working in banks to ensure they give an accurate picture of the investment instrument they are selling?

Bankers are highly paid and enjoy huge bonuses. The argument is that talented people must be retained. Can bankers who lose money for investors be considered a professional of high calibre?

If the bank is profitable, can one's investment in the bank be losing money? Worse still, can our portfolio be losing money and yet bankers are enjoying healthy bonuses? I think it is time some of these issues are addressed.

Track records of past performances by the fund managers in the banks should also be made readily available, transparently and openly to all potential investors. Even though past performance cannot be used as an indicator of future performance, such information is undoubtedly important so that investors have a clearer appreciation that not all investments are as rosy as banks paint them to be.

The present financial turmoil is an opportune time to remind ourselves that we need to be mindful of the downside risks associated with any investment instrument and not be lulled into a false sense of security by heavyweight brand names in the banking industry or by fancy 'growth funds'.

I also think it is time that risk and disclaimers be made more prominent on advertisements, and not by tiny asterixes. How about 'Invest at your own risk' for a start instead of 'Enjoy up to 6 per cent p.a. returns*'?

Perhaps it is time for the regulatory body to act.

Dr Yuen Siu Mun