{"id":1279,"date":"2023-02-17T05:42:39","date_gmt":"2023-02-17T05:42:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shanthalachits.com\/investopedia\/?p=1279"},"modified":"2023-02-17T06:15:54","modified_gmt":"2023-02-17T06:15:54","slug":"registered-chit-funds-vs-fraudulent-ponzi-schemes-learn-to-tell-the-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shanthalachits.com\/investopedia\/registered-chit-funds-vs-fraudulent-ponzi-schemes-learn-to-tell-the-difference\/","title":{"rendered":"Registered Chit Funds Vs Fraudulent Ponzi Schemes \u2013 Learn to tell the difference"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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You are looking to invest your money in a simple hassle-free financial instrument. You don\u2019t want to take market related risks, so equity and stocks are ruled out. Nor do you want to lock your funds for long durations by investing in FDs. Then, the obvious answer is to look for reliable chit fund schemes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the biggest challenge that investors face is this. How to tell the difference between Registered Chit Funds Vs Fraudulent Ponzi Schemes? How do you ensure your money is going into safe hands?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Registered Chit Funds and Fraudulent Ponzi Schemes can sometimes be confused with each other as they both involve pooling of money from multiple individuals. However, there are several differences between the two, and it is important to be able to distinguish between them to avoid falling prey to fraudulent schemes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key differences between Registered Chit Funds and Fraudulent Ponzi schemes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legal Status: <\/strong>Registered Chit Funds are legal entities that are registered with the Registrar of Chits and are governed by the Chit Funds Act of 1982. Apart from that the Chit Funds are to be regulated by the various State Governments by formulating their own Acts, like it has been done is Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, etc. On the other hand, Ponzi Schemes are illegal and are not registered with any regulatory authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purpose:<\/strong> Registered Chit Funds are established for the purpose of providing a means of saving and borrowing money for a group of individuals. Ponzi Schemes, on the other hand, promise high returns on investment with high risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Structure:<\/strong> Registered Chit Funds have a well-defined structure and operate in a transparent manner. The terms and conditions of the chit are clearly stated and are binding on all members. Ponzi Schemes, on the other hand, often have vague and confusing structures, and the terms and conditions are not clearly defined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Returns:<\/strong> Registered Chit Funds provide returns that are predetermined and are based on the amount of money invested. Ponzi Schemes promise high returns that are unsustainable and often rely on the recruitment of new members to pay existing members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Risk:<\/strong> Registered Chit Funds carry a certain level of risk as the money is lent out to members, but the risk is spread across the group. Ponzi Schemes, on the other hand, are highly risky as they rely on the recruitment of new members to pay existing members, and once the recruitment stops, the scheme collapses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regulator:<\/strong> Registered Chit Funds are regulated by the Registrar of Chits, who ensures that the chit operates within the framework of the law. Ponzi Schemes, on the other hand, have no regulator, and the operators of the scheme are often untraceable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Checklist before making your choice:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first criteria is to check whether they are registered with the respective State Government. It is recommended to pick a fund company operating in your own state, for ease of operation. Then look for the reputation of the fund company, how long have they been in operation, how big is their subscriber base, how many repeat customers do they have. These are all pointers towards the reliability of the chit company. Consult some existing subscribers and take their feedback before enrolling yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to safeguard the interests of all stakeholders, chit fund companies thoroughly verify the credentials of an investor before taking them on board. That\u2019s because only when every subscriber makes prompt monthly payments without defaulting, the chit fund company can ensure smooth rotation of the prize money throughout its tenure of 2-3 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So pick a chit fund company that works with a personalized approach, maintains 1-1 relationships with each of its subscribers. This factor also helps in times of emergencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investors can make their choice of chit schemes by answering the following questions about the financial institution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#1 Is it a government registered fund scheme?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

#2 Are they offering abnormally high returns?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

#3 Do they have transparent records on funds and investors?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

#4 Are there signed agreements between the investor and company?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In summary, Registered Chit Funds are legal entities that operate within the framework of the law and provide a means of saving and borrowing money for a group of individuals. Ponzi Schemes, on the other hand, are illegal, promise high returns with little or no risk, and rely on the recruitment of new members to pay existing members. It is important to do thorough research and exercise caution before investing in any financial scheme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With these precautions in place, you can rest assured that your money is in safe hands. Chit funds as an investment instrument are an attractive option for investors, if only they take the right safeguards before investing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We at Shanthala Chits are committed to ensure that every investor is educated about all the scheme details. Our successful track record of 25 years with thousands of satisfied customers speaks of our integrity and commitment. Shanthala Chits is registered under the Chit Fund Act of 1982, Government of Karnataka. So your money is safe with us. Get in touch to know more\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You are looking to invest your money in a simple hassle-free financial instrument. You don\u2019t want to take market related risks, so equity and stocks are ruled out. Nor do you want to lock your funds for long durations by investing in FDs. Then, the obvious answer is to look for reliable chit fund schemes. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chit-funds"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shanthalachits.com\/investopedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shanthalachits.com\/investopedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shanthalachits.com\/investopedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shanthalachits.com\/investopedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shanthalachits.com\/investopedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1279"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/shanthalachits.com\/investopedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1279\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1287,"href":"https:\/\/shanthalachits.com\/investopedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1279\/revisions\/1287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shanthalachits.com\/investopedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shanthalachits.com\/investopedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shanthalachits.com\/investopedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}