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Helping the helpers build wealth belonged firmly in the second category. Readers responded not just to SEBI’s proposal to relax third-party mutual fund payments, but to the deeply personal story at its heart: a 25-year SIP built for a household helper. Many wrote in with stories of their own, stories of domestic workers, drivers, ageing parents and informal-sector employees who remain excluded from the financial system despite decades of progress.
What emerged was a striking consensus. Most readers agreed with the column’s central argument: the people who would benefit most from a thoughtful relaxation are not salaried employees with salary accounts and SIP apps, but those who remain outside the formal financial ecosystem.
The people we want to help
Several readers immediately recognised the gap the column was pointing to.
Girish Potdar shared how he and his wife had tried to build a portfolio for their domestic helper, only to find themselves blocked by something as basic as a signature mismatch. “Her cheques were getting cleared regularly,” he wrote, “but the bank kept rejecting her signature on the OTM mandate.” The experience reminded him how difficult even simple investing processes remain for people with limited literacy.
Usha R's story carried a similar frustration. She had encouraged her maid to save, helped her open a bank account and even tried setting up a recurring deposit. Yet the system seemed to work against her at every step. Bank charges ate into balances, instalments failed, and, in the absence of better options, the maid repeatedly fell victim to informal chit funds. Looking back, Usha wrote, “I could have done so much for her. But couldn't because of regulatory issues.”
Rajeev Agarwal argued that SEBI’s proposal had identified the wrong audience altogether. The people who need help building long-term investing habits, he said, are “the househelps, the watchmen, the plumbers, the electricians, the drivers, the gig-workers, the security personnel.”
For many readers, the issue was not convenience, but access.
Is regulation really the problem?
Not everyone agreed that regulation was the biggest obstacle.
Sachin Sheth wondered whether the problem already had a practical workaround. Many people, he pointed out, transfer money to children's or family members' accounts and then set up SIPs from there. “What am I missing,” he asked, “if this is already possible?”
Praveen Godbole raised a similar challenge. With Aadhaar-linked accounts, Jan Dhan accounts and mobile banking now widely available, he questioned whether third-party SIP restrictions were the real bottleneck. Perhaps, he suggested, the bigger barriers are cumbersome KYC processes and a lack of investor handholding.
Ashwin Jadhav broadened the point further. Even if third-party SIPs become easier, informal workers often have irregular incomes and immediate financial needs. Without financial education, flexible products and easier banking access, the people most in need may still remain outside the system.
Ahmed offered perhaps the most thought-provoking counterpoint. The real ingredient in the story, he argued, was not regulatory flexibility but commitment. “What made it work wasn't the workaround. It was you and your wife caring enough to do 25 years of form-filling.” Regulations can change, he wrote, but they cannot create that willingness to help.
Readers who acted, and readers who now want to
What made the responses especially heartening was how many readers had already tried to do something similar.
Sumant Sethi wrote that the article “touched my heart” because it spoke to something he had long wanted to do for his household help. His family eventually framed the contribution as an additional amount over and above her salary and increments, to be invested in her name with her children as nominees. But his real dilemma was delicate: “How much should we tell her about the nature of the beast?” He wondered whether to show her a minimum compounded return and absorb the market risk himself, while ensuring the money is never used “as a way to twist her arm” if she ever wants to leave.
Amrita Mallick found herself reflecting on her own family. She realised that money she mentally earmarked for her mother was still effectively under her own control. The column prompted her to rethink that arrangement and explore ways of putting assets directly in her mother’s hands.
Ashish Gupta shared an eye-opening account of trying to invest for his teenage son. Despite being financially literate and familiar with Value Research tools, setting up the required accounts, mandates and STPs took over two weeks and involved multiple AMCs, interfaces and workarounds. If the process was this cumbersome for an informed investor, he wondered what hope existed for ordinary households trying to navigate the system.
Others saw the proposal as part of a larger conversation about social security.
Ranganatha Thirumalai Krishnamurthy argued that workers in the informal sector need much more than investment access. Health cover, life insurance, pensions and basic social-security mechanisms, he said, are equally important. Until those systems mature, employers should at least help workers access schemes such as Ayushman Bharat, Atal Pension Yojana and Jan Dhan accounts.
Perhaps the most powerful response came from readers who simply said the article had changed how they think. Several admitted they had never considered building wealth for the people who help run their households. Now they were thinking about it.
And that may be the most meaningful outcome of all.
The consultation paper may or may not evolve into a useful reform. But it has already prompted a more important question: if we have the means to help someone build long-term financial security, what is stopping us?
Credits
Girish Potdar, Usha R, Rajeev Agarwal, Sachin Sheth, Praveen Godbole, Ashwin Jadhav, Ahmed, Sumant Sethi, Amrita Mallick, Ashish Gupta, Ranganatha Thirumalai Krishnamurthy
Also read: Three words that reassured more readers than any forecast
This article was originally published on June 01, 2026.
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