'Rs 5 cr portfolio means nothing without this’: CA warns high earners about one major financial mistake

Wealth creation is not all about SIPs, stock portfolios, real estate, and hitting big financial milestones. According to Chartered Accountant Nitin Kaushik, one of the biggest financial mistakes high earners make has nothing to do with investments at all. He believes many professionals spend years building multi-crore portfolios while ignoring one basic layer of protection that could determine whether their family remains financially secure during a crisis.

Sharing his thoughts on X, Kaushik warned that building a Rs 5 crore portfolio without term insurance is similar to constructing “a skyscraper on a foundation of sand.” His point was simple but striking. While many people aggressively focus on growing wealth, they often ignore financial risk management, assuming their investments alone will protect their family in the future.

Kaushik explained that a healthy 30-year-old can usually get a Rs 1 crore term insurance cover for roughly Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000 annually. According to him, that amount is often lower than what many urban professionals spend on a single premium weekend dinner or a luxury outing.


Yet despite the relatively low cost, term insurance is still widely ignored, especially among young professionals and high earners who feel confident about their growing assets and income. Kaushik stressed that investments and insurance serve completely different purposes.


He explained that investments are designed to create wealth over time, while insurance exists to protect a family from financial collapse if something unexpected happens to the primary earning member. Without that safety net, he warned, families may be forced to liquidate long-term investments during emotionally and financially stressful situations.


He pointed out that in the event of an emergency or sudden loss, families often have no choice but to sell equity investments, sometimes during poor market conditions, simply to manage immediate expenses such as home loan EMIs, children’s school fees, household costs, or medical obligations.

According to Kaushik, this is where proper risk management becomes critical. He argued that insurance should not be viewed as a pessimistic purchase or an unnecessary expense. Instead, he described it as a foundational requirement for serious wealth creation.


In his view, protecting a family’s financial future is just as important as growing a portfolio. He also highlighted a common misconception among professionals who believe that having substantial savings or investments automatically removes the need for insurance. But market-linked investments fluctuate, and accessing them during difficult times may disrupt long-term financial goals and compounding.


Kaushik explained that term insurance helps ensure that a single unfortunate event does not erase decades of disciplined investing and hard work. He added that people do not buy insurance because they expect the worst to happen every day. They buy it to make sure that if life takes an unexpected turn, their family’s financial stability does not disappear overnight.