How safe is Electronic clearing service for mutual funds

#1
Hello Friends,

I am planning on investing into MF through SIP route and so I am contemplating about the ECS service which allows the funds to directly deduct money from the SB account.

How safe is this route? is there any risks involved w.r.t the agent or the fund guys misusing this facility? as of now, I have my salary a/c only thus wondering if I should get another a/c where I can put only the amount required to minimize any risks involved.

Appreciate any suggestions you can provide.
thanks,
tm
 
#2
The safety will depend on what service are you using ..If you are using ICICI or SBI' or some reputed online banking / trading service, then chances are your money is safe .. Always look for VeriSign certified certificate on the websites that you are transating on ..

Btw .. I've seen that many brokers will give you a percentage of brokerage that they recieve from Mutual Fund house if you invest in mutual funds through them .. Though its a slow process but you can still book some profit like this .. But be sure to find a reliable broker ..
 
#3
Thanks for the reply.

I didn't intend to mean online but rather the following:
1. I am having an agent from ICICI come over and do the paper work for my investments.
2. I want to go the SIP way and preferably using the ECS so that I don't have to give out so many cheques.
3. So, essentially, I wanted to find out, if I give these details to the agent [a/c number, name, MICR etc] is there any chance he can use it for other purposes or can I assume it is the general practice and hence safe to give these details to him?

thanks,
tm