AS AN INVESTMENT   231

would not be attractive to anybody. It can be marketed, therefore, only by pretending that in some subtle way, not easily comprehended, the deductions from the principal are going to be made good out of the earnings and a round profit be realised on the entire payments.

When such contracts are offered by financial companies, it is generally understood that they are not reputable concerns. Banks and trust companies of good standing will not countenance the practice. The so-called "bond investment" or "bond guaranty" companies are recognised to be engaged in piracy instead of business. Calling it endowment insurance does not alter the essential nature of the transaction.

To recapitulate, a life insurance policy, at the best, can be compared as an investment with other investments, not accompanied with life insurance, only when a proper allowance is made for the cost of the life insurance.

And, even on that basis, it cannot appear favourably in the comparison if the investment policy's premium bears a larger loading for expenses per $1,000 insured than the term premium of the company.

Thus, let us consider some actual results of policies in a leading company. An endowment insurance maturing in fifteen years, with a dividend period also of fifteen years, issued at age 35 at an annual premium of $65.99, yielded a