Recently, 82 year old retired teacher Shao Liyuan reported to our reporter that since 2021, she has purchased a total of more than 1.7 million yuan in funds recommended by a bank's customer manager. As of January 3, 2025, her fund has incurred losses of over 370000 yuan. The reporter learned that both parties are currently negotiating on the determination of responsibility and compensation matters. Nowadays, more and more elderly people are paying attention to investment and financial management. Due to information asymmetry and low discernment ability, they are prone to some investment and financial risks. How to prevent the silver haired population from falling into the 'financial gap'? Experts and scholars suggest that the risk warning standards should be further refined and a risk warning mechanism should be established for the silver haired population. During the 2021 pandemic, Shao Liyuan reduced her outings and, due to her limited mobility, opted for online financial management instead of purchasing high-risk funds, resulting in a loss of 370000 yuan. At first, I only had a fixed deposit of 500000 yuan. A customer manager came to me and said he was an alumnus who cared about me very much. Later, he told me that I could buy wealth management and funds to increase flexibility and returns. Shao Liyuan said that she purchased the funds recommended by the customer manager through online operations under his phone guidance. Afterwards, Shao Liyuan received multiple phone calls from the customer manager and made online purchases under his guidance. The manager told me the amount and fund code on the phone, and I was responsible for pressing the password, which was completed in a few minutes. However, due to unfamiliarity with the operation of the bank app, Shao Liyuan never checked the account status online. In September 2024, Shao Liyuan went to the bank to handle matters. The staff checked her account and found that she had purchased a total of 14 funds since 2021, spending more than 1.7 million yuan, including 12 R4 funds, 1 R5 fund, and 1 R3 fund. At that time, the fund I purchased had already lost about 290000 yuan, "Shao Liyuan said. According to the Implementation Guidelines for Suitability Management of Fund Raising Institutional Investors (Trial) issued by the China Securities Investment Fund Association, the risk level of fund products or services should be classified into at least five levels, R1, R2, R3, R4, and R5, in descending order of risk. After discovering the fund's losses, Shao Liyuan contacted the client manager multiple times to inquire about the fund's situation, but the other party only explained that "the fund has fluctuated and will recover in the future". However, as of January 3, 2025, her fund has accumulated losses of over 370000 yuan. Considering the older age of the elderly and the need for pension security, we generally only recommend that they purchase R1 or R2 level funds A financial advisor from an investment platform told reporters. The risk warning requirements vary. "This bank said that the risk assessment I conducted on their app was R4 level, so they recommended high-risk funds to me." Shao Liyuan told reporters that she had also conducted multiple assessments at other banks, and the results were all R1 level. She doesn't know why the gap is so large. In addition to doubts about the risk assessment results, Shao Liyuan also stated that she was not aware of the risks of purchasing funds at all. "Because I did not understand these, I did not inquire about the risks, and the account manager never emphasized them to me." "Only when the customer personally visits the counter, will we have a mandatory requirement for recording and videoing the entire process." The relevant person in charge of the bank involved explained that as this purchase was made through telephone contact and online operation, the bank did not require the account manager to record, so they could not provide materials to prove that they had fulfilled their risk warning obligations. Financial management carries risks, and investment requires caution. Reporters interviewed multiple banks and found that most banks do not have an age limit for purchasing funds, and most banks can also easily open fund accounts online and perform related operations. Some banks have also provided more risk warnings for elderly people when purchasing wealth management products. A bank regulation states: "In principle, it is prohibited to sell medium risk or higher (level 4 and 5) wealth management products to customers aged 70 or above. If customers insist on subscribing, in addition to obtaining a signature that they have fully understood and are aware of the investment risks and are willing to bear the relevant risks, they should also obtain confirmation from their family members to ensure that their family members are aware of and agree to their subscription of the products. The sales process should be recorded throughout the entire process." "For elderly customers, we will try our best to remind them not to purchase high-risk funds, but there is no mandatory requirement," a bank staff member told reporters. To avoid the silver haired group falling into the "wealth management gap", some salespeople may skip the risk warning steps at a very fast pace or only use professional language that customers cannot understand to roughly explain in order to facilitate transactions, resulting in customers not realizing that they have been warned of risks. An industry insider told reporters. Should bank staff be held liable for compensation if they fail to fulfill their clear risk disclosure obligations when promoting high-risk products to the elderly? Article 72 of the Minutes of the National Conference on Civil and Commercial Trial Work of Courts clarifies the connotation of the obligation of appropriateness, requiring the seller institution to fulfill the obligation of understanding customers, understanding products, and selling appropriate products to suitable financial consumers when promoting and selling high-risk financial products or providing high-risk investment services to financial consumers Zhan Liang, an intern lawyer at Beijing Zhongyin Law Firm, told reporters that if the misleading behavior of the staff leads to consumers making wrong investment decisions and causing economic losses, the bank needs to bear corresponding civil compensation liability to the consumers. A case ruled by the Haidian District People's Court in Beijing shows that in 2020, retired Beijing resident Wang sued a bank for selling high-risk products that did not match his risk assessment level, resulting in financial losses. The court stated that the bank failed to provide evidence to prove that it had presented the fund contract and prospectus to Wang, or had provided detailed information on the specific content and risks involved. Therefore, the bank should be liable for compensation for the losses suffered by Wang. Experts suggest that financial institutions should establish a specialized risk warning mechanism for the silver haired population to reveal the future investment returns and potential risks of their products. Banks can refine the regulations on audio and video recording during sales promotion to strengthen the traceability management of sales behavior Zhan Liang suggested that in handling complaints and disputes, as well as litigation and rights protection, the silver haired group can also be distinguished from ordinary investors, and a simple process can be opened for the silver haired group. Society should also provide multi-faceted support Zhan Liang said, "For example, financial consultation, social security risk assessment and other activities can be carried out in places where elderly people are relatively concentrated, such as senior universities and community activity centers, to enhance the investment risk awareness of the elderly