Nowadays most of the articles, discussions are on and against ULIPs and in favor of mutual funds.First one must understand that ULIPs are not an investment tool. Its actually an insurance product. So it can only be compared with traditional Term insurance plans and endowment and money back insurance plans.
The Feature of an ULIP is to get insurance for say 40 years, u dont need to pay for 40 years, instead its premium paying term is between one and five years. We can get insurance cover of upto 50 times of first year premium paid.
And one can also get good returns like a mutual fund.( See here I give last priority to returns even thou it give returns on par with mutual funds).
So if you are thinking abt Insurance think abt ULIPs If you are looking about Investment., go with mutual funds.
After few years, if u found your investment doubled due to market upswing, u can take back the invested amount and leave the rest with the policy, u can enjoy the insurance cover with literaly zero investment