CFP|Financial Planning India

“I know at last what distinguishes man from animal: Financial worries”

Romain Rolland (French author 1866 – 1944)

Listen to man on the street: you will realize the thread of the vicious reality that can be attached with the above quote. The concerns are not only about NOT having money but there are many who are expressing concerns about having more money than they can actually manage.

Speak to Rajeev, passed out of a prestigious B-school and landed a decent job in a Pharma major. One year later, and he was paying more interest on his credit card debt than his take home salary. For Ravi and Sheetal, a working couple in their early forties, the situation is no better. Their expense on child education is sky-rocketing and so are their upwardly mobile life-style needs. The biggest hit of-course is their savings and they are not sure about how they will fund the college education. For Mr. Sen (55 years) Sr. Executive of a PSU, it is bitter reality. He has diligently saved money in his Bank Fixed Deposits and Employee Provident Fund for the last 30 years. But after purchasing the house he plans to and getting his daughter married, what will remain of the corpus does not seem to be enough to see him through his retirement years and take care of the medical needs of his ailing wife.

All of them and millions around us need a professional, who can help them to identify and achieve personal milestones by efficiently managing their resources. The professional we are talking about is termed as Financial Planner, a new phenomenon in Indian context, while a totally matured profession in developed countries.

What does a career in Financial Planning mean?

A Financial Planner offers his Financial Planning services, which ranges from budgeting and debt management; to stocks, bonds, and annuities; to insurance, employee benefits, and tax planning; to retirement and estate planning and is primarily directed for individuals.

A career in Financial Planning ensures that you are part of one of India’s fastest growing profession in the financial services verticals. A professional enjoys the following in his job environment:

• Job satisfaction
• Career Enhancement opportunities
• Challenges
• Personal & Professional growth
• A great earning potential
• A way to help others fulfill their dreams

As a Financial Planner, you are not just working with numbers, you are working with people, and few of them may remain with you from the moment they start work till they retire. You have find out their hopes and goals and then create strategies to help them achieve their goals by:

• Providing holistic approach to Financial Planning
• Having an extensive knowledge of financial markets
• Understanding trends and identifying potential risks
• Having a global outlook

Learning it from the Horses Mouth: What the Financial Services Industry is talking about Financial Planning?

Recently IMS Proschool organized a discussion titled “Powering the Future Financial Planners” at ITC Sheraton, Mumbai to bring to career aspirants in Financial Planning, about what the Industry is actually thinking about the profession. A number of industry stalwarts, which include Mr. A.K Purwar, Ex-Chairman – SBI, Mr. Shailesh Haribhakti – Chairman, Financial Planning Standards Board India (FPSB I), Mr. C. Jayram – CEO, Kotak Bank, Mr. Ajay Bagga – CEO –Lotus India Mutual Fund among others participated in the discussion and shared their thoughts. The whole discussion was anchored by eminent financial journalist Mr. Debasish Basu and was aired pan India by CNBC TV.

What the panel discussed was a major revelation. There is huge gap between projected demand and actual supply of Financial Planners in India. Infact the Indian Financial Services Industry presently needs around 50000 such professionals immediately while there are only around 250 such certified professionals (CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERS) available, while around 7000 candidates are at different levels of completion of the program. Interestingly there are around 1.50 lakh qualified professionals globally present in across 20 + countries. Further it came out in the discussion that the regulatory authorities in India are considering the proposal to make the Certification mandatory in Financial Advisor arena. The major Certification body FPSB India, which is floated by 33 high powered Financial Services companies have passed a unanimous board resolution to give Certified Financial Planners, special preference for employment opportunity. Proactive organization like Kotak Bank are voluntarily making it mandatory for it’s private bankers to be certified in Financial Planning.

Numbers often speak more than words

The Indian economy is growing at a breath-taking speed of 15.9% p.a. compared to global average of 5.2% during 2000 to 2005. In absolute numbers the economy has grown from US $ 268 billion in 2000 to US $ 559 billion in 2005. The incremental wealth is reflected in the number of home-grown millionaires (US $ terms) in India, which presently stands around 83000 and is still growing at a rate of 15% every year.

To sustain the growth, we need qualified Financial Planners who will not only help people to manage and grow their money but also play a major role in allocating household surpluses to fuel the growth.

Is a career in financial planning right for me?

Ask yourself these key questions and see if you are suited to a career in Financial Planning:

• Are you a good listener?
• Do you enjoy meeting and interacting with all kinds of people?
• Would you consider yourself detail orientated, and well organized?
• Are you comfortable using a calculator to perform math functions?
• Are you self-motivated and ambitious?
• Do you invest or enjoy following the financially news?

If you answered “yes” to at least three of these questions, getting into Financial planning could be a smart career move.

It is easy to see that a career in Financial Planning can be as complex or simple as you wish. Knowledge is the variable you can control. The more you learn about Financial Planning the more valuable you will be in the market.

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