Financial Planning

As investments are fast gaining importance is any earning person's life, the demand for professionals offering the same is also growing by leaps and bounds, thus giving rise to a unique career option known as – Financial Planning. Rai Umraopati Ray reports

To a layman, or a confused teenager looking for career options, Financial Planning may not sound very appealing till he gets to know the clear picture behind it. Financial Planning is one of the faster and most sought after career choices for those looking to enter the banking and financial services industry especially due to the great demand from the banks, wealth managers, advisors, mutual fund and insurance companies for qualified professional needed to impart advice to their clients.
The various career choices available to the youngsters today are galore. In such a scenario, it is natural to be curious about the viability of taking up Financial Planning as a career option. Says Anish M. Wig, Director & Chief Executive Officer, International College of Financial Planning, "There is no doubting the fact that the students who start their careers in these roles can look forward to a financial rewarding and lucrative career in providing financial advice to clients, preparing financial plans and moving up faster the organisation's hierarchy as responsible advisors and onwards to management roles. If statistics are to be believed, there is an estimated 50,000 people needed just in this field just in the next two years and over 2.5 lakh opportunities will be waiting in the next 4-5 years for qualified & certified financial planners in India alone."
Another interesting fact to note about Financial Planning as a career is that these courses are post-graduate in nature. Most of the students pursuing in finance, are typical students studying finance or pursuing third year looking to enter the financial services industry and not willing to wait two years to finish an MBA and then try getting an opportunity in the industry. Many students are generally from B.Com background although there is a growing trend among girls and those pursuing humanities to switch over to relationship management, wealth management and financial planning roles that also exist in these foreign and top Indian banks as well.
Today, more and more students are realising that it is better to take up professional courses as they greatly increase the chances of getting a job right after completion of the course. This is because the top banks and financial planning companies work closely with professional colleges to place their demand requirements with them and have first preference for selecting the best students to be their employee the moment they graduate. The trend among companies is to get qualified students, not just MBAs but pre-trained and qualified students who can be called 'plug-n-play' resources whereby the company can directly place them on the front line in roles of responsibility, inter acting with clients and assisting senior team members in preparing actual financial plans, assisting them in the acquisition of new clients and even investing in investing the portfolios.
The job prospects after taking up Financial Planning as a career are quite in abundance. Certain specialised courses like the Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning (PGDFP) are highly sought after by Indian and foreign banks, insurance companies & mutual fund firm which have opportunities in India and often to relocate their top performing staff for overseas operations and opportunities as well. Also specific certifications like the Certified Financial Planner CM (CFP CM) are recognised across twenty counties as the top financial planning certification with jobs and opportunities in great demand. Another major attraction is the starting salary which generally starts from Rs 4 lakh per annum and can go up to Rs 10 lakh depending upon the various skills and qualification of the students. Also, in terms of profile, it is slightly higher than what a usual post-graduate is employed for.
Adds Wig, "Companies need students with strong command of financial products, good relationship skills, understanding needs, ability to garner trust, positive aggression to build a career in financial planning along with convincing mind so that daily volatility should not affect them."
Students who want to do degree courses can go for MBA Finance from any reputed business school, which would provide them good enough platform to work in the arena. However, those looking to get into the field at the earliest to be financial planners and wants to have an edge in terms of experience can go for courses like Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning (PGDFP) and the Securities Analysis in Trading (PGDSAT) from reputed institutes in the country. There are about 17 such accredited institutes from The Financial Planning Standard Board in Mumbai that offers the above-mentioned courses.