New Certification For Financial Advisers

By Mint Money on Jul 09, 2010

Source: http://mintmoney.livemint.com/financial-planning/2010/07/new-certification-for-financial-advisers/

Choosing advisers is as crucial as it is tough. Cases of fraud abound and finding a genuine adviser is difficult. To ease up your trouble, the National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM) and the Financial Planning Corporation (India) Pvt. Ltd (FPCIL) have launched a joint certification programme for financial advisers.

The NISM, set up by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), already has certification programmes in place for distributors of mutual funds. Insurance agents, too, have to obtain certification approved by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda). However, these revolve around product education.

Says Ranjeet Mudholkar, managing director, FPCIL: “ This is an entry-level exam. It’s a certification that is aimed at advisory. It enables the adviser to assess his client’s risk and suggest a right portfolio with the right product class and then suggest products, within them, accordingly.”

It’s a two-hour certification and the course fee is Rs1,000. The certification is not compulsory. But G. Sethu, officer on special duty, NISM, expressed hopes that, over a period of time, people will find it useful and the course will generate more interest. He said: “The exam has just been announced, but if you wish to take it, you will need to wait for about a month. NISM has just about completed the draft edition of the workbook for this exam. Industry experts will now ratify the course material, make corrections, if required, and then finalize it. Once NISM ties up with test administrators, these exams will go live,”