Kotak Life to train Advisors to become Certified PFAs

NISM, an educational initiative by Sebi, will provide curriculum and support to Kotak Life Insurance

In a first of its kind initiative by a Life Insurance company in India, Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Limited (Kotak Life Insurance) today launched a programme to enable life advisors and employees in advisory roles become Certified Personal Financial Advisors (CPFAs). National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM), an educational initiative by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) will provide curriculum and knowledge support to Kotak Life Insurance.

Certified Personal Financial Advisor (CPFA) examination has been jointly created by NISM and Financial Planning Corporation of India Ltd (FPCIL). It covers holistic knowledge on various Investment Products, Asset Allocation, Insurance, Retirement Planning, Tax and Estate Planning.  More details about the certification are available on NISM's InvestorFirst platform. (NISM’s online investor education initiative to offer unbiased information on personal finance.) In future, this online platform will also be used to help investors locate Certified Personal Financial Advisors in their city or town.

The programme will help Kotak’s Life advisors significantly enhance their capacity to help customers realize and prioritize their needs and make informed investment choices. Kotak Life Insurance has chosen 450 of its top life advisors and 350 Kotak employees from across the country to participate in the first phase of the programme. The programme will eventually cover all Kotak life advisors and  employees in advisory roles at Kotak Life Insurance.

Commenting on the tie-up, Anand Dewan, Senior Vice President, Business Impact Group, Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance said “Professional investment advice is clearly the need of the hour, and given the complexity of financial markets, we realize the crucial role of the intermediary in helping the investor in making an informed choice. Equipping our Life Advisors with knowledge and skills to be able to provide value advice is critical. This highly credible industry vetted certification will go a long way in addressing that need and customers will benefit immensely from need based, high quality advice”.

Prof. G Sethu, OSD In-Charge of National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM) said “A personal financial advisor who can understand an individual’s overall financial needs and then offer comprehensive financial planning solution can provide more value as opposed to offering only a particular investment or insurance product. We are glad to support Kotak Life Insurance in this training initiative to help their life advisors become holistic financial planners.”

“Our aim is to partner with various industry players in making the CPFA examination a minimum knowledge benchmark for personal financial advisors in India.” added Mr. M L Soneji, Registrar at National Institute of Securities Markets.

ABOUT KOTAK MAHINDRA OLD MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE LTD
Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance Ltd is a 74:26 joint venture between Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., its affiliates and Old Mutual plc. A Company that combines its international strengths and local advantages to offer its customers a wide range of innovative life insurance products, helping them take important financial decisions at every stage in life and stay financially independent. The company covers over 3 million lives and is one of the fastest growing insurance companies in India. For further information on Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance, please visit www.kotaklifeinsurance.com  

ABOUT KOTAK MAHINDRA GROUP
Kotak Mahindra is one of India's leading banking and financial services organizations, offering a wide range of financial services that encompass every sphere of life. From commercial banking, to car finance, to stock broking, to asset management, to life insurance, to investment banking, the group caters to the financial needs of individuals and corporates. The group has a net worth of Rs 10,060 cr. and has a distribution network through branches and franchisees across the country and offices in New York, San Francisco, London, Dubai, Mauritius and Singapore, servicing close to 8 million customer accounts. For further information on Kotak Mahindra Group, please visit www.kotak.com

ABOUT OLD MUTUAL
Old Mutual plc is an international long-term savings, protection and investment Group. Originating in South Africa in 1845, the Group provides life assurance, asset management, banking and general insurance to more than 15 million customers in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. Old Mutual plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, among others. In the year ended 31 December 2010, the Group reported adjusted operating profit before tax of £1.5 billion (on an IFRS basis) and had £309 billion of funds under management, from core operations.  For further information on Old Mutual plc, please visit the corporate website at www.oldmutual.com   

ABOUT NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF SECURITIES MARKETS (NISM)
NISM is a Public Trust, established by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the regulator for securities markets in India located in Navi Mumbai. It is an Autonomous body governed by its Board of Governors, seeking to add to market quality through educational activities. The School for Certification of Intermediaries (SCI) at NISM is engaged in developing certification examinations for professionals employed in various segments of the Indian securities markets. These examinations are being developed by NISM as mandated under SEBI (Certification of Associated Persons in the Securities Markets) Regulation, 2007. For further information, please visit: http://nism.ac.in

ABOUT FINANCIAL PLANNING CORPORATION OF INDIA (FPCIL)
FPCIL was established by Financial Planning Standards Board India (FPSB India) along with BNP Paribas SA, SBI, and Tata AIG Life Insurance Co. Ltd, essentially to undertake education activities in the Financial Planning segment.