Financial planners have bright future

With increasing investments in the financial markets, there's a growing need for professionally-trained and qualified financial planners. Institutes that offer financial-planning courses include the New Delhi-based International College of Financial Planning (ICFP), RNIS College of Financial Planning, Guardian Institute of Financial Planning and Premier Institute of Financial Planning.

In this niche market, ICFP, claims to have an 80 per cent market share. The institute offers a PG Diploma in Financial Planning (PGDFP), PG Diploma in Securities Analysis and Trading (PGDSAT) and the very popular, Certified Financial Planner (CFP) course, which is a distance-learning programme. Working executives, graduates and post-graduates opt for these courses.

The institute shortly plans to launch three new courses including a Post Graduate (PG) Diploma in Personal Insurance, a PG Diploma in Commercial Risk and a PG Diploma in Investment. The programmes are targeted at post-graduates, according to Sanjiv Bajaj, MD, ICFP and head of Bajaj Capital Group.

Demand for financial planning courses is on the rise, says Bajaj. "With a growing Indian middle class, savings to be invested in financial markets be it insurance, capital market or mutual funds have also grown manifold. In such an environment, need for professional advice on managing personal finances is being recognized. Greater still is the investor's need for assurance that the professional he chooses for financial advice is qualified and competent," he adds.

While the PGDFP is a one-year programme, the duration of the PGDSAT is 22 months. Course fees for the two programmes come to around Rs 1,60,000 and Rs 2,75,000 respectively. The CFP course can be completed in a minimum of one year and maximum of seven years and it costs approximately Rs 42,000.