The haplessness of "good" advisers in the vibrant, yet chaotic, financial market in India is well known. More often than not, the scenario is further muddled by those who should have made it brighter and transparent, viz. the intermediaries, who behave like "blind wise men" in the classical old parable of "describing" the "elephant" in the "best manner" possible, albeit in "parts".
1. Independent Financial Advisers merrily work on their own, "advising" their clients on various financial products, juggling between mutual funds of all or several fund houses, in addition to post office products, bank and company Fixed Deposits, insurance, et al.
2. Financial Planners run their own "specialized" firms to "serve" individual clients by preparing "tailor-made" plans, with debt, equity, insurance, real estate, gold, etc., supposedly on the basis of their risk-taking capability, financial status and other factors.
3. Relationship Managers / Wealth Managers keep working "zealously" for their respective Banks and large distributors, for whom they are working on that particular day, and are often found to be more concerned about their "commission", and not the interest of the investor, preferring to "offer advice" on that basis alone.
4. Even the Mutual Fund distributors have several "schemes" up their sleeves which may not always be in the best interests of the investor.
5. Life Insurance agents, too, do not hesitate in further muddling the scenario by "pushing" uncalled-for costly Unit-Linked Insurance Plans to a potential term-insurance and Mutual Fund investor.
6. To top them all are the brokers, who mainly deal in shares, but have no qualms in "advocating" any financial asset under the sun, from insurance to mutual funds to small savings to real estate, irrespective of their suitability to the investor whom they "happen" to come across.
In such a scenario, it would be foolhardy to believe that the key elements of financial management, viz. a systematic need-based approach, would ever be followed to identify and satisfy the "real needs" of the investor, leaving him to keep running around like a chicken with its head cut off.
Hence the need by authorities to "introspect" in this field for a saner approach towards the ultimate target - the investor.
1. Independent Financial Advisers merrily work on their own, "advising" their clients on various financial products, juggling between mutual funds of all or several fund houses, in addition to post office products, bank and company Fixed Deposits, insurance, et al.
2. Financial Planners run their own "specialized" firms to "serve" individual clients by preparing "tailor-made" plans, with debt, equity, insurance, real estate, gold, etc., supposedly on the basis of their risk-taking capability, financial status and other factors.
3. Relationship Managers / Wealth Managers keep working "zealously" for their respective Banks and large distributors, for whom they are working on that particular day, and are often found to be more concerned about their "commission", and not the interest of the investor, preferring to "offer advice" on that basis alone.
4. Even the Mutual Fund distributors have several "schemes" up their sleeves which may not always be in the best interests of the investor.
5. Life Insurance agents, too, do not hesitate in further muddling the scenario by "pushing" uncalled-for costly Unit-Linked Insurance Plans to a potential term-insurance and Mutual Fund investor.
6. To top them all are the brokers, who mainly deal in shares, but have no qualms in "advocating" any financial asset under the sun, from insurance to mutual funds to small savings to real estate, irrespective of their suitability to the investor whom they "happen" to come across.
In such a scenario, it would be foolhardy to believe that the key elements of financial management, viz. a systematic need-based approach, would ever be followed to identify and satisfy the "real needs" of the investor, leaving him to keep running around like a chicken with its head cut off.
Hence the need by authorities to "introspect" in this field for a saner approach towards the ultimate target - the investor.