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Interview: Sanjay Sachdev, Chairman, Association of Financial Planners
Gautam Chikermane
Formed in 2001, the Association of Financial Planners is today a body of 24 institutions (four insurers, nine mutual funds, five banks, three distributors, three other institutions). As its new chairman, Sanjay Sachdev has his job cut out–getting the industry, regulators, corporations and individuals to buy financial planning as a concept, and building a team of certified financial planners. Excerpts from an interview with Gautam Chikermane:
What are your priorities today?
We need to get accreditation from the industry and the regulators. Every participant should be involved in marketing financial planning, and take it to the masses. This includes banks, which are involved in financial planning and distribution. Every financial planner, whether corporate, individual or manufacturer, whoever is interested in financial services, should become part of the financial planning industry and help nurture the financial planning movement in India.
We need to learn from those who are already in this business. There is a huge body of professionals engaged in advising investors, helping them buy mutual funds, insurance, pension products and so on. Our goal is also to help them sell the right product by educating them and spreading more awareness.
We also want to expand the role of financial planning and to get it recognised by regulators.
Do you have the competency to do all this?
There is knowhow in other parts of the world. Our effort is not to reinvent the wheel but to use the wisdom available to us from our global partners and utilise it here.
Interview in Outlook Money