https://www.icofp.org/ - Blog #finance education

ICoFP - Atrusted education brand in financial world

Fri, 15 Dec 2017 05:42:18 +0000

“Quality education should be prioritised along with literacy campaigns. We have been focusing on the outlay, now it is time for us to concentrate on the outcome of our education systems” Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi.

With over 53 years of value-based investment solution services across the nation, Bajaj Capital Limited emerged as India’s premier “Investment Services” company through its pioneer service based on the guiding principle of honesty, ethics and values. Bajaj Capital Limited being the oldest and largest investment service Company; has contributed to Indian capital market at every phase of its journey since its inception. Bajaj Capital Limited contributed to the finance industry by introducing Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB) India and propagated globally acclaimed Financial Planning certification program CFP^Min India. In order to mobilise the vision of creating awareness among investors for financial planning, International College of Financial Planning (ICoFP) was set-up in the year 2002 to provide specialised financial service education. Within a short span, ICoFP has received various accolades and awards for disseminating quality education in the domain of finance and in just a decade’s time, ICoFP has become a premium financial education institution and preferred destination for companies to recruit talent.

“ICoFP students along with CFP, working with us, are doing a good job and meeting our requirements. We hope to continue our association with this institute in future. Wishing them all the success in future too” Ms. Bindu Govila, COO, Hum Fauji Initiatives.

A study conducted by IIM Bangalore reveals that employability is one of the main reason among students preferring foreign destination for higher education (2012). When most of the educational institutions were set up to deliver basic higher education to the aspirants with not much value to the industry, ICoFP emerged as a unique education institute with a foresight of need of specialised education in India. It started its journey in 2002, with the vision to deliver trained professionals to the industry.

ICoFP offers full-time MBA and PG Diploma courses in Financial Planning and Financial Analysis which are recognised by UGC.

The MBA in Financial Analysis course incorporates all 3 levels of Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA ®), the globally acclaimed certification.
MBA in Financial Planning incorporates Certified Financial Planner (CFP^CM) certification which is valid across 26 countries. The students are also expected to clear certain modules of NISM and MCX Certifications within this programme to qualify for screening process in recruitments.

Roopesh S Naidu (Assistant Vice President – Global Business Operations) cFirst Global Background Check asserted “Learning about facts and theories are not really of any use unless you are aware of their application in real life, he further added you cannot explain gravity without dropping a thing.”ICoFP firmly believes that real-world needs real exposure.

In today’s scenario, finance is more beyond just planning; it includes - rigorous valuation, rationale and product research. Understanding the complexity of the market environment, our curriculum is vetted by industry experts and updated proactively with an ever-changing need for market scenario.

“Our graduates are our best recommendation and we look forward to contribute to create real wealth for the nation by imparting value education to the future generations” Ms Vani Bajaj - Chief Mentor, ICoFP

As per the data by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), more than half of MBA graduates are not hired in campus placement (2016-2017).We strive to outreach this upsetting data with 100% placement each subsequent year. ICoFP carry’s the flagship of success stories of both students and satisfied recruiters. ICoFP has become the trusted partner among financial world to hire the right talent. Our students are placed with the prominent brand like KPMG, EY, ICICI Pru AMC, Edelweiss Broking, Religare Securities, Ameriprise, Cians Analytics, Care Rating, Aurum Equity and the list is endless.

Recruiter’s Speak

“We hire people, who can transform the financial knowledge to the clients. ICoFP is an institution which offers specialised courses. Our company always prefer to hire MBA Financial Analysis students from ICoFP. The basic understanding about Risk & Investment Analysis of the students is very good. We are happy to see the efforts being put by ICOFP in shaping the career of students” Rajiv Nayar, Director - JRG Financial Advisors Pvt Ltd

Alumni Acknowledgement

“It was a great time we spent in International College of Financial Planning. ICoFP has very wonderful faculty and they are very cooperative and campus environment is very positive. Training and placement department continuously providing assistance regarding the placement. ICoFP has made the best efforts to provide all the facilities for the students like Faculties, events, projects etc. The days which has been spend in ICoFP was the golden days of my life and will remember it for rest of my life. ICoFP rocks……..”

Saksham malhotra , Credit Manager – HDFC Bank, Singapore

Soumya Sahadevan Research Associate ICoFP

One Rank One Pension and Its Fiscal Implications

Wed, 03 Feb 2016 10:15:56 +0000

There are many reforms introduced by the Indian government one of them is OROP. OROP is a pension reforms movement for Indian Armed Forces Personnel. OROP basically means that retired soldiers of the same rank, who have retired after serving for the same length of service, will receive the same pension, irrespective of the date/ year of their retirement. Pensions of the officers are based on the last salary drawn by them at the time of retirement. A pay commission comes after every 10 years and gives recommendations for enhancing the pay and allowances keeping the various factors into mind like inflation, price hikes and increase in living expenditures etc. Hence, with each consecutive pay commission, the military persons who retired earlier received lesser pension as compared to those who have retired later with the same rank and length of services. That’s why the government wants to introduce the principle of “OROP” which means uniform pension should be paid to armed forced retirees with the same rank and same length of service. Government wants to increase the current pension payments as well as paying off arrears (retrospectively from July 2014). There are many fiscal implications on implementing OROP. Firstly, the estimate overall cost of OROP is to be Rs.16,000 crore ($2.5 billion or 0.1% of GDP) in FY 16. This will significantly impact the fiscal bill of the country. Secondly, the existing defence pension bill is likely to go up by Rs.10000crore, while arrears totalling Rs.12,000 crore or will be paid over two years. Thirdly, other pressures on the fiscal fronts are also mounting. Factors like lower than expected subsidy bill, additional non-tax revenues like RBI and PSU dividends are likely to offset some pressures on the fiscal front. The government has already laid out a roadmap for Rs.70, 000 crore capital infusion in PSU banks over a period of four years. Of this Rs 25,000 crore each will happen in 2015-16 and 2016-17 and Rs 10,000 crore each in 2017-18 and 2018-19. Finally, after the seventh pay commission, every government servant and pensioner is due to get at least 30% jump in a pay, allowances and pension; therefore, it will increase the pension liabilities. Many other civilians pensioner are also demanding similar OROP scheme for them and this will bound to throw the government in a huge mess. In a country like India, this has limited resources, an expense as big as OROP must be examined carefully and kept in limits. At present are defence budget is Rs.250000crore. In addition, the government pay defence pension of around Rs.60000crore. OROP will add another of Rs.10000crore to it annually. Pensions are basically for services already rendered. These funds are given out with no output obtained in return. Retirees can be provided with job opportunities so that pension expenses can be reduced.

Blog is written by Kanika Goel, MBA FP student, 2015-17 batch, ICoFP Delhi Campus.

International College of Financial Planning - A Success Ranger for Career in finance

Tue, 07 Apr 2015 09:16:53 +0000

One of the leading institution of India, International College of Financial Planning offers expertise in financial services to the aspiring students. With a proven track record since 2002 the institution has marked its presence in the field of financial education. Courses offeredICOFP has various award winning and globally recognized certification programs such as Certification in Financial Planning, Certification in Financial Analysis and other flagship programs such as-

MBA in Financial Analysis
MBA in Financial Planning

Along with these courses, the institute offers diplomas and short term certification courses to meet the needs of different student segments. They are:

PG Diploma in Financial Planning
PG Diploma in Financial Analysis
CFP Certification Course

There are specialized courses of distance learning programs for the working professionals who cannot devote full time and attention to the class room studies. Also, there are executive and professional programs for highly motivated people already having a good experience of the industry. Affiliations A number of applaud able affiliations make ICoFP a trusted brand name in financial educational industry:-

MBA degree provided by the institute is recognized by UGC (University Grants Commission) and is awarded in collaboration with the University of Mysore. (University of Mysore has been accredited "Grade A" by NAAC in 2013.)

Under authorization of Financial Planning Standards Board, India (FPSB), ICOFP offers CFP^CM Certification Education Program that oversees the efficient administration of globally recognized Certified Financial Planner (CFP^CM) Certification Process.

Very well-known SIES college in Mumbai assists ICOFP in the course and classes for Financial Planning and Financial Modeling at the SIES campus.

MBA in Financial analysis which incorporates All 3 level of CFA, is recognized from CFA Institute (USA).

Assistance in Training and PlacementInternational College of Financial Planning has been providing full term support to the students for placement into MNCs (Multinational Company) of their desired job profile. The students are given prior briefing about the MNC, trained about interview and Group Discussion formats and are recommended on the behalf of the college to these firms. Considering that, ICOFP maintains 100% placement record of its students since inception, the firms take vivid interest in incubating students from this institute. Alumni Support As ICOFP is being promoted by Bajaj Capital Group, the Alma mater of the institute take gratification in maintaining long term relationship with the placement cell as well as the students of the institute. The new students receive full assistance for their course, guidance and career planning from the alumni through either personal interaction or forums, threads and social networking sites. Carving a Niche The faculties, the students and the glorious track record mark the success rate of International College of Financial Planning over the years. As per a survey, ICOFP turns out to be the first choice of many students because of its prime location in Delhi, placement cell and utility of the courses. The students are placed in a wide platter of sectors that range from research firms, investment banking, Financial Planners, Banking Operations, Wealth Management, Private Bankers, Forex Risk Advisers and Mutual Funds etc. The full-length classroom support by the experienced faculty encourages and prepare the students for not only a competitive job environment but also to venture entrepreneurial set-ups. The recognition and awards by well-known international firms such as Dun & Bradstreet encourage the people associated with the institute to work harder towards achieving its mission of becoming "the coveted choice of students as well as financial service industry and to provide the best education to the participants to make them world class professionals".

Financial Sector Of India Is Having A Positive Outlook

Thu, 08 Jan 2015 07:15:28 +0000

The last decade has shown us the economic life cycle with recession, boom and the recent volatility in between. India’s younger generation has got better opportunity coupled with good monetary rewards. It’s always prudent to start saving the invertible surplus to meet goals. The financial service sector has been on a roll for the past many years and has seen huge boom. There is no denying the fact that the outlook of finance industry has been highly optimistic as the economies across the globe are seeing substantial rise.

Although there have been many hiccups down the line with the financial bubble being hit in 2008, but all in not bleak in this sector. For those who want to pursue a career in this sector, the future is highly viable with a range of opportunities. But still the fact of the matter is that students often find it cumbersome to get into various premier institutes as very little information is available to them on what courses to pursue. Although there are many professional courses in finance, it is all dependent upon various triggers. It is vital to understand that not all these triggers would get ample boost and it will all be dependent upon from which institute you pursue your course. Finance sector is divided between banking and insurance and other financial services which make it vital to have all information beforehand before opting for any course.

There is no denying the fact that these investment and financial institutes often play a huge role in developing the financial markets. Often they have been also termed as the financial instrument which is why it becomes vital for students to have a right passage in the form of best school. Only those institutes that are able to offer highly productive post graduate diploma in finance can play a molding role in any student’s career. This calls for a progressive approach towards the overall learning curve. Due to the fact that many institutes only offer theoretical knowledge and very few of them are able to provide students with real life scenarios makes it difficult for these students to excel later in the career.

The need of the hour is to have more vocation training that can help mold the student in visionaries that can lead from the front. Finance sector comprises of complex decision making process which is why it is vital in a student’s life to have a systematic approach towards the future. Possibly the greatest significance here is that the student is able to deduce by themselves the provision being laid in the industry in the form of investments and savings. This not only helps in attaining the earnings on the savings front but also enables them to bring in investments which are highly beneficial for the overall market.

The fact of the matter is that it is a huge learning curve and financial institutes in India have paved way for themselves to offer a wide array of courses in the given sector. With the economic spectrum of India looking highly optimistic, it is a lucrative industry to put your steps. Overall it can be said that students need to be well prepared from the start in order to have an edge among the competition in the booming industry.

The Path Towards Becoming A Financial Analyst

Tue, 07 Oct 2014 22:10:54 +0000

In every country the financial sector is always deemed to be the backbone for its economy. This is the reason why it has been termed as one of the most lucrative career option for young generation. India might have given rise to a booming Information Technology industry, but the fundamentals of its financial sector is still the strongest which is why it went unscathed during global financial crisis. In order to get this coveted job, students must have a knack of delivering decision making capabilities along with viable risk assessment. Usually they have multi level jobs and can work either with junior capacity or senior level within the firm.

This industry is highly competitive which is why it is always a must to have to pursue this career from a reputed institute. Over the years there have been many institutes as well as colleges that have come up offering short term courses in finance. These are highly beneficial for students as they not only help them in achieving a niche in this sector but also get them accustomed to all the nitty gritty of this sector. It is vital to understand that students need to be well prepared in advance to take up all the challenges of this sector. A viable study programs allows them to have an overview of all the aspects of financial sector like banking, investment, assets management, insurance, stock broking and financial analyst. You need to position yourself well ahead of the rest in order to achieve greater heights.

Various colleges have subdivided this course over three years into number of semesters. Each semester takes cognizance of each aspect of the financial sector. This is highly vital for every student to undertake each module as it allows them to make decision to enter a particular set of career path. A certified financial analyst can then choose his/her preference to whether go in banking, insurance, investment, or stock broking. They also have a choice to becoming a asset or wealth management advisor for an individual or a business.

The main role of a wealth manager is to look into various aspects of investments to generate more revenues. More they also have to assess all the risks involved with that investment beforehand so that it does not pose any threat to the future prospect of the organization or the individual. A person must keep in mind that having a career is not as easy as going through a course. If you want to make it big in this market it is vital that you have your fundamentals cleared regarding this sector.

For all the undergraduates who are considering a career in this industry, it is best to take the courses in business, accounting, math and economics. Most of the analysts that get hired by big firms usually have these backgrounds, while MBA graduates are often hired as senior analysts’ right out of business school. This is why, both at junior or senior level it is always vital to have a thorough approach.