Friday, May 27, 2011

CFP Course: A Way To Being A Financial Planning Professional

With so many avenues to invest with their own set of features, returns and peculiarities, there is a need to plan where to invest, how much and for what period of time. Also, it is important to know what the associated risk factors are of each of the investments and what methods shall be adopted for maximising the returns. Besides, the rules of taxation of the governments also need to be factored in. There are professional courses which teach this planning aspect of the investments, taking care of the whole gamut of issues. Certified Financial Planner (CFP) is one such qualification which is recognised all over the world.

CFP is the executive and professional level certification provided by the US Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, through its affiliates in different countries. The basic objective of the course is to prepare the professionals in the planning domain so that they can act as valuable guides to the individuals and the corporates in their endeavour to plan their investments well. The CFP course centres on certain crucial areas that often require planning.

The first part deals with the basics of financial planning. This aims to impart conceptual clarity on the time value of money, understanding the financial statement analysis, cash flow and budgeting, legal aspects and professional code of ethics.

The next stage of the CFP courses is to study the risk analysis process, Insurance concepts and policies and the regulatory framework within which insurance sector works.

The third step pertains to retirement planning and employee benefits aspect of financial planning, like wealth creation, erosion and accumulation and analysis of retirement and insurance plans.

The fourth part of the CFP course is that of tax planning strategies, capital and wealth gains taxation and the matters related to Will, Power of Attorney and real estate documentation.

The last part of the course curriculum pertains to the Comprehensive financial planning taking everything into consideration.

If anyone wants to go for financial planning certification, then the Certified Financial planner course gives the best grounding in all the major areas. Also, this course is world renowned and therefore, getting a good job overseas is also a distinctive advantage of this course. This course can be taken in three different modes of learning. One is by way of class room tutoring. The CFP class can be the regular one or it can even be the evening classes or weekend classes for the working professionals. The other is by way of distance learning wherein the course materials are sent to the candidates and the third way is of online tutorials which can be downloaded from the internet after payment of the required fees.

There are many job opportunities which can be had after completing this course. You can work as an independent financial planner or can even be a part of some organization where this work can be done at a much bigger scale.


CFP - Certified Financial Planner    |     CFA    |       Masters in Finance   |      MBA Colleges


Monday, May 23, 2011

Are the placement records of MBA colleges in Delhi good criteria to judge its standard?

When you begin the hunt for the MBA colleges in Delhi, you check out the different criteria for ascertaining their standards. While there might be some which are undisputed in their reputation which these have built over a period of time, there might be many others which need to be checked and compared on different criteria. These criteria could be the faculty, infrastructure available, exposure to industry and, likewise, many others.
One of the important criteria is that of placement offered by these institutes and colleges. So, if you happen to go these and check out what are the placement records, you will find every institute making good claims about their placement records. But, these records shall not be taken on face value and shall be looked into a little deeper.

Placement records are good criteria for ascertaining whether MBA College in Delhi is a top quality institute or not and how does it stand in comparison to the others.

Here are some of the points which need further probing:

1. Whether these companies really came to the campus for taking students? You need to find out whether these companies did come or their names are written only for manipulating the list.

2. When did these companies come to the Top MBA colleges in Delhi for campus recruitment? It is also important to ensure that the list mentions only those companies which have come to institute in the recent past, not one year back. Some institutes provide misleading information on when these companies actually came for taking the students. So, you can just a few random calls to the companies mentioned in the list to ascertain the facts.

3. Was the placement due to the efforts of the placement cell of the MBA in Delhi or was it the result of students own efforts? This is difficult to ascertain but is very helpful in telling the exact nature of practices that are being done by the institute. There are some which will make the students produce the job offer letter and then keep a copy of the same for showing to the prospective candidates that this company has come to the campus for the selection process.

4. What is the type of companies which are coming? Are you looking to get into an MNC? If yes, what is the record of the number of MNCs coming to this MBA college in Delhi. Or, is this institute catering to only local or seemingly unimportant companies? This would be a reflection of what all lies in store when you finish your course in that institute.

5. Nature of work of the companies which have come for placements is also an important consideration. What would you do if you want to major in finance but the companies which are coming to the institute are mostly from the marketing stream? Would you change the stream or look for another MBA college in Delhi?

The choice is, therefore, not easy to make and even the placement records can not be relied on the face value.






Friday, May 20, 2011

How to Check the Reputation of MBA Colleges in Delhi

There are a range of options open to students for pursuing various courses after completing their graduation. One of the most favoured courses that are opted for by many students is that of MBA. MBA colleges in Delhi see queues of candidates formed for collecting the information brochure of the college. Candidates prefer to take up MBA for many reasons, chiefly for better salary packages and an enriching job profile in top companies.

MBA colleges in Delhi are a lucrative business proposition since there is a very good demand by candidates for doing MBA. For this reason, many of them have come up with all their hefty fees. Most of them also started undergraduate courses. With so many of these institutes, candidates can invariably get into one or the other of the MBA College to pursue the course. Here is the need to stop. This is where your career can go awfully wrong. There is a need to assess whether a particular college is good or reputed enough for pursuing MBA or not.

The aim of candidates shall be to take admission in an institute which is reputed not just any other, otherwise there are good chances of candidate taking wrong career step. So, how to judge or assess whether the institute is reputed or not? Here are some noteworthy points in this regard:

1.    Information Brochure: An information brochure contains all information about the institute and it is a legal obligation to provide all the truthful and correct information about the institute. Nothing material shall be hidden from public. Therefore, careful reading of the same shall be done to check whether anything material has been hidden or not. Also, the inconsistencies shall be looked into.

2.    Verify the facts: Some of the fact regarding the institute might need further verification. These include the facts related to the legal status of the institute, its recognition and accreditations and some of the other facts relating to courses and partnerships with foreign universities.

3.    Seek the help from the governing authorities: Some of the information that you may need might be easily available on the website of the company whereas some of the other information might need personal visit. But, it is worth doing it.

4.    Speak to the current students of the MBA colleges in Delhi: It is also good to speak to some current students of the college since they can tell the current state of affairs, especially related to the faculty, courses, industry interaction and placements. Pay attention to what they say. Some might be openly critical. Some others might be in favour and there might be some who would be treading middle of the road. So, keep your own rationale and take decision accordingly.

5.    Check out internet forums for complaints: This is another way to find whether a particular college from among a number of MBA college in Delhi is reputed or not. Check for the nature of complaints that are existent on the different forums for that MBA College. This can give you an idea of the reputation level of the institute.

Monday, May 16, 2011

MBA is more than a common sense approach to business

Many hold that MBA is nothing more than a common sense based approach to doing business. For this reason they devalue or demean the importance of doing MBA. While there might be some success stories wherein a person has reached top position in business without much of professional degrees or experience, these examples are exceptions and can not be held to be true in most of the cases. Also, if it were so, candidates would not be flocking to the top MBA colleges in Delhi to do MBA in Delhi.

When it comes to doing or not doing the MBA the sole reliance on common sense approach may be counter productive. It would do wonders if professional course in MBA is done along with the use of common sense. In other words, these can be used with synergetic effect.

Doing MBA helps in many ways. It gives you balanced dose of knowledge of different subjects which is essential for running the business. It also helps in giving you grounding in developing the skills which are required for running the business. These could pertain to managing the internal and external environmental factors of the organization in such a way that the business is run on ethical and profitable lines. By, doing MBA in Delhi from one of the top institutes one can also get to have a feel of the macro economic conditions. One is able to spot the threats and the opportunities for doing the new business. The top MBA colleges in Delhi groom the personality of a person in such a way that he becomes a business leader. This personality development is all about the intellectual enrichment of a person, cultivation of sound communication skills, negotiation skills, ability to take right decision in different circumstances and many other factors.

This career is sought by candidates primarily for landing lucrative job with large corporations. Some others prefer to venture into their own businesses based on their own models of doing business in unique ways. So, MBA College in Delhi produces not only the managers but also the entrepreneurs. Pursuing the course from the top institutes has another benefit that good companies come from campus placements and this provides good opportunity for the candidates.

With the government opening the doors for introduction of the world famed courses to the people, like the CFA, there has been a great boon for the people desirous of doing the same. For the ones who want to make a career abroad and are looking to take up courses of international fame like CFA, there are quite a few good options to pursue by being in India. These are different from doing MBA since these focus on niche subject areas like finance, whereas MBA gives an all round grounding to a person in different functional areas. MBA colleges in Delhi offer a wide range of these varied courses at graduate and post graduate levels so that the candidates can have a good career in sight.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

What shall the MBA College in Delhi do be among the best?

There has been phenomenal growth of the MBA colleges in Delhi in the last decade or two. This growth has been spurt by the increasing inclination of the students to opt for MBA after doing their graduation for the sake of getting better career prospects. Another reason is the demand of managerial employees by the organizations which have come up as result of post-liberalisation and globalisation drive of the economy. With so many of the MBA colleges in Delhi coming up, there is a need for each one of them to earn a good name for itself. This way, by being among the top MBA colleges in Delhi, it would be one of the most sought after MBA College in Delhi. So, what shall it do for this purpose?

1. Top level Faculty: The people who would be imparting the knowledge, skills and do personality development need to be highly experienced and expert in their field. Having a faculty which is better that the other MBA College in Delhi could make a qualitative difference to the quality of students. This factor is even more important in the light of the fact that quality of students is what brings good name to the institute and is a life long investment in brand building. This is possible only when the faculty is top class.


2. Good infrastructure: In order to beat other MBA colleges in Delhi, it is also important that the institute shall have good infrastructure. Lack of infrastructure could be a hindrance in the quick deliver of teaching lessons. It could also cast an overall adverse impact on range of coverage in a specified time. But, it is important to be practical in defining what is required infrastructure and what all can be dispensed with. Care shall be taken to have that infrastructure as a priority one which is directly associated with teaching.

3. Courses as per guidelines and in line with emerging economic prospects: While there might be some stipulations on the nature of the topics to be covered, the courses need to be in alignment with the current trends and future needs of the emerging economy and market.


4. Developing reputation in industry: This is something which develops over a period of time. By frequent interaction with the industry, one can remain in touch with the problems being faced by them and provide the likely solutions using the intellectual capital of the students. This makes the candidates get the first hand knowledge and chance to interact with the organizations.


5. Invest in advertisements: The investment in advertisements is another area which needs to be done. Students who are looking to do MBA in Delhi shall be able to find your institute. The reputation of institution will grow with time and it might take quite sometime to be recognised that way, but with proper advertisements, the institute can make both long term as well as short term gains. Essentially, it is about building your brand name in the eyes of public at large.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Why people take up MBA education rather than the other professional courses?

When it comes to deciding which is the best course of career to take up after doing the graduation, the choices might be restricted largely by what course of study have you pursued in graduation. But, post graduate MBA course is not dependent on what all you have done in your graduation. This makes it a hot choice for the candidates from the different streams like arts and humanities, commerce and even from sciences. Taking up MBA might not be that easy a choice to make, especially when there are other good professional courses which can be undertaken. However, doing Masters of Business Administration from the top MBA College in Delhi is still a preference over the other courses by many candidates. Why is such a beeline made for MBA course and why this beeline continues to grow in front of the top MBA colleges in Delhi?

First and foremost reason for MBA being one of the top choices is that the greatly attractive salary packages that the candidates can expect at the end of their two year tenure. The salary compensation for MBA grads from top MBA colleges in Delhi is way above what can be expected after doing other courses.

Secondly, the candidates can expect a good number of opportunities in different functional areas, like marketing, finance, human resources, etc after doing MBA. This may not be true with other courses. The other courses might be far more specialized but these might restrict the functional areas in which a person can operate.

Thirdly, MBA colleges in Delhi might have a tough entry-level selection procedure to ensure that the best students are only taken in, but once the entry is gained, one can rest assured that with hard work throughout the two year tenure, one can land a respectable job. For the other courses, the entry might be easier than in the MBA College in Delhi, but one might have to toil hard for years to complete these. This period might extend to more than two years. Candidates may not be willing to work for unexpected period of time and therefore they take up MBA in Delhi.

Fourthly, MBA gives all round grounding to the candidates. It makes a person suitable for administration of business in all its aspects. Along with the imparting of the knowledge, it also helps a person develop the much required skills of administering the business in all its functions. Focus is also enabling a person to develop the essential personality traits which are demanded by the requirements of the job. Such extensive and intensive grooming may not be given in other courses whose essential focus might be only on education or knowledge enhancement.

Fifth important reason is that corporate lifestyle appeals to everyone and MBA provides a short cut to that lifestyle. This appeal is what makes many people dream about and take up MBA as career.

Thus, there are many reasons for taking up this career in preference over the others.