Investing? Get professional advice!

When you are very sick, you do not ask the chemist across the street what medication you should take.

Yet invariably many retail investors get talked into investing a sizeable portion of their life's savings by a neighbour who's dabbling in the stock market, or by his office colleague who is a part-time insurance agent or even by his brother-in-law who might be working in one of the hordes of mutual funds.

But why shouldn't you go to a qualified advisor when it comes to deciding where to invest?

Although still new to India, many Indian financial entities such as banks, insurance companies and mutual funds are pushing the need for qualified personnel to advise their customers, taking the cue from their global parentage.

HSBC Plc, American Express, Principal Financial Group, the US-headquartered State Farm Insurance Company, and even a leading European financial paper having a presence in India are among the host of entities that ensure their customer relationship managers are certified by the Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB).

FPSB is an international professional body of financial planners, which aims at improving the integrity and ability of people giving financial advice.

The day is not far before India catches on this professionalism trail as well.

Imagine the next time a financial newspaper or business news channel advises you to buy stocks or invest in a mutual fund scheme or suggests a 20-year insurance plan, their correspondents would be certified financial planners.

Private banking relationship managers at ICICI Bank are encouraged to go in for the FPSB certification, now available in India.

Suresh Shetty, who retired last May, saw his stock market investment wiped out when the BSE Sensex fell intra-day by about 800 points.

He had just invested his provident fund savings into the market on the advice of his to-be son-in-law, a sub broker, who said Shetty would be able to make a fast buck, enough to marry off his daughter in June.

Little did Shetty know or the rest of the world know that the elections would be a major eye-opener, and cause the stock market to tumble!

Shetty's investments failed to recover in time. Booking a hefty loss on his investments, Shetty borrowed the shortfall through a personal loan at 18 per cent interest. Had he been better advised, perhaps he could have minimised his losses or better planned his fund requirement post retirement.

FPSB is trying to produce a new generation of advisors who can even be questioned should they fail to offer quality advice.

"If a client is unhappy with the advise given by any certified financial planner, he can approach FPSB in India, and the individual can even be put out of business," said Noel Maye, chief executive of the FPSB.

In the US, the non-profit body works closely with the regulator, and has the authority to open up cases and even tap into the database of stock exchanges, he added.

"Taking advice from a certified financial planner is beneficial for clients as they can offer an integrated financial approach. In some countries like Australia, if one is not certified by the body, one cannot sell any personal finance products," said Suraj Kaeley, chief marketing officer, MetLife India.

This US-headquartered insurance company subsidises the cost of an employee going for a CPF course. "Once they have cleared the examination, we reimburse the entire cost," he added.

There are about 90,000 certified financial planners (CFPs) worldwide. In India there are less than 90 individuals certified though 1,800 are today sitting for the examination.

The course is today recognised by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), which gives exemption to CFPs from undertaking the 100-hour agency training if they are certified by FPSB.

"We are making a similar case to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and have approached the finance ministry for recognition," said Ranjeet S Mudholkar, chief executive officer, FPSB India.

Of the 1,800-odd students aiming to become CFPs, about 300 are chartered accountants. A certificate from this institution almost guarantees them a job at a number of financial companies.

"Our members have through a recent resolution, stated that they will give preference to CPFs over other individuals applying for the job, said Mudholkar.

SBI Life Insurance and MetLife among a host of other insurance companies have asked their agents to take the examination and get certified as a financial planner. Tata AIG wants all its agents to be certified.

"Financial planning is cutting across all financial segments of the industry, and today it's more a question of offering advice than just products," said Maye.

In the US, for instance, the Securities and Exchange Commission is trying to create legislation and standard of advisors when it comes to brokers giving advise.

There has been major examples of mis-selling in the past, where scores of investors ended up with losses. Investment in stock markets is not the only example.

Many a times, misjudgement in the type of mortgage plan one opts for, or insurance policy one buys, or investment in a debt option could all go sour.

The best way out is to ensure oneself a safety net -- take advice from a professional, certified individual, who can even be hauled up , if necessary!