The Hindu Business Line : Low-cost financial advice need of the hour: SEBI

Skills focus: The SEBI Chairman, Mr M. Damodaran (right), and the IRDA Chairman, Mr C.S. Rao, at the convocation of the 3rd batch of the Institute of Insurance and Risk Management in Hyderabad on Thursday.

Our Bureau

Hyderabad, Aug. 16 There is a need for providing low-cost financial advice in the country, according to Mr M. Damodaran, Chairman, Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

In his second convocation address at the Institute of Insurance and Risk Management (IIRM) here on Thursday, Mr Damodaran said SEBI was working on developing low-cost financial advice in association with the Financial Planning Standards Board.

“Financial intermediation is not an easy task. Earlier, advisors had no basic understanding of the products they sold. But now things have changed. The regulator alone cannot ensure the sale of the right product to the right person. This responsibility must belong to you,” he told the graduates.

Skill shortage

Referring to the shortage of skilled financial professionals across the world, the SEBI Chairman said that unless a large body of people was trained, India could not take advantage of its ‘demographic dividend’.

Mr C.S. Rao, Chairman, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) and IIRM, said the untapped potential of the insurance market could be tapped only with a trained manpower.

“The regulators in SAARC countries have shown great interest in the IIRM and might sponsor their students to study here soon,” he added.

Mr Vepa Kamesan, Managing Director, IIRM, said the institute was looking at consulting opportunities in insurance, banking and other financial areas in collaboration with a technology firm, Rocsys. “We will be jointly developing risk management software,” he added.

MoU with Suffolk

The Sawyer Business School at Suffolk University, Boston was willing to take PG diploma holders of IIRM into one-year Master’s programme by waiving the GMAT and TOEFL requirements. “We recently signed an MoU with Suffolk,” he said.

The placement record for students of IIRM is 100 per cent. “The batch which is receiving diplomas today secured employment with 11 insurance companies, three corporate and two banks as management trainees,” he said.

Mr Damodaran gave away certificates and merit prizes to 72 students in the institute’s third batch.