From Students – Page 7

Fun @ International College of Financial Planning

It is that time of the year again! It seems just like yesterday that we first set foot on the ICoFP Campus. Hard to believe that it is already time to take wing and face the big bad corporate world. Time just flies by, isn’t it?

As we ready ourselves to tread along the corporate trail, we recollect and try to reminisce the year that was. An year that was deeply cherished by one and all and which will be greatly missed in the times to come.

ICoFP gave us the best memories through diverse student activities that were educational yet fun. Our session started with an Orientation Program that gave us an opportunity to meet our fellow students, the college management as well as the industry stalwarts. Our Freshers Party too is one of the biggest and most sought after college events. Every year new students are warmly welcomed to be a part of the ICoFP family with a bash! Peppy music, special performances and delectable food and drinks are just a few highlights.

More magic, liveliness and intimacy comes with the Teachers Day celebration, ICoFP also celebrates our founder, Mr KK Bajaj’s birthday. Educational skits, entertaining dance and music performances and a variety of other programs surely enthrall one and all.

October saw a fun filled student’s day out at World of Wonder, Noida. One of the most exciting and sought after amusement parks in Delhi NCR, we had a great time there. The amazing rides gave us an instant adrenaline rush! The Go- Karting circuit was spacious and relaxing and we had a wonderful time there too.

Next we had our Sports Day and The International College Premier League – ICoFP’s annual intra and inter class Cricket Tournament, was played at a leading cricket ground! Nail biting chases and enthralling match finishes surely made it a much awaited and adored event on campus!

We are also frequently taken for short trips in and around the city. This helps in reliving the usual pressure of studies, gives us an exposure while adventure activities helps build confidence and crafts lifetime friendships. Our trip to Rishikesh was an amazing one which gave us a host of memories to cherish and hold on to. White water rafting being an extraordinary experience, we also enjoyed a variety of other activities like climbing, swimming, kayaking etc. We also had our share of appreciating and staying close to nature as we set base and camped in tents!

Tarang, our annual intra-college cultural fest is a treat for one and all. Delightful dances and soulful singing form the crux of this pleasant and fun-filled college fest. Skits, mimicry, fashion shows, JAM’s, debates and extempore etc are a part of this eventful academic and cultural extravaganza. Stretching over two days, this rich and enlightening fest gives away a cash prize of Rs 10, 000 to the most deserving candidate.

College is about to end but fun times @ ICoFP certainly aren’t!

This blog is written by the students of Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning (PGDFP), International College of Financial Planning(ICFP)
(Shreshtha, Simaad, Mandeep, Nidhi, Jitendra)

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Academics @ ICOFP…….!!!!

Interviews, the only barrier, ahead of your ultimate dream jobs, are undoubtedly the most challenging and important experience and test in one’s life. They become the rider of our destiny and one needs to grill him really hard to crack this difficult nut. The saga of emotions, thoughts, fears and feelings which one undergoes while sitting on the interview chair is difficult to explain. Today, after facing and clearing a couple of interviews, I feel glad to have gone through that rigorous hard work and preparation which is required to handle such situations and the credit of all of it, goes to none other than my college ICOFP…!!

Well, calling ICOFP as just my post-graduation college would be too less, it has become my second home. Where, I have groomed my personality and I have evolved as a better person in life.

ICOFP maintains a perfect balance between the academics and the co-curricular activities. The journey through this wonderful college will always remain very close to my heart. I never thought that the time here would become this splendid and memorable for life. In fact, I wonder now, how soon has the time flown by my side.

Being from a non-commerce background, I was a little nervous when I joined this very specialized finance course, but very soon I realized that all my worries went down the drain. The atmosphere of this place and the ease with which the faculty of college helped me to settle down here was unbelievable.

The education imparted to us has always been of the best quality, meeting the standards needed in the corporate life. The college is an authorized education provider of the Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB), India for the Certified Financial Planner ^CM (CFP^CM) professional education program in India.

It emphasize on industry oriented inputs, practical training and thus facilitate students to develop essential skills and knowledge to make them more employable. ICOFP in Delhi has an added advantage as the students are made to visit financial companies and stock exchanges for practical exposure.

It provides world class academicians and industry exposure for the all-round development of the students. It also provides the inbuilt internship program which creates an interface between the students and industry. Courses like estate planning, tax planning, retirement planning help you to understand the practical life scenario’s and connects you with the requirement of society. The curriculum even has the unique inbuilt technical analysis study course which gives you the insight of the stock market movements and you can pursue trading independently.

As we all know that with the growing Indian economy, BFSI sector is emerging with ample opportunities providing a wide variety of jobs. ICOFP actually makes the students industry ready and competent enough to face the real life situations and even the stressful working environments ready. The college also forms various clubs such as articulation club, placement club and research club, case study learning, role plays and several other activities to enhance student’s overall personality, interpersonal and presentation skills.

Thus, to create a niche for myself in the finance industry and for a blooming career I chose ICOFP and I am proud of this choice.

This blog is written by Shilpa, the student of Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning (PGDFP), International College of Financial Planning (ICOFP).

Learnings @ ICoFP

Holistic education is a philosophy of education based on the premise that each person finds identity, meaning, and purpose in life through connections to the community, to the natural world, and to humanitarian values such as compassion and peace. Holistic education aims to call forth from people an intrinsic reverence for life and a passionate love of learning…”Ron Miller”.

We at International college of Financial Planning are fortunate to be the part of holistic learning process. In holistic education, the teacher is seen less as person of authority who leads and controls but rather is seen as “a friend, a mentor, a facilitator, or an experienced traveling companion. At ICFP our experience has been similar. Here we have adapted to the method of learning by doing, which, in my opinion, is the best mechanism for acquiring expertise. Here we experience the perfect blend of academic inputs and co-curricular activities which helps us to encounter the real life challenges. There is a complete list of activities in which we are involved

1. PRESENTATIONS- As a student of MBA (FP) you need to acquire presentation skills, you should be confident enough to speak in front of public and express your thoughts well. Our faculty always encourages us to make presentation and present them in front of audience. This boosts our confidence and helps us to develop excellent soft skills.

2. NEWSPAPER ANALYSIS- We are not living in an isolated world, we are always connected with our surroundings and economy. Every week we have a class of newspaper analysis and there we are assigned the task of analyzing the news and share it in front of other students. This helps us to understand the inside-out view of market and finance sector of our economy. Earlier we never used to read newspaper but after getting these sessions from college we love to read newspaper, it has become a challenge as well as fun activity.

3. SELF IMPROVISATION CLASSES- We get communication, interview preparation, advance excel classes, guest lectures from the renowned personalities of finance industry as well. We get technical analysis classes in which we learn the techniques applied by the stock traders and even faculties have shown us how to trade, what are various products like share warrants, contract notes, etc. in these classes we get lots of practical exposure rather than theoretical one.

4. MOCK INTERVIEWS- Our placement and academic team always focus on overall development of students. Mock interviews including management and technical round is the regular feature of are curriculum. Our faculties and placement team takes our mock interviews and prepare us to face interviewer with full confidence. Here we experience the real thrill and stress of an interview room.

5. PROJECTS- Projects are the very important part of our learning @ICFP. We have done one important project in which we need to meet two to three relationship managers at NBFCs or BANKS, and try to learn from them what all products are available in the market, and discuss with them the products suitable for us. By observing their behavior during the conversation, we learnt, how to interact with our clients and how to seek out their problems by giving them best solutions.

6. BRAND I PROJECT- The most memorable project during the one year at ICFP is BRAND I project in which we did several value adding activities like Blog writing, Financial Planning Awareness campaign, Corporate meeting etc. Here the aim is to create a brand of self that is’ Brand I’. This project really helped us to learn many aspects of life like team work, setting the meetings, execution of events, interacting with corporate world, creating the social awareness etc.
The amazing combination of practical exposure with sound theoretical groundings has made us industry ready. The holistic education system in which we are involved @ ICFP has helped us to reach our true potential and it is a lifelong experience for all of us

This blog is written by students of Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning (PGDFP), International College of Financial Planning (ICOFP).

(ADEEBA, SHUBHAM, ANURAG, SHALINI, ASHISH)

Estate Planning: Where there is a Will, there is a Way!!

What do Dhirubhai Ambani, Parveen Baubi, Abraham Lincoln and Howard Hughes have in common? Well they all died INTESTATE, which means without making a valid will or trust. The fact that individuals who spare no effort to accumulate wealth are often unable to predict the consequences of what would happen to their diligently-built fortunes after they are dead and gone. Surprising as it sounds, but the rich and famous can fail to plan ahead about what will happen to their assets after their death.

Some people may see no need for estate planning until they reach a certain age, or they might believe that it’s only for the wealthy. But it is wise for everyone to begin the estate planning process as early as possible. In fact looking at the various disputes in families in the public domain, Estate Planning is becoming increasingly necessary for every individual to ensure a planned succession, avoid family feuds leading to disintegration of businesses and lengthy court battles.

What is Estate Planning?

In simple terms, Estate Planning is the preparation of plan for the administration, preservation and distribution of an individual’s assets, in the event of his/her incapacitation or death. Estate Planning is the process of arranging and planning for an individual’s succession and financial affairs ensuring that the estate of the individual passes to the estate owner’s intended beneficiaries. All the property that an individual owns is part of his or her estate. An estate can include clothes, jewelry, tools, cars, musical instruments, house, cash, bank accounts, stocks, bonds, life insurance policies, provident fund, recurring and fixed deposits and other items.

Estate planning is a continuous process done to alleviate the financial impact of one’s death on those who are left behind. Lack of adequate estate planning can cause undue financial burdens to loved ones. An estate plan makes one’s wishes clear and helps avoid family disputes. Proper estate planning can preserve assets and provide for loved ones.

One of the live example in our real world is the dispute between the Ambani siblings Mukesh and Anil broke out for the control of Dhirubhai Ambani financial and corporate legacy. This happened because Dhirubhai Ambani had not prepared a will.

In my talks with people about making a Will, a lot of them laugh it off for any number of reasons- I don’t have anything to give away; I’m still young; I have nominations; it’s too complicated to make a Will and I have to make a choice amongst loved ones etc.

In fact making a Will really is simple. It is the least legal of legal documents and if you follow a few simple rules, you can prepare it yourself and it can even be hand written. Contrary to what is the general belief, a Will does NOT have to be Registered, does NOT need to be on a Stamp Paper or even the green legal paper and does NOT need to be Notarized. And you don’t have to be rich or old to make a Will. Every adult should make a Will. It is best to create a will so that your wishes will be carried out instead of leaving it up to the laws of intestacy to divide your property.

Hence, Estate planning is the foremost judicious step in securing your family’s future and fulfilling your desires during your life and after you depart from the world. Estate planning sounds complex, costly and difficult, but in reality you can take really easy steps to generate an estate plan. The easiest action to take would be to consult a Certified Financial Planner to execute an estate plan for you.

This blog is written by students of Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning(PGDFP), International College of Financial Planning(ICFP)
(Shalini Bhatoya, Shubham Maheshwari, Anurag Hurria, Adeeba Fareed and Ashish Sharma)

LIFE @ ICoFP

Yippee, Examination over!!! Graduation finally comes to an end! But what’s next in store for me? I’m sure such questions run through everybody’s mind and even I was a victim of it. After a lot of research and brain-washing, I decided like every tom, dick and harry that I’d pursue my MBA in Finance. Through various newspapers and websites, I got my hands on the “International College of Financial Planning (ICFP)” which provides super–specialization in Financial Planning. Bulls eye! That’s exactly what I was looking for! I thankfully cleared the interview.

Here it was! I entered college, all nervous and anxious as to what it has to offer! When I inquired about the program content, I got a head spinning reply which I remember till date! It was “It emphasizes on the relationship between theory and practice, providing you with the conceptual foundations and practical skills necessary to adapt to changes and keeping pace with the evolving field of financial services.”

Oh boy! Didn’t that just mean Financial Planning in lay man language? I decided to give it a shot.

Entering into a post-graduation college is a memorable experience that will change your lifestyle and personality forever.

We had our first class, couple of minutes after it had started, I gave myself a pat on my back! This is what I had been looking for, way to go whoooo!!

Maintaining healthy relations with seniors (to prevent one from being ragged), batch mates, faculty (to have an upper hand in the internals), bunking several classes and attending a few was simply in a nutshell, my understanding of College life.

I distinctly remember my first day at college. I entered all spruced up, looking tip-top, super excited to meet new people and have a lasting impression on them. Yes, no doubt I encountered a couple of initial teething problems but thereafter there was no looking back. I met wonderful people who fortunately are still my best buddies. Surprisingly I have a good rapport with the teachers as well, strange eh?This college has taught me the art of working in a group, co-ordinating among everyone, motivating each other and achieving the desired goal. ICFP has optimally balanced academics and extra-curricular activities. We have to go through a rigorous academic schedule prepared by our beloved coordinator who would be more than happy to pull your ear and drag you to the Dean in case of any mis-behavior. On the other hand, extra-cirricular activities incorporates activities such as fresher’s party, outdoor trips, Tarang (annual college fest) etc.

Life at ICFP has been an excellent blend of both theoretical and practical exposure. For instance, for a recent project, we were supposed to visit banks and non-banking financial institutions to gather information about Mutual fund products followed by a case study (which was beyond everyone). This helped us not only in gaining confidence but it also helped us in improving our public speaking skills and how to deal with real life situations.

ICFP does not compromise with studies under any circumstance, and it gets thumbs up from everyone for that! There are planned daily tests, fortnightly tests, mock interviews etc. Apart from that, several guest speakers are called at various occasions to share their knowledge and experience with us, thus drilling some sense into us! Not just that, but we also have classes for various presentations, newspaper analysis, communication skills improvement classes and so on!

ICFP has given us a great launch pad which will result into an excellent start for our careers. It has transformed my unused bird-brain into something which people are proud of now!

This blog is written by students of Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning(PGDFP), International College of Financial Planning(ICFP).
(Nikhil Khanna, Aishwarya Jain, Jaideep Singh Rawat, Ruchi Gupta)