Profile: Hemant Beniwal, Certified Financial Planner

A while ago I wrote about creating a directory of financial services providers here at OneMint, and let me just copy paste what I wrote earlier.

Profiles for financial advisers

I get a lot of emails from people who want to buy bonds, mutual funds, or life insurance but I don’t sell these myself, so have to disappoint people who ask this.

At the same time, there are several financial advisers who comment on the site, and who can help out such people.

The natural thing for OneMint is to bridge the gap between the two, and I’ve decided to give that a shot as well. Financial advisers will be allowed to create profiles on the site where they can create their CV, and allow readers to ask them questions.

The profiles are by invitation only, and the only way to get an invite is to help other readers by answering their questions honestly and sincerely in comments and at the forum. If I feel that this is being done then I’ll invite you, else not.

 

So with that said, I am introducing the first advisor today.

Hemant Beniwal
Hemant Beniwal

Hemant Beniwal, Certified Financial PlannerCM                                                                           

Employment Status: Self Employed

Organization: Ark Financial Planners

Blog: The Financial Literates

Services Offered: Fee-based Financial Planning, Single Element Planning

Email: hemant@tflguide.com

About: Hemant Beniwal is Director of Ark Primary Advisor Pvt. Ltd., the company he founded to venture his financial planning practice. He entered the Financial Industry as Management Graduate in Finance & grew up to become a Certified Financial Planner(CFP).

Professional. He is amongst the first breed of Financial Planners, a new profession which is in its inception stage in India. Currently there are very few financial planners in India who are actually providing comprehensive financial planning service.

Financial Planning: Hemant believes Financial Planning gives you more clarity in life; it provides direction and meaning to your financial decision. It helps you to provide right balance between your present and future lifestyle. Financial Planner is like the Photographer; although he is not part of the picture but still contribute his skills to make it look good. But in Indian context, the term “Financial Planning” & “Financial Planner” has been misused to sell Financial Products. The planning part is completely overlooked and that adds to confusion. Hemant has dedicated his career in bridging this gap & to provide the real FP services to the clients.

Services: Ark specializes in offering fee based comprehensive financial planning service to Indian families across the globe that include middle level executives, professionals, business owners & NRIs. Recently he has added few other services like basic financial plan, retirement planning, investment planning, estate planning, mutual fund/insurance portfolio review, only consulting etc.

Experience: Prior to setting up the practice in 2009, he worked for 8 years with big Financial Brands & his last assignment was Regional Head Rajasthan with one of the Mutual Fund Company.

Beyond Financial Planning: Apart from developing Financial Plans and guiding clients meet their Financial Goals; he keeps interest in research & analysis of various financial products. He also conducts training programs on Financial Planning & Investment Planning and also regularly trains Financial Advisors. He also coaches candidates pursuing CFP Certification.

Financial Literacy & Mission against Mis-Selling: He runs “The Financial Literates” blog where he regularly writes thought provoking articles & also freely writes against mis-selling. He says “Mis-selling is making new peaks every year and for people it`s very tough to identify what is right or what is wrong. With the agents, even manufacturers are trying to milk naive investors. It is really painful to see when a client is mis-sold for penny benefits. And best way to avoid mis-selling is to get armored with Financial Literacy.” The Financial Literates is a dream & mission to make Indians Financial Literate.

Media: He has written over 100 articles, case studies & Query Section in various publications like Business Bhaskar, Business Standard, Indian Express, Money Mantra Magazine, Nafa-Nuksan etc. He also appeared on Doordarshan’s ‘Money Plant Show’ giving expert views on Retirement & Financial Planning. You can check few of his media articles & videos here.

Memberships and Association: Currently, he is General Secretary of The Financial Planners’ Guild, India, a professional body of practicing Financial Planners with the motto of creating awareness on Financial Planning among the public. He is also member of Financial Planning Association (FPA), USA – FPA is world’s most renowned association of practicing financial planners.

Fees: He currently charges Rs 12000-15000 for comprehensive financial planning; Rs 2500-6000 for single element planning and his hourly fees for consultancy & other services is Rs 1000/hr.

If you would like to use his services you can send him an email at hemant@tflguide.com – he will let you know the process & fees for your particular requirement. Turnaround time is 2 working days.

You can connect with Hemant on Linkedin, can follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his weekly newsletter.

You can also ask Hemant questions related to personal finance or his practice on this page.

 

37 thoughts on “Profile: Hemant Beniwal, Certified Financial Planner”

  1. Sir,
    I am doing my final year B.com and i want to pursue Cfp before working in Goldman sachs ,bangalore from may.
    I just wanted to know whether CFP is really valued in India.
    Also i want to know whether this course is a very tough subject to complete.

  2. Hello
    I am 39 yrs old ,single and have been investing since 2 years in these Mutual Funds via SIP Monthly.
    My time horizon is 15 yrs.
    How is my portfolio? Does it need any correction?
    Roughly how much can I generate from this portfolio.
    Franklin India Blue Chip- Rs 4K
    Hdfc Top 200- Rs 6k
    IDFC Premiur Equity- 3K
    ICICI Pru DIscovery Fund- 3k(will start this next month)
    SBI Dynamic Bond Fund- 3K
    Reliance Gold Saving Fund- 2K (Since last yr)
    PPF – Rs 1.5 K
    New Pension Scheme- Rs 3K
    All r monthly SIPS…
    R these funds Ok…do i need changes…
    Pls analyse my portfolio and suggest me accordingly..
    Thanks…

    1. I’ll let Hemant answer, but I don’t think it is reasonable for you to ask his advice on your portfolio on this forum, and you should much rather look at hiring him if his advice is what you seek.

  3. Sir,
    Im pursuing my graduation in bachelor of banking and insurance.Ive also registered myself with Icofp(mumbai) for cfp.Can you give me guidance how can i go abt it also are there any coaching classes for it.?What can i pursue after cfp?

    1. Hi Jason,
      I did my CFP through ICOFP – they provide training.
      CFP is a professional course so you can start your own Financial Planning firm or join some other financial firm.

      1. Thank you Sir! Can i pursue an MBA after cfp.If so in which field.? Also what is the least pay package i can expect after completion of CFP if i join a bank or any other financial institution.?

          1. Hi Jason,
            You can go for MBA finance – or dual finance/marketing. Financial Planning is a profession & pacakage or fees depends on your expertise. In starting your focus should be on learning rather than salary cheque.
            All the best.

  4. i like CFP course very well is this course is very easy or very hard
    please suggest one plan to complete this course

    1. Hi Teja,
      CFP is tough or easy depends on your education backgroud but it is a comprehensive course that give you great opportunity to learn. You can get in touch with IMS or Icofp to get the guidance.

  5. I shall paste the same comment again, I am Santosh Chavadi
    Certainly I will take the advice of a financial advisor. Only thing, I dont want to be carried away by Financial product seller, rather than an adviser.
    But the Pension Plan I mentioned was from Bajaj capital, which I suppose is investing in diversified mutual funds; is it not the best way to do it ? so to accumulate wealth I would also be doing the same, ie investing in mutual funds probably over 7-10 years. So I didnt understand why not leave this to professional fund manager for 37 years. Pardon me if I am terribly out of the way 🙁 . Happy week end.
    Regards

  6. Thanks a lot Hemant,
    Certainly I will take the advice of a financial advisor. Onlt thing, I dont want to be carried away by Financial product seller, rather than an adviser.
    But the Pension Plan I mentioned was from Bajaj capital, which I suppose is investing in diversified mutual funds; is it not the best way to do it ? so to accumulate wealth I would also be doing the same, ie investing in mutual funds probably over 7-10 years. So I didnt understand why not leave this to professional fund manager for 37 years. Pardon me if I am terribly out of the way 🙁 . Happy week end.

  7. Hi,
    Also want to know about Pension Plan. I read in Bajaj capital that investment of 50 k for a perior of 37 years assuming compounded annualised yield from diversified mutual funds at rate of 15 % can accumulate 1 crore. So that we can earn a pension of 1 -1.5 lakh a month. How are these option. Suggest me options available for the same.
    Regards…

    1. Hi Santosh,
      For pension plan
      Short answer is Avoid.
      Medium answer is Pension Plan is a Tension Plan.
      Let’s understand this (assuming right now you young) – this means you have to accumulate as much as you can through good products. No need to worry that what kind of products will give me pension when I will retire – In next 20 years we will see lots of new products emerging that will help us to get some regular income. Right now you should worry about accumulation of amount. Let’s take one example – you have to reach a destination that is 1000 km from your home. There are 2 ways to reach there:
      1. A slow train that directly reach there but take 2 days.
      2. You can take a fast train which will take you to mid-way & then there are lots of other options to reach your final destination. It will also save your 1 day.
      Which one will you choose – expenses are almost equal. 1st one is your so called pension plans. Second one is right now you accumulate till retirement & then choose best option that is available at that time. Hope it clarifies your question 🙂

  8. Hi, Hemant
    I want invest around 20 k every month in Mutual funds- SIP, Have divided as follows
    Large cap- DSP BR Equity fund- 2.5k, Franklin India Blue Chip- 2.5 k,
    Mid cap- HDFC Top 200- 2.5 k, Birla Sun Life Mid Cap Fund – Plan A-Growth-2.5k.
    Small cap- DSP Black Rock Micro Cap Fund- Regular -Growth- 2.5k
    Multicap- HDFC Equity- 2.5k
    Sector- Reliance bankiny fund(1000)- 2k
    ELSS- 3K
    Please let me know if its fine, or do you suggest any changes ? Should i include any balanced fund.
    Also suggest me any two Term insurance policy. i am investing 5 k in insurance every month.
    looking forward for your reply,
    Regards…

    1. Hi Santosh,
      I will suggest you to hire some financial advisor – I am not writing this bcoz I am a financial advisor 😉
      Actually from your question it looks you don’t have much idea about mutual funds.
      Your fund selection looks OK but DSP BR Equity is a multicap fund & HDFC Top 200 is a Large cap Fund.
      Again this line is wrong “i am investing 5 k in insurance every month.” Insurance is not investment it is an expense – mixing insurance & investment is dangerous.

  9. Hi,
    I should thank you for educating us on investment planning.
    I have a question, Recently I read about India Infoline Investment Services”
    IPO for NCDs opens on Aug 4, is going public with its maiden issue of the secured NCDs. The IPO, which has three investment options and yield on redemption up to 11.90 per cent per annum, will remain open till August 12 and allotment will be done on the ‘first-come-first-served’ basis.
    So 1- Do we get safe and guaranteed return of 11.9% if I invest in this?
    2- If yes is it not a better option than investing in bank FD’s ?
    3- What is the procedure to invest in these bonds?

    1. Hi ABC,
      I think you are talking about IFCI bonds.
      These bonds only makes sense when you are in lower tax slabs – if you are in highest tax slab you should avoid them. Now coming to performance part interest rates and bond price are inversely related – so if interest rate are going higher bond price will come down. (which is happening right now) If you will hold them till maturity – there will be no impact on your earnings.

  10. Hi Manshu,

    I would like to take opportunity to thank you for giving Nisha a really wonderful gift
    (comprehensive financial plan by “Hemant Beniwal”), this is just not worth Rs 15000, it is really undervalued b’cos this is a gift for the lifetime.

    I must tell you that Hemant is really a true professional to work with, he has immense knowledge in the field and his concepts are really very clear, he has given very clear paths to achieve our goals. He got so involved in the plan..I felt that my elder brother was teaching me the way of taking financial decision in life..thank you Hemant for great advice and i’ll always remember ‘if you can have honeymoon in manali don’t think of goin to Mount everest.’

    I would once again thanks “One Mint” for giving our life a great direction. I wish you both all the success in life.

    Kind Regards
    Nisha/Deepak

    1. This is by far the nicest and most thoughtful thing that anyone has ever said here, and I’m delighted and thankful to you for your warm wishes. I’m glad the contest worked out and am really thankful to Hemant for sponsoring it.

    1. Hi Sanjay,

      Thanks for asking question but I never thought this(direct equity) will be my first question here. 🙂

      Yes we provide advice on direct equity & most of the time our advice is “Don’t Invest in Direct Equity”. I think direct equity is waste of time for any investor.
      The biggest problem with direct equity is that a very small number of people can do it right. And people who can do it right don’t ask for suggestions or advice – they just do research & make their investments. But most of the people just feel they’re right, till they get really screwed big time when market makes a turn. Direct equity demands too much attention & at times it’s too addictive. And when you can’t control yourself, it can ruin your portfolio and wipe out your savings.
      I am having a big confusion that why people think they can beat mutual fund managers??

      1. Hi Hemant
        Exactly! I remember one instance …
        The day the Satyam scam came to light…
        All mutual fund managers had cleared their hands off Satyam within minutes off the letter being posted on the site of the stock exchanges (around Rs.150-180). The ones that had their hearts break were the ones that went to work as usual and watched the evening news with a cup of coffee (Rs.6 and Rs.12 on NSE and BSE). Fund Management best left to mutual fund managers unless you have invested in the JM Basic fund.

        1. Hi Loney,

          I have seen few people who have made good money in bad funds & few others who have lost tons in so called best funds.

          Most important factor in investor return is their behavior rather than product.

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