Make The Most Of Your Money

If you have been toying with the idea of consulting a financial planner now is the right time to do so

- Anagh Pal

It is easier to navigate the ship when the sea is calm, but during a storm, an expert captain is needed to save the ship and the lives. Similarly in these trying times we need a financial planner to manage our finances.

Ananth Ladha, Founder, Invest Aaj For Kal draws from the Mahabharta to put across this point. “The role of the financial planner is always goal planning and managing emotions. I will just quote example of Mahabharat, Krishna being an advisor of Arjun, guided him all throughout. Most importantly when the war was about to begin, Arjun was wanting to leave it seeing his uncles and relatives in his front. That was the most critical part of Krishna when he managed Arjun’s emotions during difficult times.”

In March when the market was tumbling and came down by about 35 per cent from its peak, many investors sold their equity investments, but they are now regretting their decision as the market has recovered almost 25 per cent of losses. “So, instead of using that period as an opportunity to accumulate units for long-term goals, many put dent on their portfolio by exiting. A good financial planner might have stopped them from taking such wrong steps,” argues Col Sanjeev Govila (retd), CEO, Hum Fauji Initiatives, an investment advisor for facilitating Indian Armed forces.

In uncertain situations such as now, one tends to take decisions based on fear, which, more often than not are not wise and can adversely affect one’s finances. People often act on the advice from those who may not be equipped to provide a proper financial advice.