Frequently Asked Questions

Simply stated Financial Planning is a process to fill the gap between your 'Current' position and your 'Future' position. Financial Planning gives you a road-map for your future financial goals and objectives. It is like a Map or Guide which helps you reach the exact destination in the desired time by properly utilizing the adequate resources.

It is also important to note that Financial Planning is customized for individual needs, wants and dreams vis-à-vis their available and future resources. It is a myth, that Financial Planning is restricted to Investments. As a matter of fact investment is only a minute aspect of Financial Planning. The above explanation answers the question as to why you should be doing Financial Planning and also shows a holistic and need based approach which is used in Financial Planning to achieve your future goals and objectives.

Things were quite simple about 30 years back. There were FDs, RDs, Small Savings schemes & PPF. Insurance was essentially Endowment or Moneyback plans. Medical insurance was unheard of. Equity markets were not accessed by most. MFs were not there. Also, thankfully, the interest that one could get was in double digits. With low risk, one was able to get high returns.

Their requirements were few. Most from the previous generation were frugal ( there was not much choice ). They saved what they could, since everyone else was also like them, they did not feel there was anything wrong. They did not take loans & believed in living within their means.

Things have changed considerably since then. The salaries which people earn today have shot up. The aspirations have gone to the stratosphere as well. To take care of these lofty goals, one would need to save a lot more. The financial markets in the meanwhile have matured and are offering a rich variety of choices, which were just not there, a few decades back. Managing money has hence become a lot more complicated now, than ever before.

The amounts that are needed for the goals are high & the stakes are very high indeed.

People also have become very busy & are not able to devote time to understand their needs/ goals, what are the alternative scenarios/ strategies that they need to consider, what should be the mix of assets they need to have, which specific products would be suitable, implementing & managing the investments is not easy. People do not have the inclination, knowledge & time for these.

Considering the above, the complexities in terms of product offerings, the pretty high stakes, a good financial advisor becomes necessary.

You need to engage a financial planner based on their skills, experience, and expertise in the area, the quality of advice and other such parameters. Since good quality financial planners/ advisors are hard to come by, it would be wise to broaden the search beyond where you live.

With telecommunication tools available today & technology, one can have audio / video conversations with an advisor in any location. We have been using Skype and other remote access software tools for years now and have been servicing clients from across the country & even abroad. Apart from Chandigarh region, we have clients from Jammu, Ambala, Mumbai, Bangalore, Sri Ganganagar, New Delhi, Kolkata etc. We have clients even from smaller towns like Lalru, Mandi Gobindgarh, Mullana etc. We have clients from abroad from countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Malaysia, South Africa etc.

We are able to offer the same experience as in a personal meeting and that is why even most of our Chandigarh-Panchkula clients opt for virtual meetings. Our clients are happy whether they are from Banglore or Jammu. You don’t need to worry about that aspect when you deal with us.

Financial planners do not give any implicit / explicit guarantee of returns.As we believe that more than "Investment Returns", Financial Planning is about leading a disciplined financial life, having clarity of goals, being organized with your data and documents prepare for emergencies in life, take joint financial decisions etc – all leading to peace of mind, ability to achieve the goals in the time frame specified, through proper financial management. Better management of finances could incidentally result in higher than median returns – but that is incidental to the process.

Suresh Kumar Narula,is a registered with SEBI as Investment Adviser (RIA) under its regulations, 2013 and legally authorized to file GST returns as GST Practitioner under Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. This is a stringent regulation that allows the Advisor to only charge fees from clients and not receive any commissions/ incentives/ brokerage from product distribution.He has done M.com, Master of Finance & Control(MFC), Certified Financial Planner(CFP).

He will take in full charge and manage of your finance and will prepare a personlized Comprehensive Financial Plan and will be getting implemented and getting reviewed on annual basis. At PrudentFP, he will base his decisions on proper informed analysis, prudent judgement and diligent effort. He will consider & analyse the client situation, their specific needs & goals. Product and service recommendations offered need to be holistic & ensure to satisfy the client needs comprehensively. He is able to explain the rationale behind the advice being offered and how the advice is a good fit for their client.On his part, the client should engage with the adviser(him) with a view to understand the recommendations & his rationale from the adviser & get clarity on the subject matter of advice, rather than with a view to cross question or verify.The client must receive communications on a timely basis, either in electronic, written, verbal, or other modes that the client is comfortable with.

A Financial Planner is like a doctor. Only when you make a complete disclosure would a planner be able to come up with appropriate solutions. Half information given would ensure that the plan is inaccurate. Trust is important in this relationship. Confidentiality of data is assured with us. Hence, in your best interests, you should disclose full & correct information as we do not reveal this engagement or talk to you as a client unless you ask for it or the law permits.

Since you will be paying for professional, ethical advice which will help you manage your finances better, achieve your long-term financial objectives and get better returns, overall. A financial plan gives you clarity about goal achievement, direction you need to take, interplay of the effect of various goals and the commitments required for them, choice of appropriate investment vehicles for the intended purposes etc. Also, there would be better management of funds and consequently, the possibility of better returns.

CA is supposed to be an accountant who helps you in the compliance of govt. regulations, auditing and corporate taxation. He does not supposed to advise on individual personalized financial planning. Helping people to crystalise their objectives, and drawing and implementing a plan, taking into account their investment, risk, tax, retirement and other aspects, is only the work of a Financial Planner.

Many people tend to think that they just want advice to invest the amount they have at that point.

Without understanding the client context, their goals, their personal situation & what they have done till then, it is not possible to suggest where they need to invest.

We need to understand that investments are done to achieve certain goals or satisfy certain needs at specific points. Hence, it is important to comprehensively examine the whole client situation before offering portfolio advice. That happens only when a Financial Plan is created for the client.

When one goes to a Financial Planner, they would like to understand comprehensively the client’s situation. They seek to do a 360 degree, in-depth study of the client’s position, look at alternative scenarios, evolve strategies that would offer clients the best outcomes & finally recommending them the course of action.

If they have to do all this, the financial planner would need complete information so that they may be able to do their best work for their client.

Working with a financial planner is like working with a Doctor. One needs to disclose all the symptoms and other necessary background information for the Doctor to be able to come up with the right diagnosis & the treatment. Just like that, one needs to disclose everything to a Financial Advisor/ Planner, so that s/he may be able to come up with what is truly right for the client. It is hence in the best interest of the client to share all the information with the Financial Planner/ Advisor.

Financial Planners, especially those who are SEBI Registered Investment Advisers ( RIA ) [ like us ] have to ensure confidentiality of the information that they have gathered from the clients. They would enter into an agreement with their clients where they would expressly disclose the data confidentiality. So one need not worry about that aspect.

We have qualified professionals 'Certified Financial Planners' and GST and Tax Practitioner etc. who would guide you with the tax saving aspect also. Only after understanding your current income and expense details, we can recommend you sound tax planning strategies that would not only help you save your current taxes but also help you plan in advance to save future taxes. Thus, effective 'Tax Planning' is a part of Financial Planning process. Moreover, we use to file your annual income tax return as complimentary on every renewal of financial plan review.

Insurance and Mutual Fund Advisor are attached to a company and wants to sell their company’s products. Also, they may push products where their interests lie and not necessarily ones that suit your needs. A distributor may again push schemes which give their maximum brokerage. They do this as that is the only way they are remunerated and they are from the company’s side. We are from the client’s side and look at what is most beneficial in terms of fit and costs. Since we are paid fees by our clients, we retain our independence and advise without prejudice. Apart from that, since the financial planner knows the overall picture, the advise will be a lot more specific and will fit well.

Also like we mentioned before we are Registered Investment Advisers under SEBI and have assumed fiduciary responsibility. We are fee-only financial planners & advisers. It is in your interest to seek us out.