Not justifiable to accuse an agent for miss-selling of financial products

consult

The agents/advisors are an important part of financial services sector as they are product agnostic. We just need to understand through them, their product and direct them to get the products and the services in line with the financial blue prints designed and laid by the Financial Planners. But ridiculously we hire these executors of financial products for planning and advising for our financial goal. In such a case we our self compel them to miss-sell technically.

“Buyers beware” is an old proverb which is applicable to each and every buy and sells transaction between a sales person and the customer. The same principle is applicable here too. An agent/advisor (who are basically a sales person of a particular company with various name given to them) of the asset classes like insurance, mutual fund, and others savings & investment products, has a function only to sale and serve for such products. He is not supposed to know about your taxation, comprehensive and complex financial need and various other technical issues as these are not his area of work. His role is to sale you a financial product and give you the services as required .In fact his role starts when the financial planning ends. He represents one asset class or one company within an asset class and supposed to know only about his company and its products.

The investors need to plan his overall personal finance strategy through a CFP and only after having the blue prints of the investment strategy; the products can be acquired through these professional agents and advisers . The investors need to understand the difference between the planner and the executor and hence assign the respective roles to keep themselves away from technical miss selling of financial products. The professional agents are very efficient and dedicated for their own business but they aren’t technically eligible and duty bound to do a comprehensive and strategic financial planning and advises.

So hence the core agents and advisers’ fraternity could not or should not be held responsible for miss–selling, if any investors are issued products through them on their advises. The government in fact should come forward to regulate this important issue and empower and authorize the Financial Planner professional for promoting financial planning before product executions, as a step to eradicate technical miss sale of financial products to prudent Indian Investors.