Month: October 2018

Financial Prosperity God’s Way

Financial blogger

Financial Prosperity

Like so many people on the internet I have tried a number of ways of making “big” money on the web and yes, I have made at least one bad investment. There is more than one money making formula out there. Some formulas are good and some not so good. God knows more than a little about financial prosperity and He desires the Christian to prosper. However, God wants the Christian to prosper His way.

Formula to a Relationship

God desires that instead of looking to a formula, the Christian should look to Him and not to a formula. God wants you to shift your allegiance from a money making formula to a deep relationship with Him and then you will prosper the best way. Are you seeking to know God intimately and have a deep relationship with Him? He says in Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

The Financial Prosperity Revelation

God gave me a revelation of Matthew 6:33 and showed me if I would seek Him and put His agenda first place in my life then my prosperity would be manifested. Seeking God is the best investment in your destiny.

In Hebrews 11:6b He states, “He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

“Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart” (Psalm 37:4 KJV).

Serve God or Money?

Remember what is stated in Matthew 6:24 of the Living Bible, “You cannot serve two masters: God and money. For you will hate one and love the other, or else the other way around.”

Seek and love God with all your heart and get involved with His program. Good investment. He has just the formula for your success: a deep relationship with Him which will unfold the glorious destiny He has for your life. And that destiny does include prosperity.

But what if you refuse to do the will of God? Here is your answer: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21 KJV).

Like a closer walk with God?

Click “Closer Walk” below for FREE eBook.

Why Go For Financial Certifications

Financial blogger

Most newbies wish to find out how financial certifications help them with their professional aspirations and which exam makes most sense to go for.

Considering the fact that the candidates are from different backgrounds, the answer cannot be generalized. There are some who are already, in some way are related to the finance industry, some coming with IT backgrounds, some already possess a solid knowledge of financial products and involved instruments and a good general understanding of the industry, then there are those who before going for graduation in quant degree, would like to build up a more solid foundation with an official exam.

Some of the most sought after certifications are:

> Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) offered by CFA Institute (formerly known as AIMR):

Three levels –

* The Level I : introduction to asset valuation, financial reporting and analysis, and portfolio management techniques.

* The Level II :asset valuation, and includes applications of the tools and inputs (including economics, financial reporting and analysis, and quantitative methods) in asset valuation.

* The Level III : portfolio management, and includes strategies for applying the tools, inputs, and asset valuation models in managing equity, fixed income, and derivative investments for individuals and institutions.

> Financial Risk Manager (FRM) offered by GARP – Global Association of Risk Professionals

Two Parts –

Part I:

* Financial Markets and Products

* Foundations of Risk Management

* Quantitative Analysis

* Valuation and Risk Models

Part II:

* Market Risk Measurement and Management

* Credit Risk Measurement and Management

* Operational and Integrated Risk Management

* Risk Management and Investment Management

* Current Issues in Financial Markets

> Professional Risk Managers (PRM) offered by PRMIA – Professional Risk Managers International Association

Four Exams –
* EXAM I: Finance Theory, Financial Instruments and Markets
* EXAM II: Mathematical Foundations of Risk Measurement
* EXAM III: Risk Management Practices
* EXAM IV: Case Studies, PRMIA Standards of Best Practice, Conduct and Ethics, Bylaws

Then there are others like :
> The Financial Services Authority (FSA), a universal British finance regulator; you can take these two exams either together or separately, and theres also certificates in Investment Management and Corporate Finance if youre going down that route. (www.sii.org.uk)

> Associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA) – focuses the fundamental concepts and techniques for modeling and managing risk

> Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst (CERA) – centres around knowledge in the identification, measurements and management of risk within riskbearing enterprises

> Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA) – deals with financial decisions concerning retirement benefits, life insurance, annuities, health insurance, investments, finance, and enterprise risk management are made, including the application of advanced concepts and techniques for modeling and managing risk. (http://www.soa.org/education)

The thing they all have in common is that these certifications:
> help you to better equip yourself with the essential knowledge to pursue a career in finance
> empower you by adding credentials to your resume
> expand your professional opportunities
> provides you with the ability to network with some of the worlds leading finance professionals

Lets consider what the most sought after certifications have in store for you :

Talking from curriculum perspective:

The FRM curriculum goes into the detail on areas of financial and non-financial risk while the CFA curriculum provides a broad view of financial analysis in general.

The FRM Level 1 syllabus will overlap with some part of the CFA curriculum, mainly in the areas of quantitative analysis, portfolio theory, derivatives, and fixed income securities etc.

The FRM and CFA overlap at Level 2 is minimal. Still, some concepts that are mentioned briefly in the CFA curriculum, such as value at risk, credit risk, risk budgeting, and hedge funds, are expanded upon in level 2 FRM curriculum.

Exclusive to the FRM exams are readings on operational and integrated risk management, Basel II, current issues in financial markets, and case studies in risk management.

Broadly speaking, the FRM exams tend to have more of a quantitative focus than the CFA exams.

Regarding PRM syllabus, its almost the same as FRM syllabus with an overlap of almost 80-90%.
PRM is a bit more extensive and rigorous on quantitative part. CFAs or Actuaries who want a risk management certification prefer PRM since it grants them exemption of upto 2 exams.

CFA and FRM Exam are slightly more popular among test- takers and among employers because it has a longer history, however PRM is quickly gaining ground and all three designations have come to be equally respected.

Talking about the job opportunities:
The key thing to note is that job markets are diverse.
The CFA is helpful if you want to work in equity research or, say, become a debt analyst.
The FRM/PRM would be more relevant to a risk manager.
For other Financial Services jobs (e.g., consulting, sales, management), these credentials are elements that complement your overall presentation.
Like the MBA, they dont buy you advancement per se, rather they enhance your resume.

Let me assure you that among the industry, there is NO prevailing argument for or against one of the exams.

So take a look at the syllabi, test-structure and most importantly your long term career goals to make out which one suite you the best.
Once you zero-in, take the plunge!

Introduction To Financial Modeling.

Financial blogger

Financial modeling in Excel is one of the most versatile and powerful finance skills today. This skill is often a sought-after add-on to well-known financial designations such as CFA, CPA, CA, CMA and CGA. In a nutshell financial modeling is a process of building a multi-year forecast of a companys financial statements: income statement, balance sheet and statement of cash flows. The projected time period varies from one model to the next, the norm being 5 to 10 years.
Why is financial modeling so important? It is used in a variety of finance applications such as investment banking initial public offerings (IPO), secondary financings, mergers and acquisitions (M corporate banking; private equity; venture capital; equity research; corporate strategic planning and budgeting; and numerous other important applications. Below are just a few financial modeling application examples:

An investment banker builds a financial model of a mobile telephony software company that is going through an IPO process. The main outputs of the model will be metrics used in valuation: unlevered free cash flows (UFCF), earnings and net debt calculations. The financial model will be used in discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation. DCF, together with comparable trading and transactions valuation will be used in the companys ultimate valuation. The end goal of this modeling process will be to value the per-share offering price of the companys shares once they are listed on the stock exchange.

A credit-focused financial model is being built by the commercial lending unit of a major bank. This is a part of processing a large commercial loan application filed by a manufacturing company which is looking to expand its operations. The models emphasis is on the debt servicing ability of the company in question. The most important outputs that the commercial bankers will look at are debt to equity ratio, interest coverage and fixed charge coverage ratios.

An equity analyst builds a financial model of a company that his firm decided to initiate coverage on. The focus of the model is on DCF valuation and unlevered free cash flows generated by the company. Based on the models results the analyst will issue buy/sell/hold recommendations on the stock based on the relationship of his target stock price and the current market stock price.

A private equity firm is considering a 50% acquisition of an early stage pharmaceutical company that needs capital for sustaining its research and development (R&D) program. The private equity firm sees value and significant upside in this situation given the target firms pending patent applications. The purpose for building the financial model is to determine the price at which the private equity firm is willing to purchase the 50% stake, given the hurdle IRR (internal rate of return) rate of 35%.

A pulp and paper companys CFO prepares a detailed multi-year budget of the company. She uses Excel financial modeling techniques to achieve her goal. The model will contain a 5-year projection of the companys income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement and help the company assess future financing, staffing and operational needs. The multi-year budget will be submitted to the company CEO for review.

The financial modeling process is as much an art as it is a science. Solid financial modeling training through seminars and courses is a must for people seeking careers in many finance areas. These skills are further honed and advanced through the real-life work experience of building financial models.

The financial modeling process begins with gathering information. The analyst must become intimately familiar with the company he models, its industry and competitive landscape, its plans and prospects, and the strength of the companys management. Crucial pieces of information are the companys past financial reports, management interviews, conference call transcripts, research analyst reports, and industry publications. It must be noted that this information gathering exercise is much more challenging when modeling a private company as opposed to a public company. Private company information can often only be obtained through direct access to the company insiders.

An typical Excel financial model will consist of the following parts:

Assumptions. These are the models inputs. Assumptions are based on the companys historical information as well as its future plans and current market trends.

Historical and projected financial statements income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement. Projections are based on historical performance and model assumptions.

Supporting schedules including working capital schedule, capital expenditures (CAPEX) schedule, debt schedule, and tax schedule.

The models outputs depend on the primary purpose for building the model. In many cases modellers focus on earnings, unlevered free cash flows, capital structure and debt capacity.

Scenario and sensitivity analyses are often incorporated into the models, including scenario managers, data tables and charts.

Financial models often serve as foundation for more detailed further analysis such as valuation, M&A merger modelling (accretion/dilution analysis), LBO analysis and Monte Carlo simulations.

So what does it take to be a good financial modeller? Accounting and finance knowledge is compulsory. In-depth understanding of financial statements and relationships between line items of the income statement, balance sheet and the cash flow statement is an absolute must. Microsoft Excel proficiency is another prerequisite. A good modeller not only knows Excel functions, tools and formats, but also is quick and efficient in using Excels numerous keyboard shortcuts. Sometimes it takes years of Excel modeling to become truly proficient at this task.

Financial Aid Application FAFSA Conquering Your Financial Aid Application

Financial blogger

Grants and scholarships are free money that can help you pay for college or any vocational/technical schools:

If you are looking for free money to attend college or any institution of higher education, you must file the FAFSA as early as possible after January 1st of your senior year. If you have been out of high school for a while, you can file your FAFSA after you have applied to college or any institution of higher education. Grants and Scholarships are considered “gift aid” or free money because you don’t have to pay it back. Any kind of grants that you receive is need-based and scholarships are merit-based. There are numerous grants that you can qualify for by filing the FAFSA such as Pell Grants, SEOG (Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants), State Grants, Minority Grants, Disability Grants and Graduate Grants. You will not know if you qualify for these grants unless you file all of the appropriate applications.

Financial aid component is probably the most important piece in the whole college attendance process because this will determine where you will attend school. It all comes down to money. It is extremely important that you file the FAFSA form to see if you qualify for any need-based money available from the Federal and State government. The amount of financial aid that you will receive will depend on many factors such as the size of your family, siblings in college, family’s gross adjusted income, cost of attending a particular institution of higher education, etc.

Why you must file the FAFSA in order to receive any financial aid to help you further your education? Conquering college expenses

Whether you think you will qualify for a need-based financial aid or not, you should apply for financial aid every year that you plan to attend college. There is no cut-off income to qualify for financial aid because it all depends on the factors mentioned above. The institutions of higher education will use your financial profile to award you any of their own money. Even though, scholarships are merit-based, the institutions will most likely use your financial profile to determine how much money they will award to you.

Besides the FAFSA, most private institution of higher education will require that you file the CSS Profile. This financial aid application is an institutional form that will dive deeper into your financial status to determine how much you can afford to pay for your college education. The saving grace here is that these institutions that requires the CSS Profile are usually well endowed and they will usually give you a generous financial aid package if they really want you to be a member of their incoming freshman class.

Financial Inclusion & Payment System – Exhibitors

Financial blogger

Financial Inclusion and Payment Systems Conference will be a landmark event, scheduled to take place on 24-25 October, 2013. With a broader approach and explicitly defined sessions and the top participants, the Global FIPS Conference will be a unique opportunity to engage with a broad range of players in financial inclusion and payment systems space. The Conference will witness a collaborative environment among the top stakeholders, where the relevant issues will be addressed, and the road map to achieve 100 % Financial Inclusion will be put.

FIPS 2013 will take into account the very essence of inclusive growth, thereby highlighting on the achievements, shortcomings and challenges on our way to overcome.

Financial Inclusion & Payment System

About FIPS

Beginning with 2005 – the United Nations’ -International Year of Microcredit’, academics, think-tanks, commentators and others in large numbers started thinking and talking aloud on the need for financial inclusion programmes to be included as one of the goals in the Millennium Development Targets. Many further pointed to financial inclusion as a gap impeding the target of inclusive growth. In India, the Government has started experimenting with its Business Correspondent and Facilitator model (-BC-), in combination with the agency banking. The initial years’ policy flip-flop and the resultant lackluster impact have generally rendered the stake holders disillusioned. But taking a cue from the failures certain corrective steps have been taken, but still been tentative.

Although the no-frill accounts & the BC operated agency banking framework has undergone many changes it is still not a reasonable business proposition for the agents. This failure is especially grave because peer experience shows that a strong agent’s network is one of the strongest indicators for success.

If the agents are to be successful there has to be a robust payments infrastructure and settlement mechanism. The Department of Banking and Financial Services, and the finance ministry are both now urging the Reserve Bank of India to include financial inclusion in its plans as India’s central bank moves forward with modernization plans for the Indian payment system. India has miles to go before catching up with Brazil and BRICS partner countries.

While India continues to be a power house in its own right, the sheer size of its sub-continental neighbours are also extremely important. Pakistan and Bangladesh are not falling behind and each nation, despite their own challenges are improving their own Financial Inclusion drive significantly. Bangladesh’s record in financial inclusion is remarkable; the advent of mobile banking for the unbanked by as many as 16 Bangladeshi banks is a welcome news. Same is the recent spurt in Pakistan. And in the near future as the relations amongst the nations in the sub-continent improves in general line, more cross border trade, tourism, financial services need to stay atuned to more modern trends

In this back ground ,therefore, the Financial Inclusion and Payment Systems 2013, Delhi Conference (-FIPS 2013 Delhi) will deliberate, debate and finally set forth a strong message for the right direction & the required steps to be taken in view of the experience gathered during the past decade in detail and seek to provide a roadmap for a better and inclusive society.

The takeaway from the conference will give everyone an opportunity to showcase worldwide efforts towards greater financial inclusion at a time in which the financial inclusion programme mandated through the G20 takes on new importance. For example, the Alliance for Financial Inclusion.is devoting significant new resources and is gaining momentum as it has already enrolled more than 100 member countries throughout the world today, from a meagre 6 when it started .

FIPS 2013 Delhi will be aiming at improving the lives, destinies and opportunities of the almost one and one-half billion people living on the Indian subcontinent. Moreover, by working to improve their lives, this conference will also seek to draw from and improve global best practices, through reflective and frank discussions of the achievements, the shortcomings and the challenges on our path to achieving the financial inclusion of humanity. It thereby aims to learn from the peers and translate it in an unique way to fit the each country’s own legacy, its state of readiness and adapt it for the benefit of all the stake holders, and foremost amongst them the people who deserves it.

Potential of BFSI for financial inclusion

For economic growth globally there is one segment, which is growing at frenetic pace everywhere – BFSI segment, and the emerging markets are driving the growth story, led by the fashionable reference point of a league of comparable nations or G10 comprising the BRICS. Brazil is the star amongst the nations, simply because of the democratic traditions, while China today is undisputed king amongst nations despite being number 2 to US for the next 10 odd years. Hence the theory propounded at the G20 meetings took upon the global challenge of spearheading Financial Inclusion-led financial deepening as infrastructure, energy, industry and agriculture, all are relatively longer gestation driving up demands and augmented supply to match the growth potential. So along with energy & climate change & emission, financial inclusion issues get equal weightage. But significantly enough, unlike in energy and climate-control issues here the developed and developing nations are bickering and at loggerheads, but on Financial Inclusion there is almost unanimity, although there is degree of difference in commitment level even amongst BRICS. Everywhere Financial Inclusion is top agenda of reform by the governments irrespective of private sector participation level. Brazil, India, South Africa, Indonesia, Mexico, Turkey, Argentina and every major G20 nations are actively pursuing Financial Inclusion mission overzealously.