A lot more awareness has to be created in women about financial services. This underlines the need for the inclusion of women policymakers in designing financial services so that the female perspective is kept in mind. If women are not involved in financial product design and service delivery, then the needs and preferences of women customers may be less likely to be reflected in the marketplace.
1. What attracted you to finance? How did your formative and learning years influence you to become what you are today?
Poor financial education is a major problem in society and Kredent InfoEdge was the earlier one to realize this. Since 2008, the organization has been focused on training retail investors on various aspects of financial management.
After working in Mumbai at JM Financials, I joined my family business of proprietary trading and expanded it to 300 people setup.
Armed with a major in finance from IIM Indore and a passion to give back to society I started the financial market education wing in the name of Kredent Academy in the year 2008. The objective was also to groom the right talent for trading and/or research and then add them to the trading desk.
2. Your dream of teaching finance to everyone has helped thousands of people become financial literates. What would be your suggestions on how to go about understanding basic financials from a young age?
None of us were born knowing how to handle our finances. It’s a skill that we learn over time. But there’s no reason young people have to learn all their financial lessons the hard way. They can simply follow few essential financial skills like - Basic Budgeting, bank accounts basics, understanding wants vs needs, understanding nothing is guaranteed, the importance of saving for emergencies, and how to develop a positive credit history.
3. What is your take on the current education system with respect to financial education?
Young people are leaving school without the basic skills to manage their personal financial affairs, putting them at high risk for not being able to plan responsibly for their financial future. In order to obtain competence in financial literacy, students must have the training to discern the best way to protect them from becoming victims of financial ignorance. This ignorance can be tempered through financial education. Educating our future leaders about personal finance is extremely important.
4. Being the founder (or co-founder) of multiple leading financial ventures like Kredent, Irage, E-learn markets, and StockEdge, you have gained immense knowledge and experience. What is your advice for someone who’s starting out in this field?
Before entering the financial services industry, you should discover what it is really about. Then decide on the particular field you want to work in. This profession has more to learn than you can know in a lifetime. Always keep learning and analyzing information.
As you become more knowledgeable you will start to chart your own course and form your own opinions. And it is this that will differentiate you from everyone else. Build your interpersonal skills as much as your technical skills. Your long-term success will depend on it.
5. How can one know if finance is the field for them?
If you are good with numbers and love to hear jargon like Investment Banking, Private Equity, Venture Capitalist, Stock Market. Then you surely interested in Finance.
6. It is observed that in many countries, women display lower financial knowledge than men. What do you think has to change in order to bridge this gap?
A lot more awareness has to be created in women about financial services. This underlines the need for the inclusion of women policymakers in designing financial services so that the female perspective is kept in mind. If women are not involved in financial product design and service delivery, then the needs and preferences of women customers may be less likely to be reflected in the marketplace.
7. Which books/journals would you recommend for someone who is starting out on their financial education?
I would suggest everyone go through the free content we have hosted at elearnmarkets.com/school. We have aggregated quality text-based learning content on various aspects of finance. Also, we have given book summaries of top finance and financial market books which are a must-read for any serious market practitioners.
Vivek Bajaj has 17 years of experience in financial markets. He is a Chartered Accountant, Company Secretary, and an MBA from IIM Indore (2005). He started his career as an analyst, went on to become a full-time trader and the co-founder of Kredent, one of the largest proprietary trading desks in India and also the co-founder of Irage, one of the largest algo trading desks in India.
He is an avid learner and believes in the theory of sharing knowledge and wisdom. He founded Kredent Academy in 2008 to teach finance to everyone. In 2014 he co-founded elearnmarkets.com, India's only dedicated BFSI learning portal with over 700K learners. He is also the co-founder of StockEdge App, India's top-rated Stock Analysis app with over 2 Million downloads.
Interviewed By: Nishad Kinhikar
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