Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 14 (IANS): With financial markets and investment banking gathering momentum in India, the demand for financial advisers is set to peak and it will emerge as one of the most sought-after professions in the country like in western countries, an expert said.

Anilal S. Ravi, Executive Vice President of Envestnet, a leading provider of unified wealth management technology and services to investment advisers, told reporters here on Friday that unlike in the US where the markets and investment banking are on a high, in India things are only now falling in place in this sector.

"According to information, in India there are around 3,000 registered financial advisers, whereas in the US our solutions are used by 50,000 financial advisers, who advice people on investment options. Things are gathering pace in India too and we expect in five years time, the demand for financial advisers here also will hugely improve," said Ravi.

Envestnet, which is headquartered in the US, has been here in the capital city since 2004 and has a centre in Bangalore too. In the past 15 months its staff increased from 500 to 1,800.

"Our solutions enable the transformation of wealth management into a transparent, independent, objective, and fully aligned standard of care, and empower advisers to deliver better outcomes," said Ravi.

Envestnet has always been in the forefront in promoting start-ups and has invited 10 teams from engineering colleges selected from across the country to present their solutions which they have developed.

"This year we have selected the theme of 'health and wealth' and these 10 teams have been asked to come up with solutions in these two sectors and the two best solutions will be given cash prizes of Rs 3 lakh and Rs 1 lakh and it would be passed on to those who are interested to take it forward," added Ravi.