New Delhi, Aug. 18 -- On 25 July, a fellow member of the Association of Registered Investment Advisors (ARIA) and I reached the final of the first quiz for securities market intermediaries, organised by the National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM), Sebi's education body. We won.

For a moment, I wondered if this was another first. I was India's first CeFT (Certified Financial Transitionist) and had been part of the first-ever CFP (Certified Financial Planner) convocation in India.

The thought passed quickly. We had won, and that was enough.

What stayed with me was what happened next. A number of NISM students who had participated in the quiz came up to ask how we knew so much across a range of topics. Their question stayed with m...