The recently formed Independent Consultants & Advisor Association (ICAA) conducted its first event for advisers last week with the theme ‘Expanding the earnings for IFAs’. Over 200 IFAs from the eastern states of India participated in the daylong event
Talking about the association’s first event, Sanjeev Chakraborty, President, ICAA says, “We wanted to focus on the strengths of the advisory community instead of cribbing over constant regulatory changes. In the eastern part of India, many IFAs are unable to attend the events conducted in different parts of the country. So we decided to hold an event that could benefit IFAs in our area.”
IFAs from Dhandbad, Dumka, Siliguri, Jalpaiguri, Contai, Durgapur, Asaansol, Burdwan, Patna and other parts of Bengal and Jharkhand participated in the event.
Many industry officials attended the event as guest speakers and shared tips with IFAs on how to grow their business.
The most awaited session was on the impact of recent regulatory changes on MF industry and how IFAs can make the most of it. The panellists included Debashish Mohanty, Head-Retail, UTI AMC, Swarup Mohanty, CEO, Mirae Asset, V Ramesh, CEO, MF Utility, Aniruddha Choudhuri, AVP, ICICI Prudential AMC of Kolkata region and Manoj Sinha, Zonal Business Head, SBI MF.
Balkrishna Kini, Dy. CEO of AMFI spoke on the role of AMFI and the initiatives undertaken by AMFI for IFAs. ICAA took this opportunity to make a few suggestions to AMFI. The association has requested AMFI to raise awareness about mutual funds in rural areas through advertising. They also suggested to AMFI to provide group insurance to ARN holders by charging an additional Rs. 1,000 while renewing ARN.
ICAA has been organising workshops on practice management to help B15 IFAs get better at their business. “With the constant regulatory changes, many young IFAs in our area are not keen to continue in this profession. To equip them to face the challenges, we have been organising training sessions on a number of topics including time management, client interaction, practice management, etc. in the last few months,” adds Sanjeev.
ICAA has been actively helping IFAs, especially in smaller towns, during difficult times. Speaking on the rationale behind forming this group, Sanjeev says, “Advisers in B-15 cities are completely neglected. Our group primarily caters to smaller IFAs and empowers them with professional knowledge and expertise to make them self-sufficient. ICAA aims to work proactively for the welfare and development of budding IFAs.”
