Prashant Popat, a former dentist turned IFA is on a mission to cure people’s financial health in Rajkot.
Mumbai: Prashant Popat, a Rajkot based IFA and a former dentist wants to convert his clinic in to an office for his advisory business. The entire architecture has to change. His clinic’s walls will propagate the power of compounding effect of SIPs and photographs of scary infected teeth will be removed.
Changing tracks from medicine to finance, Prashant is among the increasing number of people with respected career backgrounds entering into a profession which is yet to gain people’s full respect. He was a practicing dentist for 12 years in Rajkot. His grandfather was also a doctor.
A number cruncher with good mathematical skills, his interest towards finance was evident from his school days. “The reason for jumping into financial advisory is to pursue my passion and make a living out of finance. The transition was not smooth as I had some naysayers who adviced me to continue with medical practice. Only a few of my close friends and family members encouraged me to follow my heart, recalls Prashant.
Prashant entered this field at a time when the distributor fraternity was still coming to terms with the entry load ban. For some time Prashant toyed with the idea of operating on a part time basis while continuing with his medical practice. Eventually, he decided that being a part time financial advisor-cum-dentist was hazardous to both choices. He would neither have been taken seriously by patients as a dentist nor by his clients as a financial advisor. Thus donning a dual role was not logical and he wound up his clinic to pursue his dream wholeheartedly.
Prashant started advising funds under national distributor NJ India in January 2010. Majority of his clientele belongs to the medical fraternity. Practicing as a dentist was a ‘pull’ service – where people would come to you and now he is into the push service – where you have to go the people. The tables have turned for him. Earlier patients paid a fee without him asking for it, now he has to convince his clients to pay a fee. Barring close friends, he’s been able to charge 70% of his clients an annual fee. All his clients trust him because of his medical legacy.
Ready & Steady to Go
Being a financial advisor, he doesn’t want to just cure people’s financial wounds by just prescribing the right schemes. He wants to graduate to CFP and project himself as a financial planner. Having earned an associate financial planner (AFP) badge, he has passed all five modules of CFP in July 2011. To utilize the CFP tag, he needs to have a minimum three years of experience as an IFA.
He wants to name his firm - Core Plus with a tagline- comprehensive, rational, & ethical. He has bought a domain for the same and will soon have a basic website.
He has built an AUM of Rs. 1.10 crore in 1 year in mutual funds. He is soon planning to float his proprietorship firm and is currently getting his brochures designed. Currently Prashant is only dealing in mutual funds.
People’s hesitance to share all personal financial details is restricting him to undertake comprehensive financial plan assignments. These days he is investing his time in marketing and branding himself and spreading the word about financial planning where he operates. Prashant’s case is a shining example of hope in uncertain and turbulent environment for the advisor fraternity.