Sapna Narang,Tejal Gandhi and Yogita Dand share how they turned financial advisors what has helped them excel.
Sapna Narang, Capital League
I moved into this line about 17- 18 years back while working in the banking
industry. I found it interesting and continued with it. About 10 years back I realised that many clients were looking for a trusted confidante for investment advice and a brand name did not necessarily mattered to them. Thus I decided to leave the banking industry and pursue Investment Advisory profession as an IFA.
Hard work, client focus and team building are the key to my success. Continuous education for self and team is also important to keep improving ourselves.
I think women have a natural edge as advisors. To be a good advisor one needs to first 'Listen' and 'empathise' with the client family. Being 'nurturers', women are naturally inclined to empathise and listen. These soft skills are more important than technical skills in building a clientele. They are the corner stone of building long term relationships.
Over and above these, an advisor of course needs to keep abreast of changes in economy, markets, products etc.
Tejal Gandhi, Money Matters
When I was working in a bank I came across urban working women at senior positions struggling to manage their finances. On probing, I used to get a generic reply (with few exceptions) that – ‘My 2 -3 month's salary is just lying idle in the bank and I don't know what to do and how to go about it’. So the inspiration to look at financial literacy for women inspired me to move on to take up various investment awareness programs. The transition to investment advisory happened naturally.
Success is relative and one needs to put efforts at all stages.
Factors which have made things work is consistency and belief that there is a huge need for women to take finances in their hands and make them realize that they have to take financial decisions on their own. Consultation with spouse, brother or father is important but finally women need to be in control of their finances. I work at different levels with clients and at times have evolved with them in many life related decisions. A few women clients I have worked with have themselves become change agents to handle the family's finances.
When we see some of the women clients following their road map it is indeed gratifying to know the true meaning of this profession. Only the top of the surface has been scratched so there is so much work to be done.....there is a long path to follow.
A lot of surveys have also shown that there are many gaps which remain to be filled especially in Tier 2 and 3 cities.
One important factor that has helped is patience because results take time but they do happen if you persevere.
For women to excel in this profession we have to be:
- Get tech savvy for the future
- Knowledgeable about various aspects of soft skills and technical skills
- Adaptive to regulatory changes
- Live the client's goals to make them real and be deadline driven.
- And of course basic traits which have to be common amongst men or women like trusting, confident, maintain client confidentiality.
Yogita Dand, Asky Financial Services
I have always been passionate about personal finance since my school days,
however it was only when I took up my job with a private firm did I realize the various options of investing. At one point of time, I took up insurance and mutual fund agencies, just to have an alternate source of income. However it was only in 2011, when I took up CFP certification, I realized the dire need of professionals in investment advisory profession who would be client centric and lead their clients on the right path of investments, risk protection etc. This was my calling and this led me to chuck my job to take up advisory profession on a full time basis.
I attribute my success to being completely client centric, being emphatic and understanding the concerns and anxieties of the clients. This helps me build complete trust and my clients stay with me for a long time to come.
Women are born emphatic and warm in nature. If this is carried to their professions, it will help them excel in all fields, not only in the advisory profession. In fact, life planning as a concept in financial planning, is now gaining importance in India and I sincerely feel women IFAs will excel in it, because of their inborn nature.
