On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Dilshad Billimoria of Dilzer Consultants shares the challenges and opportunities for women financial planners in India.
What inspired you to get into financial advisory profession?
I was keen to pursue a career in hotel management but my father spotted my knack for numbers. He encouraged me to pursue finance and I agreed. I attribute my success to my father’s timely advice. After graduation, I earned a Bachelor’s in Business Management majoring in Finance. I began my career in 1998 with a large distribution firm for a brief stint of 1.5 years. I was always keen on setting up my own advisory firm. I floated Dilzer Consultants in July 2001. The passion to strike out on my own was all consuming.
What advantages do women financial advisors have over their male counterparts?
Thankfully, I was brought up to be independent by my parents. Moreover, women are said to be better financial planners because of their listening skills, emotional side, ability to empathise and great interpersonal skills. Studies have also shown that women entrepreneurs are better listeners. Effective listening is one of the most important skills in the financial planning industry.
Women do not normally call the shots even at home as far as investment decisions are concerned. This is true even for women who have independent source of income. As a finance professional, why do you think this is happening?
Unfortunately, in a traditional male dominated family set up, the husband calls the shots, which naturally flows into investment decisions. This is all the more prevalent in joint family and family business set ups. Even working women who come from a traditional background are not allowed to share their point of view in financial matters.
The paradox is that women who meet us for financial planning with their husbands, often come out with more practical and real life solutions and are more down to earth in planning for their financial goals.
With more initiatives providing financial literacy to women, like the DSP Black Rock Winvisor initiative, we are seeing more women, stepping forward and asking questions on their finances.
As a woman financial advisor, what are the challenges faced by you?
Every working woman multi tasks! They juggle roles of being, a mother, daughter, wife, sister, daughter-in-law and a counsellor to her clients. It does get difficult at times, but women are said to be stronger than men (mentally).
What is your advice to women who aspire to become financial planners?
This is the best profession for you if you are a woman. It requires, time, patience, a keen sense of listening and probing skills. It is a good opportunity for a women working from home and those who want to pursue a part time career. But remember to always work in the interest of your clients.
‘Women are perceived as more trusting and serious players in the business’
Tejal Gandhi, Money Matters shares her experience of being a woman financial planner in a male dominated industry.
What inspired you to get into financial advisory profession?
I used to work in a multinational bank for many years and found that women were not aware of even basic banking. I am talking of working women also. I wanted to help women and I left the bank and got into teaching basic banking to various target groups, including women. Some of them would seek my advice on various financial products and that's when I realized I had to be in practice to teach and understand the ground reality. I empaneled myself with IL&FS Investsmart as a channel partner to distribute financial products. Slowly, I graduated to become a financial advisor.
What advantages do women financial advisors have over their male counterparts?
- Women are perceived as more trusting and serious players in the business.
- Women have natural soft skills which make them more emphatic and not aggressive.
- Women have a more holistic way of looking at things when taking financial decisions.
- When a woman advisor is handling the finances of the family, then the whole family is involved in the financial decision compared to a male advisor.
Women do not normally call the shots even at home as far as investment decisions are concerned. This is true even for women who have independent source of income. As a finance professional, why do you think this is happening?
By and large, it is seen that women are a little less confident when it comes to investments - be it a homemaker or a working woman. They would like to get a reconfirmation when taking a financial decision or while making a financial investment.
Traditionally, it has been a man's domain and in many cases I have seen that the man of the house is not keen to involve the woman in financial decision making process.
As a woman financial advisor, what are the challenges faced by you?
- Keeping pace with technological changes.
- Cannot be very aggressive since it would be perceived in a wrong manner.
- Need to balance work-home in a holistic manner.
- Face competition from national distributors and banks/broking companies.
What is your advice to women who aspire to become financial planners?
There are very few women financial planners in India. With more women entering the workforce, there will be a huge demand for women financial planners. As the economy grows, the salaries would also increase. It will become even more essential to have good financial planners. It is the need of the hour.
