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Guwahati MFD Rahul Agarwal is the Director and Co-founder of IntyGritty MoneyTree where he manages about 4000 clients and has an AUM of Rs350 crore. When Rahul began his business in 2012 as an MFD, he observed that there was very low awareness in the north east about mutual funds. He said, “People in Guwahati just invested in FDs and real estate. Also, there was also a lot of mis-selling prevalent in insurance.” So, from the very start he focussed on doing IAPs to create awareness about mutual funds.
Today, their team of 30 has conducted over 250 IAPs across Assam and Manipur. They have even done some sessions in Surat and Bangalore. They make sure to do 2-3 IAPs every month; these IAPs have a conversion rate of about 15% to 20%. The number of people attending these sessions varies from 30 to over 100.
Rahul is of the opinion that the content for the IAPs is the most important factor and it should be kept very simple and basic. He says, “I discuss basics of mutual funds, importance of starting early and SIP benefits etc in a very relatable way for everyone to understand. I try to include examples to further uncomplicate finance concepts.”
He further adds that he prefers to do the sessions in the local languages to increase engagement. He says, “In some cases, during IAPs, we ask for assistance from local people to help us communicate if there is any help required.”
Rahul and his team conduct IAPs by collaborating with government organizations like PSU banks, health organizations, police and army. The discussions here are focussed on the needs of the government employees like retirement planning and importance of discipline in investment.
Secondly, they approach housing societies for IAPs, where apart from investments, emphasis is put on health and term insurance as most private sector employees don’t have these covered in their jobs.
The organizations and societies market the IAPs through flyers and WhatsApp messages.
Rahul also makes sure to conduct IAPs for housewives as he believes they are the key financial investors in a family. He says, “A lot men who are in business don’t get time to do investing, so the wives have to actually take most of the investment decisions.” Here he covers topics which connect with women like planning children’s education and how to plan your children’s marriage etc.
During sessions, he also encourages his clients to celebrate financial anniversary just like marriage anniversaries and keep a day where the whole family discusses about their savings, investments, insurance policies.
He also does IAPs for parents and kids above 10 years to educate them about budgeting and finances from an early age. He suggests parents to give piggy banks to their children where they can learn how to budget their expenses.
Rahul further aims to conduct more IAPs across the north east to make more people financially literate.
