Jalpa Broker, Mumbai
I used to file income tax returns and handle scrutiny cases. After a few years, I started losing interest as I found it very monotonous. Advising on tax was not making any difference to my client’s life and so, I was keen on moving beyond tax planning.
I felt that financial advisory would help me forge a close relationship with people. So in 2003, I started distributing insurance and mutual funds.
But this was merely distribution and I wanted to adopt a more holistic approach to managing people’s finances. I wanted to help clients fulfil their financial goals. So I started learning about making financial plans and in order to understand the practical aspects of implementing a financial plan, I designed a plan for myself. Gradually, I convinced most of my clients to enrol for financial planning.
Today, I cater to 130 families, mostly women clients, who have enrolled for a complete financial planning package.
Advise to budding women IFAs:
- Focus on building true relationship with your clients instead of focusing only on growing AUA.
- Try to reduce cost by using technology and leveraging the latest digital trends.
Anita Kanbargi, Belgaum based IFA
I used to work at an organisation in the administration and accounts department. So when my husband quit his job to become a financial adviser, I joined him as I felt there was a tremendous opportunity. We started with postal savings, life insurance, income tax return filing, etc. initially.
As our clientele grew and people started acknowledging our competence, many investors who had had a bad experience with assured return MF schemes approached us. That was the time when the MF industry saw entry of many new players. So we expanded our offering by taking up MF distribution. This is how we started our journey in the mutual fund industry. Today, we have more than 1,000 clients with AUA of Rs. 88 crore in MFs.
Some of the key things that helped us excel are:
- Awareness programs: Our success can be attributed to the constant education programs which we have been conducting for investors. Though we didn’t see results immediately our effort paid off as people started calling us to know more about mutual funds.
- Learn continuously: This profession requires a lot of knowledge. So we attend a lot of training programs conducted by AMCs as it helps us learn more about mutual funds.
Advice to budding women IFAs: This is the best profession for women who wish to help people achieve their financial goals. I believe more women should consider this profession as they have what it takes to be better advisers. They should focus on women investors because they can understand them better.
