The fourth edition of Pune Independent Financial Advisors’ Association (PIFAA) Smart Money Seminar saw over 1,000 participants, claims PIFAA. In addition, the live telecast of the event drew 15,000 viewers on Facebook and YouTube across India, US, UAE, Europe and Singapore. The event was held over two sessions on April 13, 2019.
Swarup Mohanty, CEO, Mirae Asset MF talked about the topic close to everyone’s heart – ‘Continuing SIPs’. His message to investors was SIP is a process of collecting units and you collect more units in bearish markets than rising ones. Don’t panic during corrections, stay disciplined and continue with your investments, he urged investors.
Nilesh Shah, MD, Kotak MF talked about the positive changes in Indian economy in the last few years. Acknowledging the sharp movement in the index on election result day, he advised investors to take a contrarian call if they wish to trade on the result. However, he reminded investors that while markets moved sharply on the day of election result, it was finally the fundamentals which determine their long-term direction.
In the panel discussion Radhika Gupta, CEO Edelweiss MF, Aashish Somaiyaa, MD and CEO Motilal Oswal MF and Swarup Mohanty talked about the role of an advisor, importance of asset allocation and active fund management. Pune IFA Bharat Phatak of Wealth Managers India moderated the session. The session concluded with a beautiful poem by Radhika ‘Kamaal Ka Dost Hai Woh’ dedicated to financial advisors.
The evening session saw Ashutosh Bishnoi MD and CEO, Mahindra MF talk about investments and financial goals.
Krishan Sharma, Associate VP and National Lead Training at HDFC MF urged investors to ignore short-term noise, as ‘we are investors not traders’. He called investments a tirth yatra (pilgrimage) in which there will be some difficulties but investors need to be disciplined if they want to achieve their goals.
The final session of the seminar was a panel discussion titled ‘Mutual funds sab ke liye hai, teji aur mandi sab jaruri hai.’ It was moderated by Pune IFA Bhushan Mahajan. Gaurav Suri, Senior Executive Vice President & Head Marketing, UTI MF, Jatinder Pal Singh, Chief Marketing Officer, Mahindra MF, Saugata Chatterjee, Co-Chief Business Officer, Reliance Nippon MF and Gaurav Goyal, National Head – Sales and Distribution Principal MF talked about keeping investors motivated in bear markets and the future of the mutual fund industry.