Tell us about your journey as a financial advisor.
I had worked with a few fund houses before venturing into mutual fund distribution. The 2008 crash was unexpected for both advisors and AMCs. Mutual fund investors had a bad experience then. There was a big void in the relationships between the clients and the distributor. Clients were feeling orphaned and that sparked the idea of starting a distribution company.
How do you go about acquiring new clients?
Our happy clients recommend us to their friends and family. We do not do cold calling. We acquire new clients only through referrals.
How do you engage with and service existing ones?
We share a weekly market wrap-up with clients to update them on key events of the week. Additionally, we schedule a quarterly portfolio review with all our clients to connect with them periodically.
For servicing clients, we have a dedicated team of relationship managers. The team handles all operational queries of the clients.
Why and when did you decide to digitalize your business by subscribing to online transaction platform like NSE NMF II?
The decision to shift the business online was based on three key reasons:
- Convenience: Processing transactions online is effortless and instantaneous compared to submitting physical forms
- Location no barrier: You can execute transactions from any corner of the world. Even if you have NRI clients, you can help them initiate transaction in mutual funds.
- Say bye-bye to cheque related hassles: There were multiple challenges in cheque transactions such as limited number of cheque leaflet and sign mismatch. Through the platform, you can set up automated clearing house (ACH) mandate of high value transactions.
Why did you go for NSE NMF II? What is that NSE NMFII provide which other such platforms do not?
As NSE is a professionally managed company, NSE NMF II was our first choice.
To be honest, I believe if a platform is able to cater to all your needs, there is no need to keep on comparing other products. As NSE NMF II offers all the necessary functionalities, I did not find the need to review other products.
How has the platform helped you grow business?
Digitising mutual fund transactions has helped us avoid manual data entry errors. The platform has helped eliminate forms and cheques rejection due to signature mismatch.
Apart from execution of transaction, which functions in NSE platform have you used the most?
We had our website in place, before NSE NMF II was launched. Thus, we integrated NSE NMF II with our website using API integration. Apart from that, we only use the platform for transaction purposes.
What are the areas of improvement in NSE NMF II Platform?
It will be really helpful if NSE offers quick IIN (investor identification number) generation facility (you can only initiate transaction on the behalf of your clients once their IIN is generated. IIN generation is only possible after client KYC is complete). While transactions can be executed instantaneously, waiting 1-2 hours for an IIN number seems very long.
Why do you think that distributors should use online platforms?
I think advisors have no option other than joining online platforms if they want to stay relevant in the business.
