Change is not bad; in fact, it gives us opportunity to learn, believes Rajiv Sabharwal, MD, Tata Capital and Chairman, Tata MF.
At CIFA 2019, Rajiv took advisors down the memory lane and motivated them to tackle the changes in the industry head on. Talking about past disruption in the industry such as entry of banks in distribution space and technology changing business dynamics, he reminded advisors that how they have successfully adapted their business each time and flourished.
Sharing examples from his own life, Rajiv drove home a powerful message, “While people say that change is the only constant, in reality, the only constant is that when some doors close, many more open.”
He attributes this belief to two facts:
- India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world providing plenty of opportunities.
- This generation (alluding to the generation to which he and the IFA community belongs) has been a hard-working one, which has dreamt big and made these dreams come true.
At the same time, he empathised with the concerns faced by the advisory community. He confided that when they (Tata Capital) first moved from upfront to trail, they felt terrible about the change. However, as time passed, they realised that it was for the best.
Similarly, he believed that the recent regulatory changes would be beneficial in the long term. According to him, customer focussed measures will help build investor’s faith in mutual funds. Consequently, the industry will see more investors investing in mutual funds. While these measures may lead to reduce margins of distributors in near term, in the end as market grows, distribution business will benefit from it.
In the face of current challenges, he urged advisors to harness technology to become more competitive and increase their reach. He encouraged advisors to spend maximum time on understanding client and his family's aspirations so that they could tailor their advice to them. Focus on adding value to your clients and leave the operational bits to technology, he said.
He closed the session by urging advisors to prepare themselves and their team for handing change as disruptions happen. "Don't let anyone be too comfortable in a role. If you see your team members getting comfortable give them new responsibilities. Constantly, challenge your team as it will equip them to handle any change," he advised the audience.
