IFAs share their memorable moments
Nikhil Mehta – The most memorable moment for Mehta was when he had to address 400 delegates consisting of IFAs and AMC officials at a seminar organized by ASK Circle. It was a challenging task for him because he had never been a speaker in any event.
He addressed the gathering on ‘ How can IFAs utilize technology and control cost’. When Mehta got on to the stage he had butterflies in his stomach. “It is not easy to address 400 delegates, many of them industry veterans, in my first public speaking opportunity. But when I started my speech, the audience boosted my confidence with loud applause. Listeners seemed interested in my speech on how I have used technology to cut down costs and deliver better service to my clients,” said Mehta.
He did not realize that he had crossed his time limit as the audience too was engrossed in his talk. It was a moment of pride and victory for him when the anchor appreciated him for his excellent delivery. “It was the most memorable moment during 2012 because it made me realize that I am an excellent speaker. As a first time speaker, I also had stage fear but the ASK Circle event has boosted my confidence and I look forward to delivering many such speeches,” said Mehta.
Vivek Shah – Vivek has been into financial planning for quite some time. Usually clients approach him to make routine financial plans. But in March last year, an elderly client approached him for making a retirement plan. The client was retiring in September and needed Rs 1 lakh every month to meet his expenditure. He had made a few investments but they did not look sufficient to meet his goals.
This was a unique challenge for Vivek as the client was solely dependent on the returns generated through his investments.
After working hard on the client’s portfolio, Vivek came up with a financial plan. Vivek was confident that his plan would help the client meet his goal. But he had to wait for the final result in September when the actual outcome of the plan would come out. “It was tough for me as I had no room for making any mistake,” recalls Vivek.
It turned out to the most exciting and memorable plan he had ever made because the client received the exact amount after his retirement.
Suresh Sadagopan – Suresh is one IFA who emphasizes financial planning and tries to educate investors about importance of financial planning. It gives him a great sense of fulfillment to see investors realizing the power and importance of financial planning. So last year, he was pleasantly surprised when a few investors asked him to create a financial plan on their own – without any prompting from Suresh.
When Suresh asked his clients that why they wanted to do financial planning, one of them said, “I have been investing for a while now. But I want to do a complete analysis to ascertain whether I am in the right direction in terms of achieving my goals. Therefore, I want to create afull-fledged plan.”
For Suresh, 2012 was a memorable year when the increase in awareness in financial planning actually resulted in clients!
