“Indore’s Insurance & Investment Advisors Association was instrumental in reducing ARN fee”

When was the group established? And what was the driving force behind this initiative?

Established in the year 2000, Indore’s Insurance & Investment Advisors Association (IIIAA) is registered under the Societies Act and boasts of 63 members. Our members meet on the first Friday of every month to discuss the trends and developments in the financial sector.

Initially, our focus was on the insurance sector. But later on, as the organization members started dealing in mutual funds too, we re-christened the name ‘Insurance & Investment Advisers Association’. The idea behind forming this group was to provide a platform for all the advisors in Indore to discuss and solve the problems faced by advisors & investors and improve upon their skills/capabilities.

Do you also charge a membership fee?

Yes! We charge an annual fee of Rs 2500.

How often do you interact with AMFI/SEBI regarding the issues related to mutual fund industry?

We do interact with the regulatory bodies as and when required. Initially, we found it difficult to get in touch with AMFI/SEBI and hence, decided to join hands with The Foundation of Independent Financial Advisors (FIFA). This arrangement has helped us to raise our views and suggestions to the authorities more efficiently.

Any major achievement in the past you would like to share with us?

We requested AMFI to bring down the ARN fee and are grateful that AMFI has responded positively to the matter. In fact, the ARN fee has been waived off for individual and senior citizens till September 2013. Also at one point, IFAs were required to attend two-day CPE to renew their ARN. We requested AMFI to make it one-day program as it created a lot of inconvenience for outstation IFAs to attend two-day CPE.

How are AMCs supporting you?

We get a very healthy response from them. Fund houses keep frequent training sessions for the IFAs in Indore and regularly update us on the products and markets.

Can you share with us the vision for the group?

Going forward, we would be reaching out to more advisors. Our association is holding an ‘Investor Awareness & Education Expo’ on 15^th, 16^th and 17^th November, 2013 in Indore. Through this expo, we plan to  reach  out  to  investors  and  create  awareness  about  mutual  funds,  insurance  and  other  investment  avenues. The expo also aims to  educate  and  clear  various  misconceptions associated  with  these  investment  options  and  to  reposition  them  as  a  new  way  of  saving.