Learnings and insights at Cafemutual Ideas Fest 2025

The 12th edition of Cafemutual Ideas Fest was held on March 5 at Sahara Star, Mumbai. The event was attended by 520+ MFDs and saw 16 sessions conducted by experts from both outside and inside the industry.

Here are the brief highlights of the sessions.

Personality traits of a successful MFD - Prem Khatri, Founder and CEO, Cafemutual

• Honesty and integrity are essential to build trust for an MFD
• Distributors need to have empathy for their clients' savings
• Patience and communication skills help an MFD make better decisions for his clients’ portfolios
• Problem solving skills are needed for a distributor to offer the right investment solutions to his clients
• Persuasiveness helps a distributor get more clients and explain the benefits of the recommended products
• Proactiveness is essential for an MFD to keep his clients aware about the latest regulations and updates
• A detail-oriented approach can help a distributor navigate through the complexities of rules and regulations of the business
• Resilience is required for a distributor to stick to his path regardless of short-term investment trends
• Relationship building skills are important for an MFD to retain clients over a long term.

Understanding market moves with supply and demand forces - Harshad Patwardhan, CIO, Union MF

• Fund managers act as external force in determining the price of funds during purchase and redemption
• Higher prices lead to higher demand and attract more sellers in mutual funds
• A big surge in demand leads to an increase in supply as seen in previous market cycles
• The future of the Indian equity market depends on various factors including US policy, FII flows, performance of the Chinese market and behaviour of domestic investors

How to become a referral magnet - Kailash Kulkarni, CEO, HSBC MF

• 92% of the clients acquired through references trust their distributors
• Retention rates are higher for referred clients than other sources of acquisition
• You should have client meetings where only needs of the clients are discussed
• MFDs should make continuous efforts to understand the products they are selling
• Asking clients for referrals after 12-18 months of good service during feedback sessions will increase the chances of getting a referral

Enhancing trust & reputation with clients - Venkat Chalasani, Chief Executive, AMFI

• MFDs need to spend one hour reading about the latest events of the industry
• It is vital to be constantly in touch with the clients during volatile times to guide them correctly
• MFDs must explain the downside of every product before selling them to their clients
• Integrity is essential to ensure that MFDs recommend right products to their clients and build long term relations with them.

Factor Investing: The Emerging Trend - Ankit Singhania, SVP and Head- Passive strategies, UTI MF

• The AUM of Factor funds has grown at 101% CAGR in the last four years
• Momentum, low volatility and alpha are price related factors where stocks are picked based on their recent price movements
• Quality and value are factors where stocks are picked based on company fundamentals
• Factor funds can generate alpha in the long term over broad based indices
• Momentum has generated alpha across all market conditions in the past
• Value and alpha factors are able to generate alpha only in aggressive market
• Quality and low volatility factors generally perform well during bearish markets

Meri Kahaani Meri Zubaani -  Rajeev Kathuria, Vaibhav Rane and Viral Bhatt in conversation with  Nishant Patnaik, Associate Editor, Cafemutual

Chandigarh MFD Rajeev Kathuria

• Rajeev became an MFD after the death of his mother
• Daily wage workers showed trust in him due to his efforts to help them during COVID-19
• He finds humour a good way to break the ice and explain complex concepts of mutual funds

Mumbai MFD Vaibhav Rane

• - Vaibhav became a distributor to generate additional income besides his job as an engineer
• He convinces small scale workers to keep aside a small part of their daily income for SIP
• He believes that building a good team is very essential to manage a large client base
• He has made a process for client onboarding and servicing to make these processes smooth
• He shares his investment philosophy every week with his clients using creative methods like cartoons
• MFDs should not underestimate the investment potential of daily workers and middle-class families

Mumbai MFD Viral Bhatt

• Viral always wanted to work in the investment world which later brought him to mutual fund advisory
• He uses social media platforms to attract different audiences
• He recommends LinkedIn to reach serious investors and asks MFDs to work on their profile on the platform
• He believes that clarity of message and consistency are essential to succeed on social media platforms
• He adds that using the right strategy can make these platforms a good source for lead generation

Fixed-Income Strategy 2025: Maximizing Returns in an Evolving Market - Karan Mehra, Founder and CEO, Amplio Invest

• Recent economic trends have highlighted the importance of fixed income market
• Credit gap in MSME sector is the foundation of fixed income market but is facing challenges currently due to global market conditions
• Asset allocation and investment in diversified market is very important in the current market

Going against the crowd - Nimesh Chandan, CIO, Bajaj Finserv MF

• The focus of crowd can be only on a limited section of the market which may not be the best strategy
• Contrarian strategy can lead to successful results in various segments of the market
• Behavioural tools and right network can help develop the mindset for contrarian investment

Retaining clients for Life - Syed Hassan, COO, CAMS

• Distributors should be able to understand and explain new innovations to their clients
• It is important for MFDs to focus on post-sales service for long term client retention
• 57% of MF investors are invested in a single AMC
• 46% folios are from B30 cities but only 22% are contributed by MFDs showing a large potential for growth
• MFDs need to educate millennials and women investors to expand their client base

Just SIP and chill - Rajiv Maniar, EVP & Head – Sales & Distribution, HDFC MF

• Data shows that SIP performs well in rising markets with periodic corrections
• SIPs across various market cycle have shown above average results over 10- and 15-year periods
• Average horizon for equity investment is 3.3 years which is a cause for concern
• Investors need to consider increased life expectancy while investing in SIP for retirement planning
• Investors should not wait for a correction to invest as SIPs can give good returns even when investment is made at market peak.

Indian real estate market - Rohit Rathi, Principal - Real Estate Business, ICICI Prudential MF

• Real estate sector has grown at 29% CAGR post COVID
• The increase in disposable income with the middle class has also boosted the sector
• Real estate sector will become a $1 trillion industry by 2030
• Residential real estate sector has given 10% CAGR returns in the last 10 years
• Commercial real estate has also seen a boost due to availability of human resource and workplace at cheap rates
• India has emerged as a leader in leasing in the Asia Pacific region in recent years
• Listed REITs and AIFs are also good avenues to invest in real estate.

Preparedness meets Opportunities -  Saugata Chatterjee, CBO Sales & Distribution, Nippon India MF

• 61% of the MF investment is in equity while allocation in hybrid and debt segment remains low, which increases the risk of portfolios
• Currently, the retail investor has a 70% allocation in equity which increases the volatility of the portfolios
• MFDs need to invest in their business and consider their business models for long term growth
• Expansion of business is needed if distributors want to service the increasing number of investors
• MFDs should invest in their company's infrastructure to expand their business
• They should also start upskilling to pitch SIF to their clients
• MFDs should not spend their time only on top clients alone
• Distributors should look at debt funds for tax benefits
• Legacy planning, asset allocation, investor behaviour are key areas MFDs should focus
• MFD business needs to be more resilient and constructive for long term growth

Building a Legacy: The Role of Mutual Fund Distributors in Wealth Creation - R K Jha, MD and CEO, LIC MF

• - Market volatility presents a good opportunity for growth
• Petroleum, minerals are not impacted by tariff differentials imposed by the US government which is a good sign for the Indian markets
• Middle class is expected to rise to 60% of the country by 2050 which shows a great potential for growth
• Financial savings are also expected to grow considerably
• MFDs should ask their clients to set up an emergency fund and add SIP top-up, insurance and portfolio monitoring for financial planning
• SIPs through MFDs continue for longer period underlining the importance of distributors

Mastering Financial Behaviour: A Conversation with Morgan Housel, author of 'The Psychology of Money’

• It is necessary for MF Investors to understand that they need to manage volatility and risk on a daily basis
• The biggest risk for the markets is the one no one can prepare for it in the present
• Putting up with volatility and uncertainty are the cost of admission in the stock market which gives the reward in form of returns over the long term
• Most of the investors repeat their mistakes as the way they perceive greed and fear remains the same, which is why their biases should be embraced in order to tackle them better

Your GST compliance made easy - Nishant Patnaik, Associate Editor, Cafemutual

• MFDs need not pay any GST when their income is below Rs. 20 lakh. This includes revenue from insurance and mutual funds
• Opting for composition schemes in the last quarter of the financial year can help MFDs save tax
• MFDs are required to maintain book of records for a period of 6 years in a machine-readable format for compliance
• MFDs need to file GST returns twice a month, 24 times a year
• MFDs can get tax benefits by claiming input credits for travel, office expenses etc.
• MFDs can file an appeal with the GST appellate in case of a notice within three months of receipt. They also get an additional grace period of one month to make the appeal