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Mumbai MFD Vaibhav Rane manages over 2,000 clients from which more than 1,500 are from the underprivileged sections of the society.
He manages AUM of Rs. 155 crore in mutual funds, most of which he has built from SIP investments.
While talking at the ‘Meri Kahani Meri Zubani’ session at the recently concluded Cafemutual Ideas Fest (CIF) 2025 with Nishant Patnaik, Associate Editor, Cafemutual, Vaibhav shared his journey as an MFD and how he learnt to never underestimate the investment potential of people doing modest jobs.
Beginning of the distribution journey
Vaibhav used to work as a civil engineer at MTNL before entering the distribution business. He started selling mutual funds to earn additional income besides his daily job which has grown now into a full-time distribution business. He says that while he was making walls of people’s houses before as an engineer, the MFD business gives him the happiness of making a home for his clients in the truest sense.
Opportunities for MFDs among the underprivileged
Vaibhav says his client base is of chai-walas, vegetable vendors and other such daily wage workers. He has kept his office near the market area to build trust among them.
The MFD encourages such workers to do a daily SIP i.e. invest a part of their wages on a regular basis. He gives an example of how he asked a tea vendor to keep aside 50 paise for every cup of tea he sold. This led to a daily sum of Rs. 500 and Rs. 15,000 over the course of a month.
He asks MFDs to not underestimate the investment potential of small-scale workers.
Managing a large client base
Vaibhav emphasizes the importance of having a good team to manage a large client base. He also says that it is important to be available for your clients throughout the day. Another factor which Vaibhav contributes his success to is the development of processes for client onboarding and servicing using the latest technology.
In order to have regular connect with his clients, Vaibhav uses multiple WhatsApp communities. He also sends articles on his investment philosophy using innovative methods like cartoons. He has been using a character of a superhero called ‘SIP man’ to teach his clients the fundamentals of investing which has also become his title among the investment community.
Message to MFDs
Vaibhav shares an example of how he recently visited a customer who was the wife of a vegetable vendor. While they started discussing her plan to have a Rs. 5,000 SIP, the veteran MFD was shocked when he realized that the client was actually planning to invest Rs. 5,000 on a daily basis.
Vaibhav concludes by asking MFDs to learn from this anecdote and know the potential of clients who may come from the bottom of the economic pyramid but can offer great business opportunities.
