Gwalior Division Mutual Fund Distributors Association (GDMFDA) recently celebrated its second anniversary.
Nitin Singhal, Communication Secretary of GDMFDA says that the objective behind forming the association was to develop, empower and protect the interests of the IFA community in Gwalior. “Many IFAs felt ignored and also the issues were not discussed openly. Our focus is to make more people enter in this profession,” says Nitin.
Since inception, the association has been actively involved in grooming the IFA community in Gwalior. “Every month, we conduct a meeting to discuss the developments in their business. We help and guide budding IFAs set up their business and also motivate them to upgrade to new technology,” adds Nitin.
Recently, the association has honoured IFAs who have contributed the most to the industry in Gwalior. Vinod Agrawal was honoured for highest AUM (Rs. 20 crore) and SIP book of Rs.27 lakh.
Speaking about the assistance provided by the AMCs, Nitin says, “Almost all AMCs have given us a helping hand by connecting us with other IFAs. We have been organising many philanthropic as well as educational events with the help of few AMCs in Gwalior.”
Future plans
The association is planning to spread awareness about the advisory profession to encourage more people to join this industry. Lack of financial awareness has been one of the biggest concerns for advisors in Gwalior. “People in Gwalior do not readily invest in market linked products. We have been collaborating with AMCs to increase the number of IAPs in the city,” added Nitin.
The group was formed in November 2013 and has 43 members. IFAs who wish to join this association have to pay Rs. 1,000 as fee.
GDMFDA is affiliated with Foundation of Independent Financial Advisors (FIFA). GDMFDA has recently signed the petition in support of the common Pan India forum for IFA fraternity.
