Rajesh Chheda of Finance Factory made a fresh beginning after being hit by Ketan Parekh scam in 1990s and today he is a renowned advisor in Goa and a 10 times MDRT qualifier.
Hailing from Panjim, Rajesh Chheda started his career with Citibank in Mumbai in the bank’s shares department in 1990.
Rajesh was fascinated with the share market and decided to become a sub-broker after surrendering his CA certificate. His inspiration to give up CA and pursue his dreams was Mukesh Dedhia of Ghalla Bhansali Securities, who had also surrendered his license to start his broking business. Rajesh met Mukesh through a common friend in Mumbai.
But the entrepreneurship ride was not been so smooth for Rajesh.
Rajesh started operating as a sub-broker in Goa in 1990s. In 2001, the Ketan Parekh scam rocked the stock markets. Rajesh was a working with a broker who was involved in Harshad Mehta scandal. The broker escaped overnight and Rajesh was left to fend for himself. It was like life had completely turned upside down for Rajesh. His friends questioned him if he had made the right choice by giving up CA. But deep down, Rajesh was enjoying what he did. His father advised him to follow his heart and make a fresh beginning. That was a turning point in Rajesh’s career.
He took up LIC agency and qualified for MDRT member within two years! This helped him get his own and clients’ confidence back after being hit by the scam. According to Rajesh, his qualifications, knowledge, visibility and trust also helped him a lot to turn the tables. “I was a victim of circumstances,” says Rajesh.
After making inroads in life insurance advisory, he took up general insurance and then finally mutual funds.
This year, he has qualified for tenth consecutive time for the prestigious Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT). He has attended nine annual meets in USA where top financial planners from more than 70 countries congregate. This international exposure helped him start ‘cross-border financial planning’. He has clients from US, Europe and Gulf region. Some of his clients from Mumbai and Bangalore come to holiday in Goa every year and take some time out for their discussing their finances with Rajesh. “It is beaches and business for my clients,” says Rajesh.
He has embraced technology right from the beginning. “When I started as a sub-broker, I used to get the Economic Times newspaper a day later which used to be dispatched by bus through which I used to see two days old stock prices. Based on these prices, I used to determine what stocks to my clients. At that time to be tech savvy was to have a computer. I had bought a computer worth Rs 90000,” recalls Rajesh.
Rajesh is a well-known face in Goa. He was interviewed on a local Goa Channel and was featured as the ‘Star of Goa’. He is a member of Rotary Club and does CSR activities of corporates on financial awareness which give him visibility.
His firm ‘Finance Factory’ is a boutique shop focused on medical practitioners, cross-border financial planning and employee benefit programs for corporates. Rajesh has informed his clients about direct plans on his website and his clients have stayed with him!
Rajesh offers all-round help to his clients which extends beyond financial planning. He has helped doctors set up websites or found them lawyers for executing real estate transactions!
He has been a visiting faculty at the Goa Institute of Management. Rajesh has a host of qualifications under his belt. He became CFP in 2009. He is a voracious reader and avid technology fan.
Notwithstanding the regulatory wave sweeping the industry, Rajesh is confident about the future of financial advisory profession in India.
“People will grow financially and they will need professional advice and clients will appreciate our services. I see a 10 year bull run for advisors who have been in the market for the last ten to twenty years,” predicts Rajesh.