After graduating from a small town in Purulia district in West Bengal, Vivek Damani came to Mumbai to start his career in 1993. Starting with a direct marketing firm which provided loans against shares, he has now over 18 years of experience in the financial services industry.
Before becoming a financial advisor, he worked with Angel Broking in its third party product distribution department. Not only did Vivek have the technical skills of finance, he had also developed a great rapport with clients. This prompted one of his colleagues at Angel Broking to coax Vivek to become an Independent Financial Advisor.
Before acting on his colleague’s advice, Vivek carried out a study of HNIs for three months to ascertain where he could fill the void. From this research he discovered that senior and mid-level management professionals were too caught up in their jobs. Also, he found that though this group was earning well for themselves and making investments through multiple distributors, there was no clear goal or strategy behind these investments.
Sensing a great opportunity in catering to this niche, Vivek floated Prudent Partners by roping in his close acquaintance Vijay Dalmia in 2011.
From the beginning, their idea was to cater a limited number of clients initially and gain their trust. Once they gained the trust of these clients, referrals poured in. “This is a service industry and you need to showcase your differentiation,” says Vivek.
Vivek says that this client segment needs a single point contact for all their financial needs - be it investments, taxation or estate planning. So, they have tied up with lawyers and CAs and other such professionals to offer a one-stop solution to their clients.
Their strategy seems to have paid off. Today, they serve 30 clients, managing assets under advisory of nearly Rs 83 crore across different assets. Vivek has a team of four who handle back end operations while he and his partner Vijay oversee financial planning and business development functions.
Their idea of being financial advisors is not just about wealth management. During their interactions with clients, Vivek and Vijay try to ascertain not just the goals of prospects but also their purpose behind their goals. This approach helps them acquire a deeper understanding of their client behavior. “One of my client wanted to buy a home and he had the money. He asked me if he should fund the entire cost of home from his personal money or opt for a loan. The client wanted to start his own venture. I suggested him to not opt for a loan and utilize his own funds to buy the home. Today, he has started his own venture and he’s happy with my advice. So, financial advisors job does not end with just helping clients meet their financial goals. You need to find the purpose of their lives,” recalls Vivek.
He elucidates further, “If a client wants to send his/her kid to particular university overseas we try to find out the reasons behind their choice. Are they interested in the university or the education? Such an approach helps to plan better for your clients.”
Vivek draws an analogy to Hindu Lord Vishnu and Indra to explain their financial planning approach. He’s an avid follower of Devdutt Patnaik, a physician turned leadership consultant and the author of Myth = Mithya. “Indra used to lead a luxurious life and ended up being hermit to seek wisdom whereas Vishnu quietly rests on a serpent. One should be happy in life and not chase money all the time. There should be a purpose in life. Money will always follow,” believes Vivek.
Vivek aims to graduate from managing wealth to be a life planner.
His suggestion to IFAs is that they should introspect hard as to what drew them into this business to find out the real reason for why they are in this business. Based on this understanding, they should develop a vision and business plan for their business.