In the first series, we profile and Prashant Popat (former dentist) and Sanjay Ladha, (former garment merchant) to find out what prompted them to switch their professions.
Dr. Prashant Popat, Core Plus Financial Planning
Former dentist turned IFA is on a mission to cure people’s financial health in Rajkot. Prashant’s journey into advisory was a planned move. He was a practising dentist for 12 years before turning to financial advisory. “The reason for getting into financial advisory was to pursue my passion and make a living out of finance. The transition was not smooth as I had some naysayers who advised me to continue with medical practice. Only a few of my close friends and family members encouraged me to follow my heart,” recalls Prashant.
Prior to starting his own venture, Prashant was a part time financial advisor-cum-dentist. However, donning two hats meant that neither the patients nor the clients took him seriously. To overcome this problem and pursue his passion, he plunged into full time advisory in 2010 by empanelling with NJ India.
From what was a ‘pull service’ Prashant moved to ‘push service’ and this wasn’t easy. Thus, his initial catchment were his peers from medical fraternity. “As a dentist, I never had to approach my patients but as a financial advisor, I started meeting people proactively to educate them about different investment options. It was a challenge in the initial days.”
To sharpen his skills, Prashant completed his CFP in 2011. Today, he derives great satisfaction out of the fact that he enjoys the confidence of 200 clients with AUA of Rs. 4.25 crore in mutual funds.
He believes that IFAs should focus on holistic view in investment advice. "Financial planning is always about debt and equity and not about equity or debt," Prashant adds.
Sanjay Ladha, Founder, NM Consultants
Sanjay Ladha was happy in his family’s textile business which he was managing for 12 years. But destiny had some plans for him.
In 2001, his friend asked Sanjay to accompany him to attend a training session on ‘how to become an insurance agent’. This session turned out to be a turning point in his career. Sanjay realised that he can make a good career in this profession and started selling insurance simultaneously on a part time basis. As his clientele grew, one of his clients advised him to get into financial advisory on a full time basis. Heeding this advice, he left his family business and started from scratch.
However, Sanjay did not wanted to restrict himself to selling only one product. In 2003, he floated NM Financial Consultants and started offering mutual funds and other products. “One of my investors recommended me to sell mutual funds since its penetration was low in India.”
But his initial days were very challenging as prospects did not entertain or trust him easily. But he overcame these hurdles by investing in himself by acquiring the necessary skills. Today, he caters around 250 families, which he has acquired clients purely through referrals and boasts of an AUA of Rs. 45 crore in MFs and SIP book of Rs. 42 lakh per month.
