Nitin’s mother Neela Vete used to sell insurance products to supplement family income in 1962. She used to conduct her business activities from home. Nitin’s father was a postmaster. Sensing an opportunity in insurance, his father Ramakant Vete quit his job and started selling insurance products along with his wife.
Gradually, they expanded into mutual funds, PPFs and postal savings.
A second generation entrepreneur Nitin stepped into his father’s shoes after his father Ramakant Vete passed away due to a heart attack in 1989. Nitin was pursuing Charted Accountancy at that time.
The growth story
A journey which started from home on a small scale is now spread across 3,000 sq. feet in Thane.
After taking over the reins of the business, Nitin rented a 150 sq. feet compact office and brought in a lot of changes in the business. He diversified into direct equity, home loans, IPOs and tax planning. This set the stage for the next leg of growth for his fledging business.
As his business grew, he appointed his first employee in 1992. This was just the start of his journey. After that there was no looking back for him. Today, he has 35 people working under him.
Proud legacy
Nitin’s mother was awarded ‘Udyog Shree’ by Late. home minister R R Patil in January 2005. In the same year on the occasion of World Woman’s day, she was honored by the Mayor of Mumbai Datta Dalvi. Today at the age of 77, she is still working with full enthusiasm and with great energy. She attends the office regularly, giving valuable guidance and suggestions to the office team, helping in day to day activities.
Client Acquisition
Apart from referrals, he gets clients through his newsletters and brochures which go out to residents of Thane. These monthly newsletters educate them about investments, the need for financial planning and important economic developments. This activity helped him acquire 6500 clients.
As business grew, so did his operations and his office space. To support this growth, he moved to a 3,000 sq. feet office in Thane. Today, his firm manages Rs. 130 crore in mutual funds. He is quite optimistic that his business will grow further from here.
Future Plans
He plans to reach out to youngsters. “Today’s generation earns more than the previous generation. Hence their expenses also tend to increase as their spending habits are different due to their lavish lifestyles. They should start investing as possible,” says Nitin.
In order to reach out to youngsters, he plans to launch an app which will help them invest and track their investments. “The app will have all the information regarding the current portfolio holdings, calculator and a host of other features,” says Nitin. This app, which will cost him cost him approximately Rs. 6 lakh, will be a significant investment for the company.
Nitin’s aims to increase his assets under advisory to Rs. 200 crore by the end of the year.
Advice to budding IFAs
Nitin says that this is a serious profession and budding IFAs should have a long term view while entering this profession. “There are no shortcuts to acquiring clients. Winning the trust of clients is most important in this profession,” believes Nitin.
