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MFD Dev Patel from Korba, Chhattisgarh who now manages over Rs 65 crore of MF assets started his journey as a newspaper boy. His story gives us a glimpse into how he sailed through the storm and bravely faced emotional as well as financial setbacks to emerge as a successful MFD.
Dev truly epitomises the proverbial saying, ‘When life gives you lemons, make lemonade’.
Here is the story in his words:
When life gave Dev lemons
As a young boy, I faced a major emotional setback and multiple financial challenges.
Life threw the first lemon at me when I was only 9 years. My mother passed away which left a permanent void in my life. My mama took me to his home to raise me.
As I was settling down there, life was preparing to throw another lemon of financial difficulties at me.
My mama was monetarily weak and meeting daily expenses was challenging. He lived with nana, nani, mami and my four cousins. Understandably, we were always tight on budget and somehow managed to afford school fees. I could foresee many financial difficulties in the coming future.
He made lemonade
One day, I remembered what one of my teachers had once said. ‘The power to change things is within ourselves’. Thus, I took the onus and decided to look after my expenses by doing small jobs.
While in class six, I woke up at 5:00 am and cycled 5 kms to distribute newspapers to almost 80 households. Then I would reach home by 8:30 am and hurriedly get ready for school which began at 9:30 am.
This gave me Rs 300 monthly but wasn’t sufficient to take care of expenses. Hence, after school, I worked part-time at a cloth shop from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm and earned additional Rs 700.
Also, during summer vacations, I took up full-time jobs to fund the fees and purchase of books for the next standard.
However, the financial crunch continued and I was unable to pursue studies after class 12. I was in dire need of a job and thus spoke to my acquaintances. I finally landed the job of a sales representative with an FMCG conglomerate where I sold soaps, detergents, salts, etc. to shopkeepers.
After five years, I got married in 2003 and turned a new page in life. With rising responsibilities, I looked for entrepreneurial opportunities and discussed with friends and acquaintances. This is how I learnt about the financial sector.
I embarked on this new journey by distributing bonds and then insurance. I tested the waters by taking up part-time distribution. To begin with, I approached individuals to whom I delivered newspapers and those who visited shops where I earlier worked. They were my initial clients who eventually gave me references. As I saw earnings surpass monthly salary, I left my job in 2005 and focused on business.
Over time, when I observed the rising curiosity in mutual funds among clients, I became an MFD. To understand mutual fund functionality closely, I invested in them. As my portfolio performed, I invested more to create a corpus for purchasing a house and setting up an office.
Also, showing my portfolio made it easier to explain the potential of mutual funds to prospects and how they can help to achieve financial aspirations.
The sweet taste of the lemon-flavoured drink
Today I live with my wife and three children in a self-owned home. On the professional side, I manage assets of Rs 66 crore and monthly SIP flows of Rs 57 lakh for 650 clients. I attribute this success largely to two things - investing in all things that simplify doing business and continuous prospecting.
Let me elaborate.
I saved for setting up a professional set-up. Firstly, I purchased software for handling data efficiently, a scooter for ease of travel, a rented office premise and a team for back-end activities. All of this allows me more time to focus on business development by moving out and meeting new people every day.
Additionally, each day, I meet at least two new prospects. Even today, I largely focus on acquiring new clients.
Mutual funds distribution gave me a new identity and helped me create a life that I only dreamt of before. My current goal is to build AUM of Rs 150 crore and monthly SIP book of Rs 1 crore by 2025.
