Ravi Samalad & Pallabika Ganguly meet Apsara Shetty and find that she has built a boutique financial advisory firm by focusing on goal-oriented clients
Mumbai: Unlike others who toil to make their mark in the competitive financial advisory business, Apsara claims to have a relatively smoother ride in floating a boutique financial advisory firm. However, one challenge she has faced is educating clients about the need for financial planning. “Even the so called well informed clients were slow to accept the need for financial planning,” confides Apsara.
The seeds of saving were nurtured very early in her life when her father used to give her a pocket money which she spent prudently. Also, she was exposed to financial products at a very early stage in her life.
Apsara is a commerce graduate after which she pursued CFP. Soon after her academic life, Apsara tied the knot with Jagdish Shetty, a banker by profession. Unlike Jagdish, Apsara had not stepped in to the corporate world after completing her academics. Her entrepreneurial drive led her to go solo and she floated an investment consultancy firm. Jagdish also left his job and started his own business.
Jagdish and Apsara operated their own business till 2004 and later merged the two businesses under Relacs Investment & Financial Services Pvt Ltd. Relacs has a team of 17 operating from the financial nerve centre of Fort.
Her first few clients were family and close friends. Soon, the word spread and referrals started pouring in. Today, their client base includes a mix of retail, HNIs, NRIs, retired individuals and young professionals. Apsara and Jagdish are keen on working with goal-oriented clients rather than with walk-in clients wanting to make a quick buck.
Apsara now oversees the mutual funds operations and is involved in writing financial plans for clients while Jagdish looks after insurance, direct equity and real estate planning. Jagdish is an ace at insurance. In a career spanning more than a decade, the duo and their team have made clients’ financial goals central to the financial product recommendation.
Going ahead, Apsara wants to set up an online investment portal. Currently, she is weighing the pros and cons of internet transactions as she feels cyber laws are still in its infancy in India. She wants to counsel people on the internet so that they make the right selection of products.
Her son is currently pursuing chartered accountancy. Apsara says that he is disciplined and meticulous about financial matters. Her daughter is presently studying in Indian School of Business, Hyderabad. Jagdish and Apsara do not have a succession plan yet. They want to leave it to their children to chart their own careers.