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At the Cafemutual Ideas Fest 2025 (CIF 25), Nikhil Thakkar of We Care Freedom Wealth from Anand, Gujarat received the prestigious Sanjeevani Award in the 'Asset Allocator' category.
Rohit Mattoo, Head of Retail Sales at Axis Mutual Fund, and Prem Khatri, Founder & CEO of Cafemutual gave the award to Nikhil to recognise his outstanding efforts for helping clients achieve financial goals through asset allocation.
The Sanjeevani Awards honour MFDs/RIAs who have made a significant impact in the lives of their clients.
Nikhil has transformed the investment portfolios of many of his clients by shifting from high-risk equities to a balanced multi-asset approach. He currently manages AUM of Rs. 1140 crore in mutual funds and serves over 4,800 clients.
Over the last year, he reduced equity exposure of his clients to 34% and helped them diversify across fixed income and gold.
Cafemutual spoke to Nikhil to understand his philosophy, here is what he said:
Don’t go overboard on equity
Many MFDs are skewed towards equity. In fact, the majority of MFDs have over 90% exposure to equity funds, which is risky for clients as well as the MFD’s business.
Nikhil believes that even for long-term investments, 100% equity is not necessary. Keeping 30% of the portfolio in other asset classes can help investors manage volatility and provide stability in uncertain market conditions. This also ensures that investors do not face extreme fluctuations in their portfolios during market downturns.
Thakkar advises fellow MFDs to go beyond equity investments and include multi-asset funds and balanced advantage funds in their client portfolios. These funds help in improving overall portfolio performance and reduce risk.
Understand client goals better
Nikhil points out that a common mistake among MFDs is chasing high returns instead of focusing on client goals. Many investors are satisfied with 9-10% returns, yet MFDs often push for 15-16% unnecessarily.
Nikhil believes that MFDs should understand client needs and align investments with their financial goals to offer peace of mind to clients.
Keep attending events to learn innovations
Nikhil attends a lot of knowledge events to grow his business. In fact, he has learnt about practising asset allocation from one such event.
His new learning is reaching out to the bottom of pyramid investors. At the Cafemutual Ideas Fest 2025, Nikhil has drawn inspiration from ‘Meri Kahani Meri Zubani’ in which a Chandigarh MFD Rajeev Kathuria who received two prestigious awards – The Cafemutual Big League Award and AMFI Partner in Excellence Award for opening highest number of SIP accounts under individual MFD category in North India.
Nikhil said that he will focus on acquiring new clients from the bottom of the pyramid through SIPs.