On a day when cities in India were celebrating women for their contributions and achievements, one MFD was taking financial empowerment to women residing in a rural corner of the country.
Ravi Shankar, an MFD-based in Bihar's Buxar, conducted a women-focused SIP drive on March 8 to mark the occasion of International Women's Day. The SIP drive named 'SIP Shakti' saw participation from 30 women and 21 men (for wives). A total of 51 SIPs were registered during the drive with collections amounting to Rs. 1.35 lakh.
Most of the women investors are wives of daily wage earners, small businessmen and government & private sector employees.
The strategy
‘If you put your head on something, you must finish it’ is Shankar's mantra to excel in the MFD business. Shankar said that he does not gives up easily and keeps coming back to prospects with newer arguments on the benefits of investing in mutual funds.
For this drive, which was his second, he met almost 200 people within a month, through a door-to-door campaign.
"I was expecting a strike rate of at least 50% but could get to only 25%," he said.
The struggle
Shankar had a tough time convincing rural investors initially. "When I first started, it was tough to convince people, who had seen all kinds of scams. I used to often encounter this question: "Ab kaun sa bhagne wala plan laye ho (what new ponzy scheme is this)," he says.
The situation, however, changed soon. Shankar says AMFI's and AMCs' awareness campaigns have somewhat reduced the mistrust.
"People have been seeing ads on TV. They are now interested and look for someone to provide complete information. This scenario has helped me grow my business," he said.
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