You cannot meet Jagdish Nagdev and not be infected with his enthusiasm and zest for life. Jayshree Pyasi meets this IFA from Jabalpur and finds there is a fascinating story behind the warm and cheerful smile
Earlier Life
After the untimely death of his father, the entire responsibility to support his large family fell on Jagdish. Though he had always wanted to start his own business but lack of financial backing had been a road block. In those trying times, financial advisory seemed to him the only viable business as it required no capital. He belonged to a family that was involved in homeopathy and electroplating works so when he decided to get into financial advisory business, he did not have the benefit of any guidance.
In 1989, he took up an agency of National Insurance. Three years later, he shifted his focus from insurance to mutual funds and began to distribute UTI products. After 1995, Jagdish decided to make mutual funds his core product and quit insurance sector.
Struggles of a small town IFA
Jagdish found it difficult to get clients because in tier three cities like Jabalpur, people do not look beyond bank deposits or small savings. Moreover, since his clients were not fluent in English, he had to incur additional cost of preparing brochures and information documents in Hindi.
Ever eager to learn, Jagdish used to look forward to the rare training session for advisors in Jabalpur. Since these were very few, he often travelled at his own expense to attend training session. “In small town the AMC officials come to talk about their schemes and there is no inclination towards improving IFA skill and knowledge,” asserts Jagdish.
Mentorship
Jagdish considers himself fortunate that he had received a lot of industry knowledge and support from all sides. It was a chance encounter at an AMFI meet in 1999 that he met his guru and mentor Sanjay Khatri, one of the leading IFAs in India.
“I am really grateful that Sanjay sir decided to coach me on the intricacies of MF business. Because of his guidance, not only has my business increased but I have been able to earn respect also,” says Jagdish.
After coming in contact with Sanjay, Jagdish changed his business approach completely. He began to understand that his earlier approach was earning him an income but did not hold much scope for expansion. He realized how integral was the customer centric approach to both growth of business as well as to earn the respect of his clients.
Under Sanjay’s mentorship, his business became more efficient and organized and there was a marked increase in the number of his clients. He realized the need to improve his quality and for that he participated in trainings and pursued a lot of certifications.
His hero-worship of the successful IFA did not stop here. Jagdish was so enthralled by him that he has modeled his own office and marketing material on the lines of Sanjay’s Krushna Financial Planners.
Aashirwaad Investments
In 2002 he set up his advisory firm Aashirwaad Investments in the heart of Jabalpur. Even though he is based in small town and has retail clients only, he has an AUM of 30 crore. With the recently changed regulatory environment, he feels debt fund too is a viable product.
Association of Jabalpur Advisors
“The needs of a tier-three city IFA are quite different from the requirement of a metro based IFA. So, I thought of establishing an association that could be a platform for the IFAs to speak and to get their problems resolved,” says Jagdish.
In the past four years since its inception, the association has been able to generate interest and awareness amongst new advisors. Jagdish feels this is one way in which he can extend support to his fellow IFAs and benefit them the way he has benefited from others support and guidance.