He describes himself as an avid reader and follower of finance bigwigs. Inspired by their writings, Rajesh has taken some crucial decisions in life and business.
Rajesh’s hunger for knowledge and its correct application has made him
stand out among successful IFAs in the East. Introduced to the business by his
uncle and only
five years hence, Rajesh has already established himself in the field.
Advisory service was rather new to Rajesh when he first took over his uncle’s business, as he was still a fresher at selling. “Selling anything needs expertise. It doesn't rely on only knowing the product. It’s more about persuading the end customer about the worth of the product. When I acquired my ARN code, I was not at all confident of making it so big,” reveals Rajesh.
Rajesh's first-ever mutual fund customer was his father-in-law, followed by his brothers and then others in the family. This served as an active, on-the-job training experience, and Rajesh was ready to approach new investors. Rajesh's opening gambit involved a fresh, new look at the way things were done in the MF industry.
“The first six months were the toughest of times in my career; building clients was not a cake walk. My uncle had only introduced me to his clients. Converting and retaining them required expertise and effort on my part. I managed to build up a client base of 65,” recollects Rajesh. His client base was small in number but most of them were big investors. This early success gave Rajesh the confidence and income to enrol for the CFP course.
In a year’s time, Rajesh branded his agency with a new name – ‘Save and Smile’. He purchased an ERP software to maintain all his client data and investment details. This enabled him to keep a track on his clients’ portfolio.
Rajesh duly alerts them to book profits or stay invested whenever needed. “Most IFAs fear losing their AUM if they alert their investors. But I have increased my AUM doing just that. If you alert an investor to book profits once, he will surely approach you again because he is confident of getting returns with you,” claims Rajesh.
He meets his clients personally at their residence, especially over the weekend. “A weekend is another busy day, not a holiday, for me. When you meet a client at his/her home, there are possibilities of running into more than one investor,” says Rajesh.
Rajesh follows industry bigwigs such as: Benjamin Graham, Peter Lynch, Anthony Bolton, Aswath Damodaran, Charles Elliis, Burton Malkiel and Willam Bernstein. He claims to have read all the books written by these personalities.
Rajesh is tech savvy and well-organised. Everyday, he sets aside an hour to update himself with the latest happenings in his profession. “I firmly believe that it is the power of knowledge that convinces people to do business with an IFA. Hence, I update my knowledge regularly,” claims Rajesh.
The ban of entry load in 2008 affected his business negatively; he was confused on whether to charge clients or not. During that phase, he was reading his favourite book – 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad', and he chanced upon a sentence that showed him the way - 'always look for an opportunity in every adversity.'
He read it over and again, until 'eureka’ - the solution he was looking for was right in front of him. Rajesh took a stand to never charge his clients and doubled his business in the next two years.
A priority area for Rajesh over the next six months is financial planning. He hopes to double his current client base to 1600 soon.