Mr. Subhash Ramsahay Kedia
Silvasaa
ES: Please introduce yourself and also share your vision and mission or goals in life.
Answer: Born and brought up in Kolkata, I am a Commerce graduate. I shifted to Silvassa in 1989. In the initial days, I did a job for 3 years, but due to interest and knowledge in financial services, I eventually got into this field. I got associated with various institutions such as UTI, Kothari Pioneer, etc. Then I started selling Deep Discount bonds, Company Deposits, followed by Post Office Products, Insurance & Mutual Funds.
ES: What inspired you to choose the career of a financial advisor / distributor?
Answer: I like to see people create wealth and it makes me happy when my advice leads to their wealth creation and satisfaction.
ES: Setting the financial advisory business takes some time. How did you handle the challenges on the financial front in the initial period of the business?
Answer: It was not an easy start, as there were lesser regulations, awareness about financial products was also very low and the main problem was infrastructure. I had to go Mumbai & Surat frequently for petty things.
ES: What made you join NJ as an NJ Partner ?
Answer: I was doing Mutual Funds business before joining NJ. I met Mr. Himanshu Mehta & Mr. Kulbhushan Nandwani, who advised me to join NJ and guided me through the process, and then I never had to look back.
ES: Do you promote the idea of savings through MF SIP in your clients?
Answer: Yes. At all times investors won't come to you with lumpsum figure cheques. One needs to be disciplined to be successful in this field as an investor or an advisor. It infuses discipline and controls expenses if you are looking from the investor's point of view. Each installment is a small step towards achieving a financial goal. It creates a regular source of increasing revenue if you are an advisor. It is good to see that there is a lot of awareness among investors about SIP's.
ES: Client communications is an integral part of your business. Please share any best practices / services related to communications adopted by you.
Answer: I communicate with customers through Emails, SMS' and WhatsApp and I am also active on social media. Also since the past 2 years, I am using MCS Images & Videos, which are very effective and help me a lot in communicating and creating my brand.
ES: How much importance do you give to Insurance in your advisory practice?
Answer: Insurance is like the foundation of one's financial life. Insurance comes before investments and I too advice for Insurance first and then investments. It should be a part of all investors' portfolios for safeguarding their life and the future of their family members. You need to protect the wealth that you have today and that you are going to create tomorrow. I always insist my investors to at least have Personal Accident, Mediclaim and Term Insurance policies as per their needs.
ES: Your experience with NJ's technology initiatives in terms of various Desks for Clients & Partners?
Answer: Each financial advisor should learn how to use technology to streamline his business. I think for a business like ours which is so service intensive, you have no choice but to invest in technology. It will help you grow bigger, so always use technological support to strengthen your business.
I think the NJ E-Wealth platform is really great & it will be a game changer in the future. I am gradually converting my business into Demat Form and I encourage all my new clients to have E-Wealth accounts. Time is the most precious thing, both for the advisor & the client, so E-Wealth is the only answer to all these shortcomings.
NJ MARS is also a great service as it provides asset allocation feature and I believe asset allocation is the key activity to manage a portfolio according to the Risk appetite of a client.
ES: What advantages do you feel NJ E-Wealth offers to both Clients and Partners?
Answer: In line with the government's Digital India initiative, NJ E-Wealth is a perfect fit. It offers a number of benefits, like it enables paperless transactions, effective use of resources, saves time, energy and money and helps in eliminating geographical barriers. With NJ E wealth Account, I can now conduct business overseas as well. Its the time to change and embracing this change with a positive spirit is required. You need to change with time. Adopt Change. Adopt Digital Technology.
ES: How do you assess/see the future of financial advisory business in India? How can we as Partners be ready / prepared to make the most of it?
Answer: Newer regulations are coming every other day, so financial advisory is going to be very tough for individual advisors. However, National level Distributors like NJ will survive and grow in this changing scenario and will help their Partners in gaining knowledge, retaining clients and grow exponentially.
ES: How much importance do you give to Asset Allocation & Risk Profiling while offering solutions to clients' needs?
Answer: Asset allocation plays an important role in the growth of the client's investment portfolio and retention of clients. I have been doing asset allocation manually, but off late I have started selling MARS, which is an excellent solution to asset allocation.
ES: What suggestion / advice would you like to give to new Partners who have not yet established themselves in the business?
Answer: MF industry is the industry of knowledge, so you have to be updated with every new thing, attend Monthly Meetings and trainings conducted by NJ on a regular basis. Your passion for this business is the main thing which will lead to success & at last client servicing should also be your focus area.
ES: Can you please share your short term and long term targets for your business.
Answer: I am targeting 200 Crore + AUA & 2 Crore Live SIP Book by 2020.