Mr. Jash Shah, Mumbai Kandivali
Q1. You are a commerce graduate, then you did your CA, CFP and CFA...How are your studies helping you in developing this business ?
Answer : I think it helps but in a different way than most people think it would. My academics helped me garner a lot of technical skills but in our business I think Interpersonal skills are more important than technical skills. However, due to my academics most prospective clients see me as a more serious distributor and it helps break the ice.
Q2. Lacs of new Demat being opened. What is your experience when you meet young clients
Answer : Quick Money, DIY & Exotic Investments - These are broadly the defining themes with Gen Z. Most people from this generation want to forge their own path and they wont buy things at face value they will question everything and this can be a challenge. However, my experience is if you are able to reason with them and satisfactorily address all their questions/ queries they can be one of the most loyal client base. I would say the thing that defines dealing with them is - You must provide value to them something beyond what they can already access on direct platforms/ internet / Influencers etc.
Q3. How do you plan to make your business from Individual to Organisational format ?
Answer : Beyond a point we have realised it is impossible to scale without a robust infrastructure. We can either have a firm which only caters to selected HNIs & UHNIs with higher ticket size and lower count or we can be a firm for everyone where our ticket size would reduce but client count would increase exponentially. In either case scenario we will need a robust IT infrastructure and a very competent back office team. This is where NJ has been tremendously helpful for us. From covering the compliance for a lot of NRIs to body corporates and to providing seamless integrated reports we have had amazing feedback from our clients who come from other platforms with regards to our applications and User Interface.
Q4. You are on 200 Crore, What's your next 5 year plan?
Answer : We are targeting an AUM of 1000 Cr in next 5 years with a mix of both i.e. leveraging the NJ IT infrastructure and growing our own internal team size to reach the last mile of investor where traditionally nobody is reaching virtually a competition-free zone. Secondly, we would try to reach out to more and more HNIs & UHNIs by promoting mutual Funds as a much more tax efficient and cost effective structure.
Q5. What is a unique skill or trait that has helped you succeed?
Answer : I prefer not talking on returns and percentages but I strictly stick to need-based mutual fund investment. Further, my initial client interactions are usually an attempt to get to know them and the problem they are facing (if any). And I try to help them or be in loop with them for things beyond what we do i.e. where i have to pecuniary interest such honest attempts at helping them have often yielded me very positive results, just to add on recently we were able to shift a client from direct plan to regular plan only because we went above and beyond and helped them with something in which we had absolutely no monetary interest.
Q6. How do you keep your team motivated?
Answer : We recognize the achievements of all individuals in front of the team. We try to applaud and praise in front of everyone but if there is any constructive criticism or a problem which needs to be addressed we try to keep it a private affair. Also being 2nd Generation i have gained the entire business along with the clients and existing team which has a way of working fixed over last many years so for me I am trying to share with them and align them to my vision for our organisation and internally we have decided from now on how much times we scale up we ensure the financial rewards are passed onto them on pro rata basis i.e. if we are able to fulfil our goal of 5x in 5 Years i would ensure my team (who have helped the organisation to reach the goals) also takes home 5x.
Q7. Have you ever had to turn down a client's request /say no to a client in their best interest? How did you handle it?
Answer : A lot of times especially with the newer clients who have entered the financial markets post 2020 and do not understand the difference between returns and risk adjusted returns.
For most times I am able to counsel and convince them. However, there are times when it has simply been not possible to do so, usually when there has been a lot of emotions clouding their judgements. If they are executing the investments via us I try to make minutes of the meeting and share it with them explicitly stating that this execution has been done on clients instructions. In cases where we can't execute what they want we politely decline but try to stay in touch with them. We personally don't feel like working in areas which would take away my peaceful sleep at night or areas where we won't ourselves invest.
Q8. Favourite Quote?
Answer : When talking about Wealth, in the very long run it does not matter how much money you made the only thing that matters is how much money your money made.
I don't know who quoted this but I heard it from Navneet Munot.