Mr. Sandeep Sahni (Sahayak Associates, Chandigarh)
Q1. What inspired you to embark on a career as a mutual fund distributor?
Ans: The local NJ Team played a major role in convincing me to become a MFD. Low penetration level, negligible investment, low risk, a huge potential for growth, and the opportunity to help people achieve their financial needs and do good for the society, were the major reasons why I decided to embark on a career as a MFD.
Q2. Could you describe your core philosophy and approach to your work and business?
Ans: We, at Sahayak Associates, strongly believe in the philosophy of "Client First". We have a byline which says, "I helped a man climb a mountain, and I realized that I too have reached the top." We have a clear ETHICS Policy and a very strong ethical approach to our business. Each new team member must take an ETHICS OATH and ensure an ethical path is followed in all our processes and client interactions. For us ETHICS stands for E-Expertise T-Transparency H-Holistic I-Integrity C-Client First S-Solutions. Right since inception of our business in 2017, we have treated this business as a business venture with clear objectives and goals and not as a hobby or a part time activity to earn an extra income. Right from day one, we made a business plan, we were operating from an Office and had a small team, and within one year, we had outlined our processes and SOP's and created an operations manual to standardize our operations, offerings and solutions.
Q3. From the very beginning, how has NJ Wealth empowered and supported your business growth?
Ans: Shared values, ethical dealing, need based mutual fund investment and complete focus on growth were and have been the key determinants of our association with NJ Wealth. A seamless digital client onboarding process, interactive platform, great data analytics, and a comprehensive CRM has provided us with the foundation to focus on client servicing and helping clients achieve their needs. The NJ Team has always been supportive and has been motivating us to aim for higher goals and greater heights. Regular contests and continuous learning opportunities have helped us tremendously to remain focused on business growth.
Q4. What are your key strategies for both acquiring new clients and ensuring long-term client retention?
Ans: We have always positioned ourselves as the "Personal Family CFO" of our clients. Our effort has been to build and retain mutual trust with all clients thereby ensuring a larger percentage of the wallet share and onboarding more and more members from the same family as clients. Most MFD's focus on 3rd party client referrals whereas we at Sahayak always believe in first providing complete service to the existing family and then asking for referrals outside the family. We have never done any cold calling as our prospect pipeline of immediate network consisting of family, friends, batchmates, colleagues, business associates and fellow members of various business associations are still to be exhausted. We believe that continuous client engagement and interaction, steps to build and develop trust, regular reviews, client education, efforts to do that little extra and keeping things simple ensure that there is very low client attrition.
Q5. We're seeing a significant surge in new demat accounts, particularly among Gen Z. What unique challenges do you encounter when working with this demographic, and how do you address them?
Ans: We have a specialized team of Millennials and Gen Z professionals who truly understand this demographic's aspirations, needs, vulnerabilities, and risk appetite. This allows them to connect with our team, share their requirements, and receive tailored support. We provide seamless digital communication tools and continuous educational resources to boost their financial literacy. We also offer investment options that align with their risk appetite and financial needs, giving them the flexibility to allocate a small percentage of their funds as per their wishes. This approach allows for hands-on experience and curiosity satisfaction. By combining this freedom with expert guidance and robust risk management strategies, we ensure they can explore without compromising their long-term financial security.
Q6. When markets experience significant volatility, how do you effectively manage the irrational behavior of your clients, and what role do you play in guiding them through such periods?
Ans: Being the first to reach out to the clients during periods of volatility helps address the client anxiety. At the very beginning of onboarding, we try to educate the client about the regular volatility which they are going to experience in their investment journey. Sharing of data-driven insights, historical market performance, emphasizing the importance of a long-term perspective, experience of other investors during market corrections and beyond, conducting webinars and regular interaction with the clients helps in reducing their fear, greed and take the decisions which are in best interest of their financial needs and bring a long-term orientation.
Q7. Among the various tools and resources provided by NJ Wealth, which one do you find most impactful for your business and why?
Ans: The NJ & Non-NJ Portfolio review utility, the business planning model and NJ CRM, need mapping system are some of the tools that we use regularly to understand and provide insights to the client’s investments. We were a great fan of the erstwhile MARS Portfolio and have now started using the NJ Recommended Portfolio for various client needs and to standardize our offerings.
Q8. If you could recommend one essential practice or activity that every NJ Wealth Partner should adopt for success, what would it be and why?
Ans: Making a business plan to have a clear strategy on the way ahead and investing in the business by creating an effective team are the key to success. Growth is pre-determined in our business due to the low penetration levels and the current state of the Indian Economy; the challenge is to manage the growth and be able to avail the tremendous opportunity. We need to understand that "What has got us here, Will not get us there".
Q9. Looking ahead, what are your key short-term and long-term goals for your mutual fund distribution business?
Ans: In the short term, our goal is to expand the client base, a sustainable and scalable business model that can adapt to market changes and continue to provide exceptional services to our clients. Additionally, we aspire to contribute to the financial literacy movement and empower more individuals to make informed investment decisions. Quantitatively, we aspire to grow our numbers by 10x in 5-6 years and 100x in 10-12 years.