Mr. Arvind Shrikrishna Latkar
Kolhapur
I am a Post graduate in commerce from Shivaji University Kolhapur. Born & brought up in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, I started my career in a local company as a Costing Analyst. Then in 1992, I joined a Co-operative Bank. In 2004 I started Insurance advisory with LIC, and reached at ZM Club member level within 4 years. After 15 years of successful service in the Bank, in Dec 2006, I resigned from Branch Manager position with a view to become a full time Financial Advisor. In the year 2008, I started my own venture, ARVIND INVESTMENTS, a complete financial planning and investment centre and our tagline was Securing Life Creating Wealth.
ES: Please introduce yourself and also share your vision and mission or goals in life.
Arvind: I belong to Kolhapur, and am a Post graduate in Commerce from Shivaji University Kolhapur. After working in a local company as a costing analyst, then as a banker in a co-operative bank for 15 years, I switched to full time financial advisory business. I started ARVIND INVESTMENTS - “Securing Life Creating Wealth” in the year 2008. The ideology was and has always remained being client centric and focus is on comprehensive financial planning for clients.
My vision is to make maximum number of families financially secure & wealthy, so that they live free from financial worries., in line with our tagline - Securing Life Creating Wealth.
My mission is reaching an AUM of Rs. 1,000 Cr. by 2028.
ES: What inspired you to choose the career of a financial advisor/distributor?
Arvind: While working in the Bank, in 2001 I got an opportunity to develop a new Branch as a Branch Manager. I grabbed the opportunity, worked very hard in building and maintaining customer relationships and within 2 years, I was able to gain a sizeable business for the Bank. While interacting with the Bank customers I realized that many people do have money but they are not investing it properly. Most of them are not thinking beyond short term, and don’t know of any investment other than the traditional Bank FD's, Post Office saving schemes & LIC. Some of them are only fascinated by returns earned by other people from Stock Markets, Mutual Funds but were afraid to invest their own money in Equity. At the same time, I was investing in Stocks & Mutual Funds since 2001 and had earned good returns, so I realized that it’s a powerful investment tool for creating wealth. Also, since college days I wanted to do something of my own, hence I decided to become a financial advisor and use my knowledge & experience to help people take the right investment decisions.
ES:What made you to join NJ as an NJ Partner ?
Arvind: When I started my advisory practice, I was of a strong view to include Mutual Funds as an investment tool in my product offerings. I was searching for the right opportunity and in July 2007, NJ started its branch in Kolhapur. I approached the NJ Branch Manager and sought details on the business model, support, working platform etc., and decided to become an NJ Partner. I am proud to be the FIRST PARTNER of NJ KOLHAPUR Branch. Since Sep 2007, I am associated with NJ as a Partner.
ES: Do you promote the idea of savings through MF SIP among your clients?
Arvind: SIP is the best way to invest in a Mutual Fund. With its unique step by step investment model, it silently contributes to creating huge wealth for Investors. It’s the best method to achieve one's financial goals. Hence, I always promote SIP for all terms in various types of Mutual Funds. NJ’s GAP presentations and Financial Planning Tool, have been very helpful to me in understanding the SIP model and the benefits offered.
ES: Client communications is an integral part of your business. Please share any best practices / services related to communications adopted by you.
Arvind: Proper communication with clients is important to build conviction and confidence. Hence since last 10 years I am arranging client meets regularly, in recent years, I have increased the frequency to 4 meetings in Kolhapur and 1 in Pune. I also share investing concepts, and the impact of economic changes with my clients. I generally have one to one meets with HNI clients. NJ’s MCS, Bizmall products are very helpful communication tools. Courier activity helps to be in touch with clients. Addressing the clients in tough Market / Economic situations is more important than in good market conditions.
ES: How much importance do you give to Insurance in your advisory practice?
Arvind: Sampoorna Suraksha is important. Insurance covers financial losses due to unexpected emergencies in life. Hence, my product basket comprises Insurance and I advise my clients that they should take adequate insurances to cover most risks.
ES:How do you educate and convince your clients for mutual funds, especially the first time investors?
Arvind: To begin with, I try to educate investors and show to them how Mutual Fund investments have fared as compared to Bank FD's, Post Office schemes, LIC, PPF, etc. The idea is to make them aware about the impact of inflation, taxation, interest rate fluctuations etc., on their future life. I show to the investors a comparison between the returns from various asset classes and explain how different types of Mutual Funds can help them achieve various goals in life. NJ's financial tools are of immense use in the above exercise.
ES: Your experience with NJ's technology initiatives in terms of various Desks for Clients & Partners ?
Arvind: We propagate the concept of `Your Investment passbook at your finger tips’ using NJ's Client Desk Mobile App, It has helped me in adding a number of new clients. Financial needs analysis tool is the best feature of the desk to evaluate the goals achievement status of clients, and take appropriate investment decisions to achieve the targets in time. Opening of E-Wealth account through Mobile phone is really a revolutionary step by NJ. You can add new clients any time and from anywhere.
ES: What advantages do you feel NJ E-Wealth offers to both Clients and Partners?
Arvind: With NJ E-Wealth Account, our business is free from all geographical barriers. We can get clients onboard easily and quickly, the client can do all types of MF transactions in minutes, and all of this can be done through a mobile phone. The processes are very simple and hassle free, thus E-Wealth has made ours as well as the investor's life simple.
ES: What type of a boss / leader do you see yourself as? What is the image of the ideal boss that you aspire to become?
Arvind: I am of the thought process that a boss should know all details of the work, right from the root, but he should not do things that his employees can do. He should have the skill to get the work done from staff properly. I always share my vision of the business with my staff, so that they are familiar with what we want to achieve, it gives them a sense of direction. We always communicate that their growth depends on the business' growth, so the employees work hard to support the business' growth.
ES: Can you share any incident /event which has had a lasting impact on you or your business as a financial advisor /distributor?
Arvind: In 2014, some NJ partners of Kolhapur Branch formed a group `THINK BIG’ with the concept ‘Come together, Grow together’, where people shared their knowledge and experiences to help each other and grow together. Also, over my career I met some successful NJ Partners who inspired me for consistent and dedicated hard work. I realized that in business, knowledge sharing is important, and can take you miles ahead in a short period of time.
ES: How do you assess /see the future of financial advisory business in India? How can Partners be ready / prepared to make the most of it?
Arvind: There is immense scope for mutual fund business in non metro cities and villages. There is a pressing need to reach there and educate people to convince them to invest in Mutual Funds.
We, as NJ Partners can convince them that “Mutual fund sahi hai bhai tumhare liye bhi” and we should grab this untapped market. Technology can help you grow manifold in this endeavour.
ES: Self evaluation and assessment is something we all should do regularly. How do you assess yourself and/or your business? Are there any specific parameters you refer to?
Arvind: Self evaluation is an important part of my development. I always discuss about my developments, targets, changing business scenarios, etc., with my wife Mrinal to get a third party perspective. Our NJ Kolhapur Branch Manager, Shrikant Gabale is also very keen in this regard, he consistently tracks my progress & keeps me updated. I also seek guidance from our Regional Manager, Mr. Swapnil Admane from time to time.
ES: How much importance do you give to Asset Allocation & Risk Profiling while offering solutions to clients needs?
Arvind: These are the key factors that go into taking investment decisions. Asset allocation and risk profiling ensures the investment plan is in line with the financial position, needs and goals of the investors.
ES: Winning the trust of a client is not an easy task. How do you think you can win the trust of Clients?
Arvind: My client centric approach has helped me a lot in winning clients' trust. They are confident that Arvind Investments is a one stop solution for all of their investment needs. I don’t force clients into investments, rather I give them time to take a sound decision, after taking into consideration all factors.
ES: What suggestion / advice would you like to give to new partners who have not yet established themselves in the business?
Arvind: Dedication, Hard work and Loyalty towards clients is the Key to Success. Don’t lose your patience and keep doing the good work.
ES: Could you please share your short term and long term targets for your business.
Arvind: Current AUM is Rs 54 Cr. & Live SIP is Rs 58 lakh. As Neeraj Sir and Jignesh Sir always say, my Long term Goal is Rs. 1000 Cr AUM.