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![siliconindia | |January 2017
37
VitalSource Knowledge Associates: Assisting
Customers towards a Secure Financial Future
I
n the present era, an individual’s
financial needs keep escalating and an
investor is often uncertain about how to
invest his money to earn an attractive
return with an acceptable risk return and
liquidity mode. Though our Indian stock
market offers lucrative growth prospects,
it also reflects high volatility, making
it difficult for the investors to develop
beneficial strategy. The best approach an
entity or individual should make use of in
such a scenario is to seek a professional
that would help them stratify their investments in a
manner suitable to the status and risk profile. VitalSource
Knowledge Associates (VKA) Pvt Ltd, a financial
management consultancy company with its vast experience
in the investment area, stepped ahead to ensure that
businesses and individual investors participate in India’s
growth story and optimize their returns on investment with
minimal downside risk.
Addressing the Changing Landscape of Finance
Management
Incepted in mid-2007, VKA holds about a decade’s
experience in rendering a range of specialized consultancy
services that enable customers to adopt best practices
in corporate governance, systems and processes, thus
giving them a competitive edge and benefit over other
competitors. VKA provides offshore services which
include KPO category services like developing policies and
procedures, accounts and MIS process outsourcing, credit
appraisals, internal control set up, due diligence reviews,
process migration support and compliance review for
businesses planned or already operating. The company’s
compliance services involve establishing or redesigning
Internal Financial Controls -Section 134 of Companies Act,
providing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) services
to companies to comply with Section 135 of Companies
Act and GST implementation. The company also offers
unique E-learning training where experienced
professionals share industry specific skills with
candidates, for enhancing employability
within industry.
Over the years substantial changes in the
Indian statutes like Companies Act and Tax laws
have thrust new challenges on clients in the way
they conduct their business operations. Many
clients tend to be ill-equipped and also averse to
making changes in their systems and processes to
cope with the changing regulatory requirements.
“At VKA, we believe in supporting customers so
that with implementation support services they can be better
geared for running their business in an organized manner
and with optimal resource utilization while being compliant
with statutory matters like corporate governance, internal
controls and GST,” says CA George Kurian, Director-
Management Consulting, VitalSource
Knowledge Associates.
In knowledge management space, VKA will be shortly
launching industry specific short term finance courses that
are an innovative blend of E-Learning, classroom sessions
by experienced professionals and live projects aimed to
enhance skill sets of candidates to meet
industry expectations.
Reshaping the Future with CSR Practices
VKA’s CSR advisory assists clients with CSR project
implementation and monitoring. As its own social
responsibility role, VKA conceptualizes worthy projects
[mainly senior care, industry specific skill development and
women empowerment] that target deserving sections
of the public and assists companies and NGOs with
implementing these.
Considering the relatively lack lustre progress in CSR
statute roll out till date, the company aspires to position its
services in CSR areas that will help businesses carry out
their operations ethically and contribute to India’s economic
development. “VKA is willing to play a facilitator’s role to
promote any CSR project which is for a deserving social
cause. We would take up opportunities to conceptualize
projects, assist companies in capacity building for CSR,
evaluate and recommend competent and reliable NGOs as
implementing partners for companies in select CSR projects
and assist in establishing monitoring mechanisms for CSR
projects during implementation,” shares George.
Increase wealth through ethical and
socially responsible business models
which are win-win for all stakeholders
CA George Kurian
Director - Management Consulting
MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS - 2017
WEALTH](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/f5ae54d9-a31d-4664-a7be-6404c3c63999-170201085324/85/si_wealth-online-37-320.jpg)
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si_wealth online
- 1. siliconindia | |January2017 1 PUBLISHED FROM BANGALORE JANUARY - 2017SILICONINDIA.COM `150 CONSULTANTS IN MY OPINION YOUR WEALTH BUILDING PARTNER INTELLISTOCKS: Rohan Bhargava, Co-founder, CashKaro.com Nalini Jindal, Chief Investment Advisor WEALTH MANAGEMENT SPECIAL
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- 4. siliconindia | |January2017 4 M y physical instructor once told me, “Physical exercise is like Mutual Funds. The results will definitely show over time.” This struck a chord with me. How many of us think that wealth and health lie on similar lines? Do we really invest enough in our wealth and health? The usual answer that most of us come up with is that there is no time to catch up with these at present, and as a result most of us tend to keep postponing it till it is too late. Let us face it - most of us have a fair idea of how to support ourselves financially by generating enough wealth, but when it comes to managing our wealth, it is almost certain that we need someone qualified to help us with the task. India’s wealth management sector has gained importance amongst local and global players over the last few decades. With India’s GDP growth rate inching towards 9 pointer mark, the country’s growth story is already making an increasingly attractive market for wealth management firms. Indian wealth management industry is already embracing the change. More and more investors are expanding in smaller cities as well with an objective of attracting rising number of newly minted millionaires. This is likely to grow in the coming years with India aiming to evolve as the third largest global economy by 2030. As Tim Ferris, an American – author famously quipped, “Money is multiplied in practical value depending on the number of W’s you control in your life: what you do, when you do it, where you do it, and with whom you do it.” When it comes to investing your money, taking the help of a financial planner or investment adviser goes a long way in maintaining the fitness of your wealth. Do let us know about your thoughts. Deepshikha Singh Special Editor editor@siliconindia.com Editorial ManageWealth like you manage Health! COLLABORATING MILLENNIALS ARE HAPPY MILLENNIALS siliconindia Vol 01 • Issue 4 • January 2017 Publisher Alok Chaturvedi Managing Editor Anamika Sahu Special Editor Deepshikha Singh EditorialTeam Tashi Sangmo SujithVasudevan Susila Govindaraj Ananth .V Prisila.S Pushpita Das Sales & Marketing Advertising queries Editorial queries editor@siliconindia.com To subscribe Visit www.siliconindia.com/magazine-in or send email to subscription@siliconindia.com Cover price is Rs.150 per issue. Printed and Published ByAlok Chaturvedi on behalf of Biz Print Media Technologies Pvt Ltd and Printed at Precision Fototype Services at Sri Sabari Shopping Complex, 24 Residency Road Bangalore-560025 and Published At No. 124, 2nd Floor, Surya Chambers, Old Airport Road, Murigheshpalya, Bangalore-560017. EditorAlok Chaturvedi Copyright © 2017 Biz Print Media Technologies Pvt Ltd, All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part of any text, photography or illustrations without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. The publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations. Views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the magazine and accordingly, no liability is assumed by the publisher. advertise@siliconindia.com Tel: 080-46441103 Sr.Visualiser Maitreyee GroupArt Director Ashok Kumar Circulation Manager Magendran Perumal Malay Sahu Shashi Ranjan Pradeep Kumar
- 5. siliconindia | |January2017 5siliconindia | | March 2016 17JULY 201513
- 6. siliconindia | |January2017 6 COVERFEATURE YOUR WEALTH BUILDING PARTNER INTELLISTOCKS: 10 PAGE IN MY OPINION Rohan Bhargava, Co-founder, CashKaro.com Cashless Industry Can Revamp Indian Economy. Here’s How! CONSULTANTS OF THE MONTH P R Dilip, Founder & MD, Impetus Wealth Management A Holistic Approach towards Addressing Unique Financial Goals 08 16 Nalini Jindal, Chief Investment Advisor Impetus Wealth Management:
- 7. siliconindia | |January2017 7 CXO INSIGHTS MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS - 2017 WEALTH Featured Solution Providers: Angel Broking21 Armstrong Capital Advisory22 BFC Capital26 RITI Investment and Consultancy 30 Sundaram Asset Management Company33 VitalSource Knowledge Associates 34 WealthEdge Financial Advisory 37 WealthTech 38 Ultimate Wealth Managers 40 24 Amit Bhatia, Head - Sales, Distribution & Product Management (Investment Products), Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Ltd. India’s Wealth Management Services in Modern Times 14 Kanwar Vivek, Senior President-Head Wealth Management, YES Bank The Future of Wealth Management 31 Manoj Mullath, Head - Wealth & Key Relationships, Capricorne Mindframe Wealth Management- Evolution and Relevance in Today’s Indian Context 35 Abhijit Kargirwar, Head- HNI and Wealth Management, Runwal Group FinTech – The Emerging Industry in India 41 27 Feroze Azeez, Director, AnandRathi Financial Services A P Hota, CEO & MD, NPCI Ashish Tyagi, Senior Equity Strategist, Divitas Capital The Emerging Market of Wealth Management in India Awareness is the Need of the Hour for a ‘Less Cash’ Economy The Changing Landscape of Wealth Management 42 LAST WORD
- 8. siliconindia | |January2017 8 IN MY OPINION CashKaro.com is India’s No.1 Cashback and Coupons website. The company aims to help its members save on their regular online purchases at leading Indian and International Brands. CashKaro.com is funded by angel investors like honorable Ratan Tata and Venture Capital firm, Kalaari Capital. By Rohan Bhargava, Co-founder, CashKaro.com emonetization has created the need for an alternative to cash. This gives an opportunity for India to become a cashless economy. Transferring funds through cashless methods would essentially entail the use of plastic money i.e. credit/ debit cards, mobile wallets, net banking and more. This shift towards a cashless economy is desirable for the economy for various reasons. This include: Curbing Black Money: It’s easier to keep a trail of transactions when money is exchanged online. If all activities are routed through banks, the problem of black money can be reduced to a great extent if not eliminated as Government will have access to all available banking information. Counterfeiting of notes, black economy/parallel economy and tax evasion are some of the illicit activities of the economy that a cashless economy can curb. Electronic payments can easily be tracked and no transactions will thus go unnoticed. Further, if the Government does notice fraudulent financial behavior, it can block or freeze accounts stopping the activity in its tracks. Drop in Production Cost of Bank Notes: As of 2014, the cost of cash operations in India was Rs.21,000 crore annually (2014 study by Tufts University, The Cost Of Cash In India). A cashless industry will drastically decrease the said cost of producing notes and coins. Wastage on account of torn or damaged notes will also be curbed. The government will save trillions of rupees once currency operations are reduced and this will add to the current GDP. D CASHLESS INDUSTRY CAN REVAMP INDIAN ECONOMY. HERE’S HOW! 1 2
- 9. siliconindia | |January2017 9 Growth in Financial Inclusion: The surge in bank accounts, credit/ debit cards, and digital wallets has only been seen in metropolitan areas. In the long run, however, limited cash flow will push digital payment methods into rural area thereby creating a utopian situation of the cashless transaction for the entire nation. Financial inclusion at this scale will be nothing but beneficial for the economy. Increased Spending: From a wider perspective, cashless payments will boost economic growth due to increased spending. Consumers forego minor purchases owing to a lack of cash whereas, in a cashless setup, these purchases will add to the money spent. The increase in spending power will also result in the creation of more jobs thus benefitting the economy in more ways than one. Tracking Spending Behavior: By tracking the commercial activities of individuals or groups of people, the government will be able to predict consumer behavior and improve policies. Planning for sectors such as housing, transportation, and energy management will be more inclined to the preferences of consumers when such behavior tracking becomes characteristic of the government. Growth in E-Commerce: Although the Cash-on-Delivery model was the most sought after method for e-commerce payments (83 percent according to a survey by Business Insider), digital transactions were also popular even before demonetization set in. In a cashless economy, e-commerce will definitely grow manifold due to the ease of paying through wallets and conducting online transactions. The growth in e-commerce will catapult the economy into an advanced, technology-driven phase. Simplified Payments: The ease that comes with using digital payment methods is unparalleled. With transactions becoming quicker and simpler to carry out and track, there will be less friction in the economy. Accounting will also become less time consuming. Digital payment will indubitably make life simpler for individuals and but will also lead to the smooth functioning of the economy. In conclusion, there are a lot of upsides to a cashless economy. Overall it will bring stronger accountability and transparency into the system. It is going to drastically affect the corrupt practices and also give a new lease of life to various new age businesses, start- ups who have been struggling with abysmal financial infrastructure based largely on cash. It will reduce the risk and cost of cash handling as soft money is safer than hard money. It will also reduce government liability. 4 3 5 6 7 In a cashless economy, e-commerce will grow manifolds due to the ease of paying through wallets and conducting online transactions
- 10. siliconindia | |January2017 10 COVER FEATURE INTELLISTOCKS:YOUR WEALTH BUILDING PARTNER T oday markets provide countless investment opportunities but investors find it a daunting task to select the best opportunity due to lack of complete knowledge about the financial products, share market or stocks that they invest in. Customers often end up putting their money based on the herd-mentality or market sentiments and eventually end up losing their hard earned cash. Some often fail to keep a regular check on their investments due to market volatility and consequently fall short to take intelligent decisions at the right moment; this leads investors astray in their investment goals. Intellistocks, a financial advisory company aims to simplify the process, reduce risk and maximize reward for investors by building a personalised portfolio approach for each customer. “People are quickly swayed by emotions and speculate on the stock market and miss the marked fundamentals. Sometimes investors are not very clear about their investment goals as well. We, at Intellistocks, provide solutions to all of these challenges. We, as Financial Advisors, help our clients bring clarity as far as their investment goals are concerned which empower them to achieve their financial targets. We provide our clients with the expertise to invest intelligently and get the optimum returns out of their investments,” says Nalini Jindal, Chief Investment Advisor, Intellistocks. By Deepshikha Singh
- 11. siliconindia | |January2017 11 Nalini Jindal, Chief Investment Advisor MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS - 2017 WEALTH
- 12. siliconindia | |January2017 12 Delivering Customized yet Comprehensive Portfolio Advisory Services Headquartered in Gurgaon, Intellistocks is focused to provide customized and comprehensive financial plans with its world-class research expertise. The company functions broadly in Stocks, Mutual Funds, Metals, Fixed Income and Real Estate verticals and offers an impressive money management experience. Its flagship product – “IntelliPortfolio” is a well- diversified portfolio built from the stocks which pass multi-step detailed scrutiny. A long-term investment plan, the portfolio is especially effective because it offers a strong margin of safety to sustain any macro issues, such as higher rates, inflation or a slowing economy, and still provides consistent returns in any market. Intellistocks practices disciplined investment processes to build well diversified portfolio which assists the customers to achieve their financial goals faster and safely, with minimal risk involvement. “We, at Intellistocks, give utmost importance to the financial freedom of our investors and make them enjoy it through the steady growth in wealth. When it comes to portfolio management and financial planning, we are and will continue to be the premier choice for our committed investors. Be it analysis and recommendation that matter most or world-class support and continuous guidance, we offer an impressive wealth management experience at all times,” adds Nalini. Steering its way ahead in the investment industry, the company also offers unique investment services such as IntelliTrade and IntelliWealth. IntelliTrade is a short-term investment plan that assists customers to make consistent profits from short to medium term momentum in stocks, whether market is up, down or sideways. IntelliWealth is a private wealth plan, customized and designed for clients with an investment capital of Rs. 1 cr. or above. It is one of the best investment strategies within defined risk bands. Intellistocks believes that customers’ satisfaction is of highest priority and for that it makes sure that one only pays for what satisfies them. Keeping up with this, the company has also come up with a 365 days money back guarantee. This is an extremely friendly money back policy, which offers all the customers a 12 month’s subscription plan with 365 days Money Back Guarantee. Intellistocks’ equity strategies and stock recommendations are structured to deliver a long-term, sustainable growth to its clients. Their focus on companies with good fundamentals and foreseeable growth profiles is complemented with sound balance sheets and solid cash flows. Intellistocks endeavours to guide its customers, best shares to buy, at what price and when to exit from the market, thus ensuring safety of their capital with healthy growth without taking much risk. “At Intellistocks, our methodology is unbiased and has a long perspective which sets us apart from other Wealth Management firms. We do not predict the market; instead, we prepare ourselves beforehand to face the volatility of the market. We understand the market cycles and our clients can access not just our new stock ideas Performance for IntelliPortfolio • Delivered 35.7percent returns in 2016 • 5 Years CAGR 42 percent • Surpassed Nifty by 3.5 x (5 year scenario) • Outperformed top Mutual Funds by 2.2 times • 67percent returns in HNI Segment
- 13. siliconindia | |January2017 13 but also can use our years’ of experience and exper- tise in finding the right wealth creating stocks,” illustrates Nalini. Soaring to Greater Heights and Beyond Since its establishment Intellistocks is serving Retail and HNI clients from India as well as abroad. The company credits its success to its team of well-skilled and high-performing professionals whose expertise and commitment has paved the way for Intellistocks to become one of the leading companies in Wealth Management sector. “At Intellistocks we are very proud of our people. We believe it is our highly skilled team that has brought years of industry expertise on one platform and it is because of their expertise and commitment that we continue to evolve as one of the successful financial advisory firm in the country. Our in-depth research, sophisticated technology and advanced analytical tools are also amongst the major factors that have contributed to our success,” shares Nalini Jindal. Intellistocks believes in one simple business philosophy – ‘What is good for our subscribers is good for us’. This is precisely the reason why the company does not have any business revenue goals. Instead, Intellistocks aspires to be the catalyst in achieving financial goals for 1 million investors. Adding to this, Nalini states, “In wealth management, the trust factor between client and a wealth manager is the primary pillar. It took us time, hard work, investment and lot of persistence to develop good research tools to change people’s mindset, and that’s how we started developing trust amongst our customers.” People who once started with Intellistocks as prospective clients have now turned into regular and loyal customers who have been with the company for years and have now become its well wishers and friends for a lifetime. Sharing one of many success stories, Nalini happily mentions “One of our clients who started with a small capital of three lakhs, travelled the journey of market ups and downs with us. Over the period of time he developed trust in stock market and us and kept raising his investments. The results have been phenomenal for him as he has earned profits of over one crore in his portfolio”. ‘A Satisfied Customer is the best business strategy of all’ – believing in this notion, Intellistocks is continuously striving to nurture its relationships with its clients. Speaking about Intellistocks’ future plans, Nalini explains, “We deliver performance, not promises. We aim to get better and beat Nifty 50 Benchmark with multiple folds. Keeping up with the technological advancements, we are also investing heavily in our research tools and technology in order to develop state of the art in-house tools which will help us further improve our insight and enable us to achieve new milestones”. In this age of automation and innovation, caring for customers has never been more important than now and Intellistocks is already setting a benchmark by serving its customers with Honesty, Integrity and Transparency, thus empowering them to achieve financial goals in a Smarter, Faster and Safer way. Intellistocks endeavours to guide its clients where to invest, at what price and when to exit from the market using a portfolio approach
- 14. siliconindia | |January2017 14 CXO INSIGHTS Established in 2004, YES BANK is India’s fifth largest private sector bank. It is a “Full Service Commercial Bank”, and has steadily built a Corporate, Retail & SME Banking franchise, Financial Markets, Investment Banking, Corporate Finance, Branch Banking, Business and Transaction Banking, and Wealth Management business lines across the country. By Kanwar Vivek - Senior President-Head Wealth Management, YES Bank n the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the internet was just beginning to take over, most people relied on physical statements in the mail. Today, we have interactive web portals that can be viewed on a computer, laptop, desktop, smartphones, or tablets that present a live update on exactly where all of our investments stand. Even wealth management is working on digitalization and once the process is digitized; all the information will flow smoothly and directly to clients. There will be no need for updates when the technology keeps the numbers updated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. This transition will make life a lot easier for many of us; many wealth management firms spend an inordinate amount of time in collecting, arranging and updating client information. It is a waste of time that is becoming obsolete. Digitization will completely transform how we deliver advice and engage clients. It is going to change us from reactive to proactive. Software and applications will do the continuous monitoring, which will alert the adviser when a client needs to be engaged. This shift will be remarkable not just for adviser but also for clients,enabling real time update on their status of achieving their goals, cash flows, spending and recommendations. Real time alerts will be sent such as: You need to get control of your spending. You need to trim your restaurant budget a little bit. You need to save more to achieve property buying goal. Think of a client who has a goal of taking a vacation to South Africa that year, and the moment the goal is nearby, the system searches for the good deals on flight, stay or travel agency and recommends to client. Even think of a client whose child’s marriage is approaching, again the system will search and recommend good wedding planners, deals on wedding halls and others. These transformations will lead to – being a one stop solution provider to the client’s life need and not just financial needs. Yes!! It’s POWERFUL. In August 2015, 1 billion people logged on to Facebook; almost one-seventh of the planet used Facebook that day. Why are Google and Facebook excited to do things like float hot air balloons to circulate internet access to remote parts of the I THE FUTURE OF WEALTH MANAGEMENT
- 15. siliconindia | |January2017 15 world? They are deeply concerned about running out of new human beings to serve. When 14 percent of the planet is reached in the first 10 years of a business, it is running out of potential customers very quickly. But for wealth management industry we have barely begun the technological transition. Most of us in the industry have been in the business of dispensing expert information. But now anybody can get expert information for free (without debating on its authenticity) and hence, there will be a transition in a role of a wealth manager. Dispensing expert information is not going to be enough in the future. We are going to have to help people implement it and help them with behavioural change. Our role is going to shift from someone who dispenses expert information to someone who is more like a coach, or a navigator. Forty years ago, wealth advisers were stockbrokers and literally sold stocks and other securities for a living. Then, discount brokerage firms used technology to sell stocks more cheaply and undermined the value of being a stockbroker. By the 1980s and 1990s, advisers were being driven out of stock brokering and began to sell mutual funds instead. In 21st century, online mutual fund superstores came along, so we became asset allocators and developed diversified portfolios by offering Structured Products, Risk Management Solutions, to Portfolio Management Services (PMS). Now, robo-advisers are arriving to do that. We have to transit again. Each of these transition events has led us to deliver a higher value in the end. Picking mutual funds was a higher value than selling stocks. Asset allocation was more valuable than fund picking. Goal based long term advising, which includes wider and customised products will be more valuable than plain asset allocation. And technology will continue to improve our services at every step along the way. In the end, technology and the transition to the digital age is not a threat that will eliminate financial advisers. We need to keep pace with the technology to ensure we remain ahead of the curve. Wealth management is working on digitalization and once the process is digitized; all the information will flow smoothly and directly to customers
- 16. siliconindia | |January2017 16 CONSULTANTS OF THE MONTH By Deepshikha Singh anaging the available resources and meeting one’s business objectives using the same is a talent which every business owner seeks today. However, managing finances and simultaneously keeping the profit ratio higher within a company is not every businessman’s cup of tea. With increasing income and affluence in India, wealth management is slowly establishing itself as a very important form of service that can be utilized by all especially people who may not have sound financial background but are interested in safeguarding and growing their wealth in a systematic way. Sensing the rising need for process-based investment services as an opportunity, P R Dilip, an industry veteran with over two decades of experience in Indian Capital Market, teamed with few professional friends in 1994 and established Impetus Wealth Management. Set up initially as an equity research firm, today Impetus has evolved into a full- fledged wealth management company, providing Portfolio Management Services under the Portfolio Manager Regulations of SEBI. Designed to Create, Grow and ProtectYour Wealth Headquartered in Mumbai, Impetus Wealth Management was built with a clear motive of providing research based investment advisory services for institutional as M IMPETUS WEALTH MANAGEMENT: A HOLISTIC APPROACH TOWARDS ADDRESSING UNIQUE FINANCIAL GOALS P R Dilip, Founder & MD
- 17. siliconindia | |January2017 17 well as individual investors. A SEBI registered Portfolio Manager; this company is globally renowned for its unique range of services which include Portfolio Management, Wealth Management services, Estate Planning, Transaction Platform for Equity, Mutual Fund Schemes and Insurance products. In an attempt to address the stumbling blocks of wealth management industry, Impetus has also created its own Investor Profiling System (IPS) that has helped the company address the investment needs of large number of High Net-Worth Individuals (HNI) from different walks of life from different parts of the world. Keeping up with their objective, Impetus assists its customers to clearly define their financial goals, time frame, risk appetite and available resources. Based on the results of its exhaustive client-profiling process, Impetus suggests suitable portfolio of assets to the respective investor, while also considering the key aspects such as capital preservation and optimum risk adjusted growth. Once an investor understands and accepts the suggested investment philosophy and process, the dynamic team of Impetus welcomes them to Impetus family through an agreement as per the relevant regulations and thus the journey begins. Acknowledging the client-centric services of Impetus, Cap. Ganesh Raja Dhanuskodi, a Merchant Navy Professional adds, “If it can be summed up in short, I would describe the work done by P.R.Dilip as, ‘having thorough knowledge of the subject and executing with utmost integrity’. The combination is a rare commodity. One need not think twice in recommending him for the area of work he is involved in.” The Enabling Process “At Impetus, we believe that, as the financial goal of each individual is different from another, the financial planning for each individual also has to be different and personalized. We are an unbiased wealth management firm and our agenda is not to sell any financial product to our investors. Instead, we educate our investors about the need- based financial planning rather than trend-based investments as what is in trend today may not help an investor to achieve his/her financial or life goals going forward. Thus, enabling the investor to take the right investment decisions,” speaks P R Dilip, Founder, Impetus Wealth Management. The Big Picture Highlighting the present investment market, Dilip utters, “I expect an exponential growth of investors with substantial investable surplus in the country. More interestingly, there is a visible shift in the preference of asset class among the new investors, a shift from traditional fixed assets (Real Estate and Gold) to financial assets (Equity, Mutual Fund Scheme and many more). Though there is huge growth in the number of new investors in the country, the number of SEBI Registered Investment Advisors is not growing with the same pace.” Growth Plan with a Social Angle Impetus Wealth Management, a SEBI Registered Portfolio Management Company has the required regulatory registration, adequate knowledge, experienced and skilled manpower, scalable systems with robust technology to cater to the investment needs of large number of Investors from any part of the world, seeking investment opportunities in Indian Capital Market. In order to attain global scale, Impetus is also associating with quality wealth managers from different geographies and training them on its time-tested Wealth Management Process, facilitating them to provide the same quality of service in the remotest of the remote places of the country. Discussing on the future roadmap of Impetus, Dilip says, “Our plan is to enable even the small-town investors to access the highest quality of financial services using our knowledge, experiences and our technology backbone well within the regulatory environment. Farther than the growth of Impetus Wealth Management, this approach serves dual social purposes, offers quality investment service to people in the small towns and provides quality employment for the right candidates in the small towns. ” Impetus Wealth Management has successfully evolved into a full-fledged wealth management company, providing services under the Portfolio Manager Regulations of SEBI MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS - 2017 WEALTH
- 18. siliconindia | |January2017 18 MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS - 2017 WEALTH T he Indian economy has witnessed a robust growth over the last few decades which has helped the country’s wealth management sector to evolve at a tremendous rate.Evolving as the fastest growing sector of the country, Wealth Management has managed to influence the revenue of the country as well. With financial advisors and wealth managers taking the front seat in the country’s booming economy, their recent act of catering to other financial services in the remote of the remotest areas of the country has come up as one of the key projects of the current time.Instead of limiting their operations within the comforts of metropolitans and cosmopolitans, wealth managers are now making every possible attempt to spread financial awareness in the remote sections of the society. This has definitely set a trail for an attractive future of the country as well as for the investors. Although there is much room to enhance and upgrade the skill set of present wealth management advisory professionals that is sure to boost the sole interest of the investors.However,it is evident that the wealth managers have already set a niche by adhering to the global standards while providing exclusive wealth and financial solutions,delivering seamless investment options along with employing suitable technologies into the financial model which has bought them rightful acknowledgement for their client’s success. This edition of siliconindia Consultants brings you the “20 Most Promising Wealth Management Consultants - 2017”, featuring some of the prominent consultants who surpassed catering unbiased wealth advisory solutions and services by helping its clients to quantify and achieve their financial goals. The proposed list comes in favour to companies that look for felicitous consulting partner, who align the specific needs along the healthy business profits.
- 19. siliconindia | |January2017 19 COMPANY MANAGEMENT DESCRIPTION Aadi Wealth Management New Delhi aadiwealth.com Angel Broking Mumbai angelbroking.com Armstrong Capital Advisory Bangalore armstrong-cap.com ASK Wealth Advisors Mumbai askfinancials.com BFC Capital Lucknow bfccapital.com Edelweiss Asset Management Mumbai edelweissfin.in Franklin Templeton Mumbai franklintempletonindia.com Imperial India Consultant Pune impperialindia.in Impetus Wealth Management Mumbai impetusindia.in Intellistocks Gurgaon intellistocks.com Amit Jain, Founder, CEO Vinay Agrawal, CEO, Angel Broking Manju Mastakar, Director Asit Koticha, Chairman and Founder Sharad Bindal, Chief Marketing Officer Sunil Gupta, Chief Executive Officer Vikaas M. Sachdeva, Chief Executive Officer Vivek Kudva, Managing Director Dhammadeep Shaligram Gajbe, Managing Director P R Dilip, Founder and Managing Director Nalini Jindal, Chief Investment advisor A premier wealth advisor firm providing integrated financial services to institutional, corporate and individual clients across Real Estate, Mutual Funds,Fixed Income, Private Equity and Loans Provides financial services to retail clients and their services include online stock broking, depository services, and commodity trading and investment advisory services A dedicated team providing goal based financial planning, portfolio management service, wealth management service for individuals and businesses An independent company specialising in Wealth Advisory and Family Office solutions to UHNI individuals and families, both Resident as well as Non Resident (NRIs) Works on financial advisory model and provides recommendation for almost all the wealth management products Providing a broad range of financial products and services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, institutions and individuals Offering specialized expertise across styles and asset classes, all supported by the strength and resources of one of the world’s largest asset managers An independent financial advisory services firm delicately offering services to individuals, families and trusts with personalized assistance in pursuing client’s financial goals Focused wealth management advisor designed to create, grow and protect personal finances through its customized, comprehensive and hassle free ways Working with a mission is to empower millions of Indians to build wealth through providing a disciplined and ethical stock recommendations and financial advisory services by hand picking the best multi-bagger stocks for a unique personalised portfolio 20 MOST PROMISING WEALTH MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS - 2017
- 20. siliconindia | |January2017 20 COMPANY MANAGEMENT DESCRIPTION Invest Advice Noida investadvice.in Mentor Wealth Consultants Noida mentorwealth.in Muthoot Asset Management Company Kerala muthootfinance.com Riti Investment & Consultancy Gujarat riticonsultancy.in Sanctum Wealth Management Mumbai Sanctumwealth.com Sundaram Asset Management Chennai sundarammutual.com Ultimate Wealth Managers Bangalore ultimateinv.net VitalSource Knowledge Associates Delhi vitalsourceka.co.in Wealth Technology and Services Mumbai wealthtech.in Wealthedge Financial Advisory Gurgaon wealthedge.net Sachin Gupta, Founder & CEO Om Prakash, Managing Director George Alexander Muthoot, Managing Director Kunal Mehta, Proprietor Shiv Gupta, Founder and Chief Executive Officer Sunil Subramaniam, Chief Executive Officer K V Vardhan, CEO CA George Kurian, Director - Management Consulting Ujjwal Jain, Director & CEO Sunil Kumar Pathak, Chief Knowledge Officer, Rahul Kishore Sharma, Chief Executive Officer Specializing in financial planning, real estate servives, loans and mortgages, tax planning and advisory Financial services company aiming to provide independent, high quality and customized financial planning and investment management solutions to Individuals as well as Institutions An Indian financial corporation providing personal and business loans secured by gold jewellery or gold ;oans An open-architecture wealth management platform specifically designed for professional, and high net worth individuals (HNIs) A firm providing end-to-end wealth management solutions for High Net Worth Individuals (HNIs) Catering all wealth management products and services under one umbrella An independent financial advisory firm striving to work for the benefit of the investors by helping them achieve their financial goals Offering end-to-end services ranging from compliance and outsourced financial services to manpower placement and industry specific training Redefining the FinTech landscape and building products for the investment industry Ensuring robust business growth of its client’s business through robust compliance and sound financial planning and finetuning the business processes to attain the business objective 20 MOST PROMISING WEALTH MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS - 2017
- 21. siliconindia | |January2017 21 Angel Broking: Fostering Digitization of Financial Services W ith rising competition, tight margins, and the changing customer expectations, the ability to develop employees and connect workforce decisions with financial insights is now more important than ever before for the retail sector. Unfortunately, many retailers still struggle with inefficient and expensive financial systems, thus failing to handle the market change. In 1987, when the retail investors were still advice and assistance deprived, Dinesh Thakkar spotted a huge business opportunity to serve the retail investing community. This is when Angel Broking, a leading stock broking and wealth management firm was established. Headquartered in Mumbai, the Angel Group is a member of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the two leading Commodity Exchanges in the country: NCDEX & MCX. Angel Broking offers its customers a wide range of personalized wealth management and investment services including Stock and Commodity Trading, Investment Advisory Services, Distribution of Mutual Funds, IPOs, Personal Loans and Insurance, as well as E-broking and Depository services which are supported by intensive research and a six sigma-backed quality assurance program. “Continuous innovation to provide a truly personalized service is our DNA. Our brand aims to provide best value for money to investors through innovative products, trading/investment strategies, state- of-the-art technology and personalized services. Our objective is to have complete harmony between quality in process and continuous improvement to deliver exceptional service that will delight our customers,” Vinay Agrawal, CEO, Angel Broking. Embracing the Digital Era In this digital era of innovation, Angel Broking has channelled its services through various technology based platforms. When the market was buzzed with E-KYC service, Angel Broking’s team explored ahead to introduce customized service called DKYC that allowed customers to open an account with just their finger prints. Trade in 1 Hour, another unique service enabled customers to trade in just 1 hour after the completion of KYC process. Advancement in digital technology also made it easier for Angel Broking to provide customer services through social media such as Twitter and Facebook by deploying Chat-Bots. The customers could use pre-set #hashtags to know their account balance, ledger balance and other necessary information. Breaking the conventional method of safe investment experience, Angel Broking has also incorporated advanced behaviour-based analytical algorithms in the surveillance system to enhance investing security for its online customers. Furthermore, Angel Broking ensures availability of HNI quality advisory to every individual investor through their investment engine ‘ARQ’, a system which uses algorithms and Nobel prize winning Modern Portfolio theory to enable personalized investment advice based on individual’s financial goals and risk profile. Paving the Path to Success The company had set-off its journey with one office and 100 clients but today, Angel Broking has emerged as a premium Retail Focused Broking house. Over three decades of its existence, the company has expanded in more than 900 cities and earned the reputation of one of the most esteemed ‘Retail Broking House’ in India. Bagging an international recognition, it provides trading platforms and expertise to diverse clients of over 1 million and more than 9000 sub-brokers. Speaking on future growth plans of the company, Vinay adds, “We are here for individual investors and we will continue to innovate to provide the best of Investment Advisory and Digital Platforms. We truly believe that Financial Inclusion will only be possible through Mobile Technology and hence we have invested heavily in the same. With our latest launch-ARQ, we have taken our first step towards making superior Investment advisory available at minimal/zero cost to every individual and we are willing to work towards this in future.” MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS - 2017 WEALTH Vinay Agrawal, CEO Angel Broking is a member of BSE, NSE and the two leading Commodity Exchanges in the country - NCDEX and MCX
- 22. siliconindia | |January2017 22 Armstrong Capital Advisory: Building Customer Relationships based on Trust and Integrity H .L. Mencken once wrote, “It is mutual trust, even more than mutual interest that holds human association together.” For financial advisors, Mencken’s words have never sounded more relevant than ever before. To maintain a successful relationship with the customers, trust is one of the most essential aspects. However, today the meaning of trust is changing dramatically. Customers are facing trouble due to frequent changes in investment managers, portfolio strategies and every finance manager they come across as an advisor would sell a product and move on. With most financial organizations focused on getting big buck quickly, selling insurances or structured products; it is the customer that is left cheated in most cases. The need of the hour is to build up the customer relationships, understand their needs and then offer solutions that add value to the customers’ investments. Headquartered in Bangalore, Armstrong Capital Advisory Pvt Ltd is a close knit boutique investment management firm, focussed on establishing and maintaining fruitful and long term relationships with clients. The basic motive behind starting Armstrong and continuing it was the way wealth management was dealt in the back-end. When all the organizations aimed on making money and selling products, it was Armstrong that stayed focused building relationships on trust and integrity. With its client-centric approach and experienced team, the company has recorded an exponential growth since its inception. Armstrong has been rewarded by DHFL and Shriram Transport for its exceptional performance; in 2016, the company received award from Birla Mutual fund for contribution to the highest SIP’s in Bangalore and Tata Mutual fund also awarded Armstrong for commendable business contributions. Highly acknowledged for walking the talk with its customers, Armstrong Capital believes that performance comes out of passion and not pressure. Thus, in a nut shell, there is no product push and the company completely focuses on the processes in the organization. Armstrong’s customers are offered unique range of services such as Financial Planning, Mutual Fund Advisory, Portfolio Management Services, Wealth Management Services, Retirement Planning, Currency Hedging and Cash Flow Management. “When we meet prospects, we look at the whole picture, all their liabilities and all the investments done till date. Later, we give them a holistic view about asset allocation, offer to help them pay out their liabilities and plan to get an annuity so that salary is not the only source of income. We set up review meetings at intervals and touch back on the plan, this makes our clients feel involved in the process of choosing the right investment plan,” says Manju Mastakar, Director, Armstrong Capital Advisory. Managing close to 60 crore AUM, today Armstrong is already giving a tough competition to other players in the field of financial advisory sector. Highlighting on the future plans of Armstrong, Manju shared, “I have a lot of plans for Armstrong. We want to expand our presence in other cities; need more feet on the ground; make people aware of financial planning; get more presence online and on social media. When we meet customers they are unaware of a profession like a Financial Advisor. Our focus for the next couple of years would be to spread awareness about this profession, provoke the habit of savings and build a legacy for our customers.” Armstrong is focused on providing customers with unparalleled financial advisory service and fostering long term relationship with customers, based on trust and integrity Manju Mastakar, Director MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS - 2017 WEALTH
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- 24. siliconindia | |January2017 24 CXO INSIGHTS Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Limited (MMFSL) is India’s leading Rural NBFC, headquartered in Mumbai. It is amongst the top tractor financer in India and offers a wide range of financial products to address varied customer requirements. The NBFC has 1000+ offices spread across 1 in every 3 villages across India with a total of more than 3 Million customers till date. By Amit Bhatia, Head - Sales, Distribution & Product Management (Investment Products), Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Ltd. he wealth management industry around the world is witnessing a wave of changes due to weak economies in the developed world, strong growth in developing markets like China and India, an uncertain political future in Europe, increasing regulatory supervision, and new competition from rising Fin- Techs and their innovative services for High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs). India has registered an exceptionally high growth in terms of the population of HNWI & their wealth after the financial crisis. A study published by Markets and Markets stated that HNWI in India consists of eight percent of the total wealthy households, but constitutes around 45 percent of the total wealth and around 69 percent of the Indian HNWI population is in the age group of 30-55, which has long term investment plans and thus requires financial planning and advisory asset management. Also, with strong economic future outlook, stable government, GDP growth rate nearing nine percent and policy reforms taking off, India’s growth story is making it increasingly attractive market for wealth management firms. This trend is expected to continue, with India estimated to become the third largest global economy by 2030. Indian HNWIs have a limited understanding of the risk and returns associated with investment products and thus require personal attention and assurance from wealth managers which has led to a growing importance of face to face relationship management. Investors now demand greater levels of transparency and far more thorough due diligence than ever before. Disappointment with the past paradigms of the investment management industry, combined with an increasingly sophisticated T INDIA’S WEALTH MANAGEMENT SERVICES IN MODERN TIMES
- 25. siliconindia | |January2017 25 Credibility is the key to building successful investor relationships, enhancing distribution efforts and seeking new growth and more risk-averse investor base, has led firms to adopt far higher standards of transparency, investor communication and fund governance. Companies have also initiated more investor education and more powerful and robust technology- driven client interface tools. Requests for third-party reports have gained importance as they have become an effective tool to communicate essential information about a manager’s internal control structure, risk management and operations. Credibility, not just performance, is the key to building successful investor relationships, enhancing distribution efforts and seeking new growth. Also, from traditionally concentrating on metro cities, wealth managers have now started focusing on Tier II and Tier III cities by setting up their operations there. Among the institutions operating in the wealth management industry in India, banks are largely dominating the space with players like ICICI, HDFC, and Kotak. India’s homegrown wealth managers are hiring more staff and expanding in smaller cities, seeking to attract rising numbers of newly minted millionaires as high costs and regulatory restrictions drive some global rivals to scale down. India for the last two consecutive year was the world’s fastest growing wealth management market, according to a CapGemini and RBC Wealth Management study published in June 2015, spurred largely by rising personal income as well as a boom in e-commerce start-ups that has also attracted foreign investors such as Japan’s SoftBank Corp and Singapore’s Temasek Holdings. To take advantage of this growth, local firms such as IIFL Wealth Management and Kotak Wealth Management, which have long dominated the industry, said they plan to add more branches and bankers within months. New players are also set to break in, like the State Bank of India already started offering wealth management services last year, for the first time. A lot of new wealth is being generated by promoters selling their stake. This is a good opportunity to cater to this underserved ultra- high net worth segment. Firms are now keenly focused on managing regulatory change, risk and volatility and rapidly positioning themselves to compete for market share. Many firms have been forced to consider redesigning their business operating models as part of a renewed strategic focus on aggressive cost control, operational efficiency and strict regulatory requirements. More importantly, growth has returned to the industry. Lines are blurring, both in the regulated and alternative spaces, as managers look to diversify revenue streams and find new opportunities. Firms must fully understand how the distribution game has changed, both globally and locally, and how to most effectively increase revenue and improve margins. The key to success in all markets—emerging and developed—is a strong focus on customers and their changing needs, along with robust technology distribution platforms. Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article are my own and not in any way represent the views of my organization.
- 26. siliconindia | |January2017 26 BFC Capital: Delivering Astute and Unbiased Financial Advisory to Customers I ndia’s growing economy has led to a rapid growth in the assets of the investors. With more number of assets to take care of, wealth management and right investments have come up as the top priority for almost every individual who owns a sizeable amount of money. From corporate giants to HNIs, the flow of wealth is not always through the same stream for all. However, when it comes to managing these assets and wealth, everyone looks up for the same thing – proper wealth management service. Established in 2001, BFC Capital is a company promoted by young professionals with a vision to place the organization among the best Financial Service Providers. Rendering Client-Centric Solutions Based out of Lucknow, BFC Capital was set up with a motive to bridge the gaps in financial advisory and wealth management sector. Keeping in line with this objective, BFC has created a unique Wealth Management Matrix – “Prodigy”, which provides wealth advisory on the basis of well written algorithms. Once a customer approaches BFC, the wealth managers ask questions and based on the answers provided by the clients, the software automatically creates a product basket with a sound genuine recommendation basis. The products offered are based on the outcome of this matrix. BFC Capital operates on advisory model, giving recommendations for all wealth management products including Corporate FDs, Mutual Funds, Stock, Shares, Commodities and Portfolio Management. Attempting to make its customers financially content, the company offers unique range of services like corporate investment planning, treasury planning, financial planning which involves goal based planning, tax planning and wealth management. “At BFC, we work not just to enhance the service standards of our customers but also to provide financial wisdom to people. We assess the requirements of our clientele, understand their profile for risk, return, liquidity and tax liability; and then after a lot of research we provide the best suited products to our customers,” speaks Sharad Bindal, Chief Marketing Officer, BFC Capital. Committed to its independence, BFC Capital works exclusively for the benefit of its customers without any conflicting interests. The company takes great pride in its team which has successfully served more than 400 clients in retail advisory base and close to 150 clients in institutional segment including Government Corporations, Banks, PF Trusts and Private Corporate. With more than a decade’s experience in financial advisory sector, the company has already set a trail for other players to follow. Concluding the interaction by narrating the future road map of the company, Mr. Sunil Gupta, Chief Executive Officer says, “We have plans of launching our mobile app – “MF Prodigy” and this is sure to revolutionize the idea of investment in terms of convenience and advice. This is an entirely paperless thing, where people will get advice on the basis of Prodigy-algorithm after answering certain questions. All the transactions will be executed online through the app. The app will ensure that the investors get advice as well as execute the investment transaction online within a short span of 5 minutes.” BFC Capital offers end-to-end financial advisory solutions to meet the requirement of its customers MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS - 2017 WEALTH Sunil Gupta, CEO Sharad Bindal, CMO
- 27. siliconindia | |January2017 27 By A P Hota, CEO & MD, NPCI or building a ‘Less Cash’ economy, awareness of the customer is as much important as infrastructure readiness. While infrastructure development has moved substantially during the past few years, efforts on building awareness on the part of the consumer has not been adequate. Data indicates that number of banks with internet banking, mobile banking and card payment facility has almost doubled during past five years. Such a doubling of infrastructure should lead to increase in volume of transactions by multiple times. But the same has not happened. This is primarily due to lack of awareness on the part of the customers and also inadequate efforts on the part of the banks to allay the fears of the customers transacting electronically. In the area of mobile payment system, Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) has been launched in the country which is a next generation money transfer system operating 24x7 on a real time basis. To cater to the needs of the segment which does not have smartphones, a USSD based IMPS has been created under the common service code *99#. Considering that, the country has 900 million plus mobile phones and 700 million plus active bank accounts. Ideally, all bank customers can have access to mobile banking if they link their mobile number to their bank account. This optimism is strengthened by the fact that almost all the banks including small cooperative banks are under Core Banking Solution (CBS) which is a necessary condition for 24x7 mobile banking services. USSD based mobile banking service is also available in local language. Thus, there is no challenge in banking infrastructure. But the data available indicates that only about 200 Million customers have linked their mobile number with their banks. Possibly, the customers are unable to see the benefits of linking the mobile number. The regulatory mandate that every credit or debit transaction to the bank account need to be alerted to the customer on the mobile is possibly not known by the customers. There is a need for providing hand-holding to the customers in the use of mobile phones for banking services starting with very simple service like Balance Enquiry through a missed call or making a call to the call centre to get information on some financial product. In the area of card payment system, though 1.4 million Point of Sale (PoS) terminals is not adequate for a large country like India, the AWARENESS IS THE NEED OF THE HOUR FOR A ‘LESS CASH’ ECONOMY Headquartered in Mumbai, NPCI serves as the core organization for all retail payment systems in India with the support and guidance from the RBI and IBA. CEO INSIGHTS F
- 28. siliconindia | |January2017 28 number should be good enough at least for carded customers in the metro cities to transact with debit/ credit cards. But, the volume of PoS transactions in the country is only four million a day which works out just four transactions per terminal per day. One of the reasons cited for such volume of PoS transactions may be that many customers are still not aware of the benefits of PoS transaction compared to transacting by cash. There is misplaced fear in the mind of the senior citizen customers that the card and the PIN may get compromised. Newspaper reporting every now and then regarding card frauds without any explanatory notes leaves the customers with more questions than answers on using the cards at locations outside the banks’ premises. Therefore, use of card on ATMs provides more comfort than using the same on a PoS machine. The fact that card payment system can also be safe and secure with some precautions taken by the customer needs to be explained with details. For remittance and bill payments, India has developed excellent infrastructure of NEFT and IMPS system. Bank customers having access to internet channel can easily do the remittance online. Remittance can also be done through mobile and ATM channel. But it is observed that during the first week of the month, a large number of people queue up in front of the branches for sending remittances. Queues before the Post Offices and Business Correspondent agents are also long. This could partly be a function of the awareness level on the part of the customers about the permissible and available channels for remittance delivery. It would however be appropriate to mention that banks have set up more than 1,000 financial literacy centres during the past few years and the number is growing. The financial literacy centres act as the focal point for organizing literacy camps and counselling of customers in their respective jurisdiction. Education materials in local language are prepared and made available to customers. Joint publicity campaigns are being organized through Indian Banks’ Association (IBA). The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and NABARD have also started educating the customers on the facilities available and precautions they need to take. But for a large country like India, steps required are much larger. Efforts required are both in supply and demand sides of Financial Inclusion. In the area of mobile payment system, Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) has been launched in the country which is a next generation money transfer system operating 24x7 on a real time basis
- 29. siliconindia | |January2017 29 JULY 201537siliconindia | |August 2013 52
- 30. siliconindia | |January2017 30 RITI Investment and Consultancy: The Ultimate Guide to Creating, Managing and Protecting your Assets T he wealth management industry in India is mostly managed by bankers and individual financial advisors who approach customers soliciting relationship through a reference or by other means. While most customers come across financial advisors who speak well, have relevant experience and demanded huge fees or commissions; evaluating amongst various wealth managers and selecting the right financial service provider before deciding to work with them is still a complicated task. Witnessing clients being charged excessive fees/commission and receiving little value in return, Kunal Mehta, a person with excessive knowledge and experience in wealth management and corporate finances, decided to establish RITI Investment & Consultancy, a company that intends to offer a single go-to advisor platform which proactively plans and coordinates every moving part of customer’s financial lives. Incepted in 2009, RITI is a company that prides itself on transparency, listening before acting and serving as a steward for their customers’ financial security. “At RITI, we believe that planning can encompass a vast number of topics. This is the reason why our planning process begins with asking questions and listening. For some clients this takes one meeting, for others it might take three. Our goal is to understand our clients’ objectives. Once we do, we analyze all the information and go about creating a plan unique to the situation. Aiming to provide lifetime guidance, we assist with plan implementations and henceforth proactively monitor the plan to ensure that it is always supporting customers’ objectives,” speaks Kunal Mehta, Proprietor, RITI Investment & Consultancy. Keeping Up With the Change As one moves through life’s stages their needs, preferences, priorities and risk profile also changes and so does their investment strategy. The highly professional and skilled team of RITI understands this, and thus offers proactive planning strategy that embraces changes in economic as well as market conditions and determines whether any modifications are required in one’s investment plan. Having a flexible process that evolves along with the customers’ needs allows RITI to minimize risk and take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves. “We are also working towards a custom communication schedule in order to capture any life changes and provide any necessary planning updates. The online Wealth Portal will serve as an easy to use platform to track and manage customer’s accounts and important documents in one convenient and secure location. We will continually stay on top of changes to the tax code, mortgage rates and other financial barometers to determine how one might benefit,” shares Kunal. Today, RITI Investment & Consultancy is already a renowned name in the financial advisory sector. About 100 percent of RITI’s clients boast that RITI’s financial planning exercise is comprehensive and it would help them achieve their financial goals, most of the clients would recommend RITI to their friends and family, and close to 60 percent of these clients rated their overall experience as “excellent” and about 40 percent had a good experience working with RITI Investment & Consultancy. Closing the conversation, Kunal said, “In future we wish to grow the financial resources of Indian families and fulfil their needs for savings, investment, insurance, tax, housing and estate planning.” RITI intends to offer a single go-to advisor platform which proactively plans and coordinates every moving part of customer’s finances Kunal Mehta, Proprietor MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS - 2017 WEALTH
- 31. siliconindia | |January2017 31 By Manoj Mullath, Head - Wealth & Key Relationships, Capricorne Mindframe ealth Management, in contextuality has been in existence for quarter of a century in India. From serving the Ultra Rich individuals and families way back in the 1970s to what it is today, Wealth Management has evolved to become a multi disciplinary approach with multiple solutions. However, from single product advisory to a multi product, goal oriented wealth management approach, has been a gradual progression. This line of business function can credit its emergence from the banking system. The banks in the 1970s have functioned merely on deposits and providing credit to investors. With the emergence and expansion of the banking system in the 1970s, India’s savings rate rose from 16 percent of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) from early 1970s to 35 percent of the GDP by 1980. While financial deepening through banks played its vital role, rising per capita income and diminishing share of agriculture in the GDP also helped. This period was aptly called the Golden Era, as far as Indian Savings were concerned. Banking till 1970s has been mostly about, accumulating and preserving wealth within the boundaries of bank deposits. Early 1970s also saw the rise of Insurance Advisory, specifically life insurance. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) since its formation in 1956 has played a vital role in insuring lives till then. Apart from mere risk cover, LIC encouraged investors to consider investments through its conventional plans. An Indian Investor till 1980s, considered a bank account and an LIC policy as his means to accumulate wealth. Though the Unit Trust of India (UTI) started in 1963, it took UTI 25 years to reach an Assets Under Management (AUM) of 6700 Crores. With the emergence of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in 1980s, there emerged a new avenue to make investments, shares or stocks as it is popularly known. However, this was essentially for the risk friendly investors and neither WEALTH MANAGEMENT- EVOLUTION AND RELEVANCE IN TODAY’S INDIAN CONTEXT Capricorne Mindframe is a Wealth & Portfolio Management Company with great levels of passion, product acumen and skill in the advisory space. Manoj has made significant contributions to clients through prudent Wealth Management, Investment Banking and Advisory expertise. CXO INSIGHTS W
- 32. siliconindia | |January2017 32 could many comprehend nor have access to. However, it was during the second phase of the Mutual Fund Industry (1987-1993), did High Net worth Investors take cognizance of the Mutual Funds and Capital markets in total. By 1993, the Mutual Funds AUM touched 47000 Crores, with the emergence of non-UTI, PSU mutual funds. By then Life Insurance business was open to Non LIC, private participants as well. Banks and financial institutions, found a new revenue model with a combination of Mutual Funds, Insurance and Deposits. Banks could cater to larger retail public, by offering an array of products for the last 2 decades. However by now, the quintessential High net Investors / Families / Trusts realized the need of a dedicated advice to manage their hard earned assets or wealth. Banks followed suite with dedicated Relationship Manager / Personal Banker until the emergence of a dedicated Portfolio or Wealth Manager. Today, a Wealth Manager unlike a banker goes beyond just investment advice. Wealth Management today, has evolved to an end to end Money Management Solutions for every investor ranging from an Individual Investor / family, Corporate Investor, HUF (Hindu Undivided Family) to a Trust. Private Wealth Management involves providing prudent investment solutions, Corporate and Treasury Advisory, Off Shore Advisory and Family Office. Scope of Business From mere conventional ways of advisory and managing wealth, Wealth Management today comprises of an advanced form of financial planning that encompasses Estate Planning, Trust Management, Legal Services Resources, Taxation advisory, and Portfolio Management among the many others. India’s GDP growth has been tremendous and at $2.3 Trillion as on December 2015. Rise in savings and lessening debt at 9.5 percent (as a percent of the GDP) which is one of the best among global economies. Added to that, positive demographics, long term economic drivers, rising per capita income, and fiscal prudence have shaped Indian economy to emerge as a super power in a decade. A five year historical average of HNI wealth/GDP for each year, combined with IMF’s GDP projections, is estimated that HNI wealth in India will grow to US$952 Billion by 2017, a steady 12 percent CAGR from 2011. Today India stands tall with 84 Billionaires with a total aggregate net worth of $248 Billion that accounts to 11.8 percent of the GDP. With rising per capita income, it is important to have a professional approach in managing wealth. It is important to understand that High Net worth Individuals (HNWI) consists of 8 percent, accounting of 45 percent of the total wealth. Interestingly, only 20 percent of the total HNWIs consult a Wealth Manager. Besides 67 percent of the HNWIs are in the age group of 30-55, thus requiring expert advice. Again, 39 percent of the total HNWI income arising out of business income, would need prudent tax planning solutions to mitigate risk and create wealth. Thus, it provides a great scope for Wealth Managers. Wealth Management – Contribution and Relevance to an Organization Wealth management plays a vital role in Corporate Advisory. It’s important to have a wide understanding of different businesses to advice each corporate operating within a specific industry. While advisory services include strategic planning of finances, due diligence, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), short and long term investments through different assets, hedge funds, private equity and so on, risk management is also offered on advice. Wealth management is also extended to the employees of corporate through corporate employee benefit programmes. Depository and Trustee Services are tailor made and designed for promoters of large corporate houses, to provide insightful information on ensuring compliance on fund documentation, regulatory requirements and scheme particulars. Raising funds for businesses are a never ending process, and promoter funding assistance plays a vital role.
- 33. siliconindia | |January2017 33 Sundaram Asset Management Company: Providing end-to-end Wealth Management Solutions under One Roof T he first time Arvind Ahuja used an online calculator to assess his retirement needs, he suffered an utter disbelief. The Bengaluru-based software engineer, whose gross income was around 12 lakh a year at that time, needed more than eight crore rupees to fund his post-retirement needs. Indeed, this eight digit figure was too high and too scary. But in all likelihood, these numbers were just a vague idea about what was needed after retirement and not a concrete plan. Today, the main mistake that most people make, many times unknowingly, is not investing into products that beat inflation. Understanding the need to address this gap, Sundaram Asset Management Company Ltd (a fully owned subsidiary of one of India’s oldest NBFCs - Sundaram Finance Limited), was founded by a highly experienced management team who aspired to deliver high-quality services to people and corporate business houses that need sound and trusted financial advices. Set up in 1996, Sundaram keeps up with its founding objectives by offering a broad range of services that include capital protected products for institutional clients and conservative investors, long term equity products to assist retail customers and fixed income products to deliver superior return over fixed deposits. The company also offers portfolio management services where it provides tailor-made equity products to suit the unique needs of its high net worth customers. “We realized that most of our clients were looking for somebody who could build a long term wealth plan and also provide products which could beat inflation over the long run. So, taking this into account we recommend fixed income products that are able to deliver better return than bank deposits. We have introduced wealth management services into our practices to manage the equities. Sundaram also houses a portfolio management service division that caters the high net worth individuals and helps them create and manage wealth for the future,” speaks Sunil Subramaniam, Chief Executive Officer, Sundaram Asset Management Company. Unlike other wealth managers, who offer a plethora of products often confusing the retail investor, Sundaram Asset Management Company offer select products which the retail investor can rely on to be part of his long term portfolio. Further Sundaram Mutual Fund does not deviate from each Fund’s mandate and so an Investor can buy a fund knowing fully well that the characteristic of the Fund will not change thereby providing much needed stability and focus to his portfolio. The Journey to Success Sundaram has advanced rapidly over the years recording 26 percent growth since its inception. The progress and calibre of this company is well reflected in its customer base of 1.2 million and over thirty thousand empanelled distributors. The success saga of the company does not end here. Sundaram’s flagship fund “Select Mid-Cap” which was launched at issue price of 10 rupees, recently crossed the landmark level of rupees 400, which is 40 times since its introduction. Conversing about the future growth strategies of the company, Sunil says, “Over the years we have built a very strong track record of delivering long term wealth creation to a mix of retail, HNI and institutional investors. In coming years, we intend to create a set of passive products that would cater to the increasing number of people who wish to have low cost beta products. Our aim is to plant ourselves in multiple areas, adding value to our customers’ business by offering more products through alternative investment vehicles.” Sunil Subramaniam, Chief Executive Officer MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS - 2017 WEALTH Sundaram aims to deliver high-quality services to people and corporate business houses that need sound and trusted financial advices
- 34. siliconindia | |January2017 34 Ultimate Wealth Managers: Nurturing Wealth through Reliable Wealth Management Advisory A nybody who has ever walked into any of the large financial institutions in India would have surely been pushed towards buying a financial product which may not suit their profile at all. Or worse, they would have been forced to opt for a policy with some eye-catching returns. As the market of financial solution providers emerges, mis-selling of financial products has also become a common challenge faced by most of the investors. L. Sridharan, financial industry veteran with over two decades of experience, realized that majority of financial products that were being suggested were mostly beneficial for the sellers rather than the investors. With an objective to provide unbiased financial advisory to save investors from such misguidance or from the vested crowds, Sridharan has started Ultimate Wealth Managers (P) Ltd. Built on three core values, viz. unbiased advisory, client- confidentiality and timely and superior services, Ultimate Wealth Managers is a cent-percent client focused firm which has successfully offered tailor made solutions to meet the financial goals of over 1600 happy customers till date. Established in 2003, Ultimate holds specialization in services like Mutual Fund Investments, Stock Broking and Demat (Franchisee of Karvy), KYC, FDs, Bonds, IPOs and Wealth Planning. Working in collaboration with YES bank and HDFC bank, the company also offers car loans, home loans and other loan products. Ultimate also offers risk protection through insurance related products such as health insurance, life insurance, general insurance and other financial products. While on one hand Ultimate Wealth Managers provides asset- products allowing clients to invest in mutual funds or anything that adds as an asset; on its other hand it also offers liability products that enable the customers to take loans through YES bank and HDFC bank. “Nurturing the wealth of customers is our main motive and we are continuously striving towards it. We understand our investor’s requirement and suggest them products which are beneficial for them. Once customers select a product, they often get impatient during the wait- period and get carried away by the market turbulence. Willing to make more money, they often take hasty decision of taking their investments into the market or out of the market. This is where we play a key role by guiding them through such situations and paving a path which is beneficial for their wealth creation,” speaks K V Vardhan, CEO, Ultimate Wealth Managers. The company’s befitting team of skilled and competent professionals has helped them set a niche in the wealth management sector. In the last 13 years of its existence, Ultimate has bagged numerous accolades such as Best Financial Advisor-Bengaluru in 2008, Best Financial Advisor-South India in 2013-2014 and Best Financial Advisor-South India by CNBC-TV18 in 2015 -2016. When asked about the future roadmap of the company, Vardhan states, “We are an organization which is adaptable to change. We are quick in making decisions and moving forward, but one thing that never changes is our client- centric approach. At Ultimate, we teach our employees to give first priority to our clients, then the organization, followed by the team and finally to address their personal goals. We believe that customer is the most important thing in our business. Customer is not for us, we are for the customers and all our future plans will revolve around providing benefits to our customers and to our employees.” Ultimate Wealth Managers has successfully offered tailor-made solutions to meet the financial goals / Objectives of over 1600 happy customers till date K V Vardhan CEO MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS - 2017 WEALTH
- 35. siliconindia | |January2017 35 CXO INSIGHTS Established in 1978, Runwal Group is one of Mumbai’s premier real estate developers, operating in the residential, commercial and organized retails verticals. With over 25 million sq ft of development spread across 65 projects Mumbai, MMRDA and Pune region the Runwal Group has scripted robust track record for itself that has today become a benchmark in the in the industry. By Abhijit Kargirwar, Head- HNI and Wealth Management, Runwal Group gainst the backdrop of the major disruption from social media, a related disruption is occurring through financial technology, or Fintech. Unlike the slow pace of adoption of social media in wealth management, the financial services industry is rapidly embracing financial technologies that solve everyday problems such as payments and transactions, mobile trading, commodities markets, FX, peer to-peer lending and crowd-funding, retail banking, risk and compliance, security and privacy, digital and alternative currencies, digital wallets, financial advisory services and insurance. There are several parallels with social media: first, Fintech is disruptive in its own right to wealth management’s ‘business-as-usual’ models. Secondly, the advent of Fintech is generational – figuratively and literally – with a younger breed of innovators providing timely and creative solutions for the next generation of consumers. Third, comes innovative thinking. With Fintechs delivering radical ideas to build, deliver, access and advance IT infrastructure at financial institutions – often with a common goal of improving the customer experience. Interestingly, several brick-and- mortar Fintech hubs are being built globally, creating a tangible presence – think Amazon in the big-box retail world – which cannot be duplicated in the social media realm. As a clear-cut indicator of how the financial services industry has embraced Fintech, global investments have more than tripled to USD 3 billion in 2013 from USD 930 million in 2008. The nascent Fintech industry has seen rapid growth over the last few years. According to the office of the Mayor of London, 40 percent of London’s workforce is employed in financial and technology services. An example of innovative financial technology, California-based InvestCloud delivers collaborative cloud-based securities solutions. Their platform targets the wealth management industry in particular, seamlessly integrating its scalable and swappable applications with other technologies, applications and processes via existing infrastructure. The Dangers of Disintermediation At a point not too long ago, wealth managers strongly influenced client decisions – with few questions asked. A FINTECH – THE EMERGING INDUSTRY IN INDIA
- 36. siliconindia | |January2017 36 The advent of Fintech is generational with a younger breed of innovators providing timely and creative solutions for the next generation of consumers Ignoring the link between the customer and the end results they seek can put companies in danger. Wealth managers generally work as enablers, helping to provide access to investments, professional guidance and, hopefully, peace of mind for their clients. As technology helps eliminate the need for middlemen, customers who are accustomed to connecting directly with unfiltered investment advice will demand an even higher level of service for an even lower price point if and when they ultimately seek out investment help. As an example of this phenomenon, early-adopter consumers are gravitating towards ‘robo- advisor’ sites such as Financial Engines, Wealthfront, Nutmeg, and Betterment among other online wealth advisory firms. These firms employ traditional algorithm- based portfolio management to create low-cost online portfolios that appeal to tech-savvy consumers, with minimal involvement by a human advisor. Wealth management is no longer reserved for the wealthiest of clients. By applying customer-friendly technologies, robo-advisors reach an under-served segment of younger and smaller investors who are largely ignored by traditional wealth firms. Robo advisors are well positioned to win their share of the anticipated wealth transfer to Millennial from their Baby Boomer parents. Their recent growth is impressive (estimated at USD5 billion in assets under management); however this is barely a fraction of the USD18 trillion retail investment market. Most adopters of robo advisors are younger and enjoy the ability to do their own research. They want to be informed and be in control and feel more self-confident than their Baby boomer parents. The Changing Landscape of Wealth Management Organizations can materially damage their brand and reputation in this new era of social media, as they expose themselves to the risks inherent in the ‘sharing’ of the online world. Tech-savvy consumers have within their control the ability to damage or promote products and services like never before. Wealth managers must keep up to date as social sentiments can now affect their bottom line minute-by-minute instead of month-to-month. On the industry side, wealth management leaders need to seek new angles globally. They must assume that their competitors are already pursing social media and other new digital channels to spread their influence and business outreach. Beyond wealth management, personal and work lives are growing more intertwined and the lines between inside and outside the workplace have already blurred. Consumer expectations change quickly in this new era – thinking that extends far beyond the looming generational shift that impacts other industries. Companies today find that tech savvy employees already engaged with social media now expect more of a work-life balance and a greener more sustainable work environment. The social media movement is not confined to a single industry, but is instead yielding lasting cross-industry effects. This could be a double-edged sword. To mix a metaphor, that light at the end of the tunnel could actually be a train coming from the opposite direction. Wealth managers must adapt and embrace social media as another tactic in their client outreach strategy. The stakes are too high for wealth managers to sit this one out and hope that social media will pass as yet another fad (it won’t). The power to persuade has shifted and now firmly resides in the hands of connected individuals via computers, tablets, smartphones, and wearables. In future hindsight, this very well could be the ‘do or die’ moment for the wealth management industry – no matter how ‘inconvenient’ this truth turns out to be.
- 37. siliconindia | |January2017 37 VitalSource Knowledge Associates: Assisting Customers towards a Secure Financial Future I n the present era, an individual’s financial needs keep escalating and an investor is often uncertain about how to invest his money to earn an attractive return with an acceptable risk return and liquidity mode. Though our Indian stock market offers lucrative growth prospects, it also reflects high volatility, making it difficult for the investors to develop beneficial strategy. The best approach an entity or individual should make use of in such a scenario is to seek a professional that would help them stratify their investments in a manner suitable to the status and risk profile. VitalSource Knowledge Associates (VKA) Pvt Ltd, a financial management consultancy company with its vast experience in the investment area, stepped ahead to ensure that businesses and individual investors participate in India’s growth story and optimize their returns on investment with minimal downside risk. Addressing the Changing Landscape of Finance Management Incepted in mid-2007, VKA holds about a decade’s experience in rendering a range of specialized consultancy services that enable customers to adopt best practices in corporate governance, systems and processes, thus giving them a competitive edge and benefit over other competitors. VKA provides offshore services which include KPO category services like developing policies and procedures, accounts and MIS process outsourcing, credit appraisals, internal control set up, due diligence reviews, process migration support and compliance review for businesses planned or already operating. The company’s compliance services involve establishing or redesigning Internal Financial Controls -Section 134 of Companies Act, providing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) services to companies to comply with Section 135 of Companies Act and GST implementation. The company also offers unique E-learning training where experienced professionals share industry specific skills with candidates, for enhancing employability within industry. Over the years substantial changes in the Indian statutes like Companies Act and Tax laws have thrust new challenges on clients in the way they conduct their business operations. Many clients tend to be ill-equipped and also averse to making changes in their systems and processes to cope with the changing regulatory requirements. “At VKA, we believe in supporting customers so that with implementation support services they can be better geared for running their business in an organized manner and with optimal resource utilization while being compliant with statutory matters like corporate governance, internal controls and GST,” says CA George Kurian, Director- Management Consulting, VitalSource Knowledge Associates. In knowledge management space, VKA will be shortly launching industry specific short term finance courses that are an innovative blend of E-Learning, classroom sessions by experienced professionals and live projects aimed to enhance skill sets of candidates to meet industry expectations. Reshaping the Future with CSR Practices VKA’s CSR advisory assists clients with CSR project implementation and monitoring. As its own social responsibility role, VKA conceptualizes worthy projects [mainly senior care, industry specific skill development and women empowerment] that target deserving sections of the public and assists companies and NGOs with implementing these. Considering the relatively lack lustre progress in CSR statute roll out till date, the company aspires to position its services in CSR areas that will help businesses carry out their operations ethically and contribute to India’s economic development. “VKA is willing to play a facilitator’s role to promote any CSR project which is for a deserving social cause. We would take up opportunities to conceptualize projects, assist companies in capacity building for CSR, evaluate and recommend competent and reliable NGOs as implementing partners for companies in select CSR projects and assist in establishing monitoring mechanisms for CSR projects during implementation,” shares George. Increase wealth through ethical and socially responsible business models which are win-win for all stakeholders CA George Kurian Director - Management Consulting MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS - 2017 WEALTH
- 38. siliconindia | |January2017 38 WealthEdge Financial Advisory: Focused on Profitability Enhancement and Customer Satisfaction T he financial market in India has been consistently undergoing rapid expansions, both in terms of the existing financial service providers as well as the new entities entering the market. While the financial sector is growing, the customers still face a lot of challenges such as high cost of back- end account services, increasing cost of debts, failure in addressing and prioritizing the need of clients, debt recovery methodology, audits, shareholder management, insurance and risk mitigation. Sunil Kumar Pathak, an experienced professional with over 15 years of know- how in managing financial affairs of the corporate and individuals and helping corporates in attaining higher growth echelons. Sunil, during his journey as finance professional realised that financial planning is no longer an option, but a necessity for people across the country. Sensing an opportunity, Sunil incepted WealthEdge Financial Advisory Pvt Ltd, a process- centric financial service firm focused on providing profitability enhancement and complete peace of mind to its customers. Striving for Customer Satisfaction Established in 2009, WealthEdge offers extensive range of financial services such as Financial Processes, Insurance, Legal Compliance & Registration, Wealth Management, Regulatory Compliance, Portfolio Management, RoI Research, Structured Products, Business Incubation and Project Financing. These services can be categorized as -Individuals & HNI services and Corporate Services. Under Individuals and HNI services, WealthEdge addresses all the legal and financial needs of salaried individuals, self employed or valued investors. It takes care of the customers’ personal interest through financial planning, tax management, family disputes, legal advisory and litigation, insurance and risk management, advisory on their retirement plan and business models if they ideate one. Corporate range of services caters to the SME sector, wherein end to end life cycle of corporate is being taken care of. Once all registrations, compliance and regulatory services, accounting and suit services have been done, WealthEdge provides complete legal solution to a corporate vis-à-vis its business, be it agreements or any dispute. “WealthEdge has a very pragmatic approach towards any business. While money is an important factor for us that is not the only consideration we look for when getting associated with any business. We look for the potential in the idea and the person behind the business, once satisfied, even if the customer cannot afford the fees, we get associated with them by means of equity participation,” shares Rahul Kishore Sharma, Chief Executive Officer, WealthEdge Financial Advisory. Mapping its Path to Excellence The combined effort of the team at WealthEdge has helped the company serve renowned customers including Volvo Cars, Bata, Tata Motors (Commercial vehicle division) and DLF. In the coming days, WealthEdge has plans of creating a venture fund that caters to the need of HNI by giving them high returns on their investments and same time giving growth impetus to promising startups, which he proudly term as “Value Fund”. “While ensuring high ROI to valued investors, we ensure that we also get hold of the financial and legal affairs of the investee company. This allows us to monitor its success. Our vision is completely aligned with the “Make in India” and “Start- up India” policies of present Govt. Being in control of the financial affairs of the investee start-ups, gives us in-depth knowledge of the business and hence helps us fine-tuning our services in accordance with the need of the sector in which the start-up is operating,” speaks Sunil. With current equity participation in as many as 10 companies, WealthEdge is all set to make this number bigger and bigger. MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS - 2017 WEALTH Rahul Kishore Sharma, CEO Sunil Kumar Pathak, Chief Knowledge Officer,
- 39. siliconindia | |January2017 39JULY 201529siliconindia | |June 2014 3
- 40. siliconindia | |January2017 40 WealthTech: On a Mission to Provide Investment Advisory at your Fingertips I ndia has been witnessing astonishing start-up boom all over the country from the past few decades. According to Nasscom, India now ranks third and has emerged as the fastest growing base of start-ups worldwide. With the rising business ventures in India, there has been lot of activity happening in the FinTech space especially in money and payments and credit lending but no major innovation has happened in capital markets and Investments space. Ujjwal Jain sensed this opportunity and ventured out in India leveraging his global markets experience driving innovation through technology. Next logical step was to find the right Indian venture partner and that is when, Ujjwal partnered with Yuvraj Thakker, Managing Director of BP Wealth with deep roots working in Indian markets and together they established Wealth Technology and Services Pvt Ltd in early 2016 to capitalize on unique capabilities they both bring to this venture. A young and dynamic Investment technology firm, WealthTech is aimed at redefining the FinTech landscape in India and building unique products for the investment industry keeping technology and innovation at the forefront. Harnessing the Power of Web 2.0 and Cloud Technology Headquartered in Mumbai, WealthTech strives to serve as an innovation-driven company that aims to offer technological capabilities to provide comprehensive wealth management services to its clients. It comprises of a group of global FinTech experts allied to build a technology platform for providing investment products for Indian Markets encompassing Algorithmic Trading, Structured Investment Products, Investment Advisory, Wealth Management and Brokerage businesses. Committed to bridge the gap between Investment Advisers, Investors and Executing Brokers, WealthTech has come up with a new consumer centric technology platform named ‘WealthDesk’. This Web 2.0 powered platform’s design is aligned to the goals of the investors and investment advisers so as to provide a tech-enabled seamless platform where the transparency is only rivalled by the commitment to performance. “We truly believe that an Investment Adviser’s sole responsibility is providing great investment calls based on the risk-return appetite of the Investor. It is an investor’s responsibility to understand and effectively manage their investments. WealthDesk takes care of EVERYTHING else. That is why we call it Machine- Assisted Human Intelligence for wealth creation,” says Ujjwal, Director and CEO, Wealth Technology & Services Pvt. Ltd. The core competency of WealthTech is a clear reflection of the efforts of their highly skilled professionals who have continuously worked towards meeting the founding objectives of the company. A young firm in its sector, WealthTech has already set a benchmark with its exclusive client-centric services and offerings. Speaking of the upcoming plans for WealthTech, Ujjwal utters, “When you start a company which is innovation- driven, the biggest challenge that you face is building the right team who can drive innovation. For, WealthTech this has been the major focus all throughout since the start. Our CTO, Aman Manocha has set the right technological foundation to achieve our objectives working with a high pedigree team. For future, we are all set to launch ‘WealthDesk’ by first quarter of 2017. This would give customers the freedom to access Investment advisory anytime, anywhere at their fingertip and build future businesses on top of that.” Wealth Tech is aimed at redefining the FinTech landscape with its client centric approach Ujjwal Jain, Director & CEO MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS - 2017 WEALTH
- 41. siliconindia | |January2017 41 CXO INSIGHTS Established in 1994, AnandRathi is one of India’s leading financial services firm offering Wealth Management, Investment Banking, Corporate Finance & Advisory, Brokerage & Distribution services in the areas of equities, commodities, mutual funds, structured products, insurance, corporate deposits, bonds & loans to institutions, corporations, high-net worth individuals and families. By Feroze Azeez, Director, AnandRathi Financial Services n the financial services industry, many companies tend to focus on the outward or external aspects of their business, often advertising heavily to impress their clientele with visuals and other kinds of communications on their bright exteriors. While this might indeed be the standard these days for growing one’s business, few realise the importance of looking inward as well. Some call it ‘self-care’, but can there be any denying that it is necessary to look after oneself so that one is fit to help others? One of the biggest challenges faced by relationship managers is changing their organization, while for clients, they have to adjust to a new relationship manager. For most relationship managers, it is immensely difficult - when not altogether impossible - to persuade their clients to migrate, with them, to a different wealth management firm. This is plainly because HNI and UHNI clientele expect a certain degree of stability when it comes to the management of their wealth, and going over to another firm after remaining with one for years, can understandingly be an alarming prospect for them. Checking employee attrition, then, is one of the biggest challenges that wealth management in India will face over the coming years. In this context, there is much wisdom – and relevance - in what Sir Richard Branson, Founder of the Virgin Group, said about his employees: “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.” The order of the days to come will be to hire people who love what they do, and provide them with the right kind of environment to succeed and grow. Investing in long-term relationships with customers will lead to steady growth. Steady growth, in turn, must be sustained over time. This requires constant innovation, which must be clearly understood as well as internalised. Consider for instance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan to propel India forward into the digital age, through the ‘Digital India’ campaign that seeks to encourage the nation – including corporate firms to ‘go digital’. This would mean that over time, service providers such as hospitals, transport firms, banks, and even wealth management would go digital. The benefits of being able to receive real-time actionable advice from such service providers cannot be stressed enough, and any wealth management firm worth its repute would need to ensure, moving forward, that their clients can ‘go digital’ in the easiest way possible. While executing this effectively might be complex, the outcome, would be simplicity itself. Through a mobile application designed for both iOS and Android users, clients would be able to access not just their portfolio but a host of services including financial planning and execution, with a single touch. In addition to this kind of intuitive innovation, possessing a high degree of flexibility while avoiding rigidity in operations would directly translate to client benefits and satisfaction. Such higher levels of customization would correspondingly require a greater degree of decision-making, through support teams and experts. A well-equipped workforce is essential in the changing wealth management scenario, and in the not- too-distant future, it will be an innate understanding of social dynamics that will govern any wealth management company’s approach towards its employees as well as customers. I THE EMERGING MARKET OF WEALTH MANAGEMENT IN INDIA
- 42. siliconindia | |January2017 42 LAST WORD Divitas Capital was founded in 2006 by Arjun Sawhny (formerly Head-Mergers and Acquisitions, ANZ Investment Bank, Mumbai and a former partner of corporate finance, KPMG with 20+ years of work experience in India & London). Divitas is one of the largest wealth advisory outfits in north India managing assets over 100 million USD. By Ashish Tyagi, Senior Equity Strategist, Divitas Capital ith increasing number of savvy investors willing to take opportunistic bets and taking the initiative to manage their financial future along with rising globalization, the years ahead will be a game changer for the Wealth Management industry. If you believe there’s a chance of particular stock or mutual fund doing well, you would like to put money in it and take advantage. But how do you find that right stock or the mutual fund and take the investment call? What is needed are sophisticated research tools with financial need analysis along with planning and execution capabilities or a good financial advisor who is committed to manage your financial affairs. While most Wealth Management firms currently use fairly simple analysis to deliver the key advice, we expect the firms to develop more descriptive and predictive analysis. As wealth grows, particularly in emerging markets like India, there’s a compelling need for a paradigm shift in the business models of long-established advisory firms. The emergence of new avenues for growth coupled with disruption caused by cyclical headwinds, robo-advisory and uncertainty over the regulatory changes has led to the change in landscape of Wealth Management industry. Thin margins, significant pressure on revenues and cut-throat competition is raising concerns for the small advisors who have large part of their business tied to retail commissions. We see an opportunity in emerging markets driven by explosion of wealth to cater the complex needs of High Net-Worth Individuals (HNIs) by serving the mass affluent and HNIs in lower wealth brackets. The enhanced use of technology by the younger generation and young professionals to manage their own investments makes it inevitable for wealth management firms to invest in utility-based models, digital solutions, advice tools and self-service capable websites. The rise of automated advisors, aware and informed investor and willingness of advisors to serve affluent mass segment will result in further consolidation in the industry. The share of unorganized players (typically independent advisors, small brokers/agents) has shrunk considerably over the last few years, primarily due to the increased presence of organized players. Given the nascent stage of the Indian wealth management industry, firms face a shortage of trained advisors. This problem is further aggravated by the mis-selling and wrong advice to churn more and earn higher commissions thereby resulting into an unsatisfied investor. Hence, it is critical for organizations to develop and retain highly qualified team that will be the key differentiator for them. As rightly said by Bill Gates, “I believe that if you show people the problems and you show them the solutions they will be moved to act”, this holds true for our wealth management industry as well. Though the landscape is changing, as an advisor, we need to work on our client’s problems and come up with best possible solution as small efforts produce big results. W THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF WEALTH MANAGEMENT
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- 44. siliconindia | |January2017 44siliconindia | |August 2016 40 siliconindia | |July 2016 35 RNI. REG. NO.: KARENG/2012/65438RNI. REG. NO.: KARENG/2012/65438