Becoming an IFA after 21 years of job

• Rajesh Minocha
• March 12th, 2020
• Hyderabad
• 882
• 2

I am a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). After working for over 21 years for companies like ICICI & Franklin Templeton, I decided to follow my passion and became an IFA in Dec 2016.

It has been a great journey since I started. All my transactions are done completely online on the BSE Star Platform and therefore my clients are all across the world. So far the growth has been primarily through referrals and the AUM has grown steadily to about Rs 11 crores mainly through SIPs and STPs. In such a short period of less than 2 years, I have more than 350 SIPs running a month with a total value of about Rs 27 lakhs.

I spend a lot of time initially in understanding my clients and their attitude towards money, life goals and passions. In fact, I do not discuss products in the first discussion and generally recommend an investment plan only in the subsequent meeting. Term insurance also plays a key role in my plan and I implement that for my clients wherever needed. SEBI rules and regulations do not permit me to charge any fees for my advice and therefore this is provided free as a value-add service from me.

It is very important for me that my thought process is aligned with my clients. I would like my clients to be not just returns focused but more importantly investing based on their goals, time horizon and risk profile. Consequently, there have been few instances wherein I had to decline investments where thought process was not aligned and I absolutely have no regrets about it.

My simple mantra of investing has been that I do not recommend something for my clients which I would not do with my own money. This keeps me completely ethical and I take pride in it. It has been a great journey so far wherein I feel I have a big fiduciary responsibility of my clients and in helping them work towards and achieve their financial freedom. I enjoy my work!

2