Financial crisis spawns a financial advisor 07-Mar-2011
Financial crisis spawns a financial advisor 07-Mar-2011
Neeraj Bahal is among the younger breed of successful financial planners in a field where it is more common to come across veterans with years of industry experience. With age on his side, his superiors advise him to expand and grow fast. The 31 year old Neeraj set up Fasttrack Investments in 2006.
Neeraj worked for market research firm ORG MARG (now AC Nielsen) during his college days. The money he earned was sufficient to take care of his expenses in college. The young Neeraj had no qualms burning the mid night oil. He enjoyed his work and his efforts were well appreciated by his superiors. "What I liked about market research was that I could make a quick buck. Also I got a chance to interact with a lot of people from different strata of the society. I liked interacting with people and getting to understand consumer psychology," recalls Neeraj nostalgically. He had a stint of three years with Nielsen. The job was taxing and took a toll on his studies.
His elder brother, a chartered accountant by profession nudged him to pursue CA in order to lend a helping hand in their family business. In fact his entire family comes from finance background, including his sister. His brother had sensed that Neeraj was quite a number cruncher and was confident that he would do well in finance and investments. As he finished graduation, CA was the next step.
During his articleship days, he started offering investment ideas to his friends and colleagues. Soon advising on investments became his passion. He thought of capitalizing on his newly found skill and became an LIC agent in 2003. "I started interacting with fellow insurance agents who had a tagline of MDRT with them. They told me that you need to have every financial product available in the market for your clients to dispense holistic advice. It only made perfect sense to diversify and have the entire bouquet of financial products to offer my clients," recalls Neeraj.
Two years down the line he acquired AMFI certification and started with mutual funds in early 2006. He also has certifications on capital markets and derivatives under his belt. Later, bonds and company fixed deposits completed his offerings.
Initially, he ploughed in some personal savings and floated a small company. Neeraj christened it Fasttrack Investments. "If somebody comes to you and invests, he should get returns on his investment. Everybody who invested through us got good returns with some help from the markets, especially during 2006. This helped establish my credibility with my existing clients and helped me gain goodwill with the new ones. Also, we always thrived on providing a fast and professional level of services, so the name came up almost naturally," recalls Neeraj. The tagline "Many Many Happy Returns" was suggested by his close friend who worked as a copywriter with an ad firm.
He had built a fair client base while pursuing CA. But continuing both studies and business was a challenge. Combining both- meeting client commitments and studying for CA required hard work. At that point it was a tossup between the business and his studies. However, his sense of determination helped him see that phase through to realizing success both professionally as well as academically. "At that time I had to decide whether I should continue with CA or carry on with my business. I decided to do both," says Neeraj.
The financial crisis which hit the world markets was a turning point in his career. "The modus operandi then was you invest in mutual funds and get big returns and exit. I had to offer my clients more than just products, a better perspective. At that time I started giving more focus to financial planning," shares Neeraj
During the market shakeout, he continued to counsel his clients into keeping the faith and making the best of the opportunities at hand. However, some of his clients who lost money during the 2008 meltdown lost confidence in him. That was the time he decided to get more focused in his approach. He decided to do CFP despite his familiarity with the industry.
CFP gave him a more in depth insight into the concepts of financial planning. "I had all the theoretical knowledge. I was puzzled as to how to get feedback and collate the data from clients. I used to get all the data on a sheet of paper and spend a lot of time in tabulation and presentation. Then I thought I need to sharpen my practical skills. I did Registered Financial Consultant (RFC) which taught me the practicalities of this profession," says Neeraj.
When asked about his communication approach with clients he says that email and SMS help him connect with his clients. He sends informative emails about new products, interesting articles and other developments in the financial industry. He has a strong belief in empowering his clients with knowledge so that when he dispenses advice, the final decision is an informed one.
His clients are based out of primarily Mumbai, Pune and Lonavala. However many of his clients are in other Indian cities as well as overseas. Neeraj is also managing corporate clients. Today he has done comprehensive financial planning for more then 20 clients.
Like many advisors, he charges an upfront fee for investment made in mutual funds and a percentage for managing large AUM. He sends a letter of appreciation every time a client makes a new investment through him. This helps his clients feel special about it. He has more than 200 clients today, though he says he doesn't keep a track of the count.
http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/financial-crisis-spawns-a-financial-advisor-07-mar-2011-4374060.html
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