5th October 2016
Mr. Mirang K Parikh, Scud Marfin Pvt. Ltd - Vadodara
Mr. Mirang Parikh, a commerce graduate – started his career in financial advisory space under the mentorship and guidance of his uncle. He faced tough initial days, but he managed to overcome the hard times with his hard work and determination. He is running his advisory business with a vision to fulfill financial dreams and aspirations of individuals or families at large.
Mirang feels proud when his clients share their happiness stories and appreciate him, his clients acknowledge his hard work and have confessed that their financial happiness is because of his support & guidance. He mentioned that one of his clients once said, “with your little push we can see the corpus”. Mirang shared, “many such incidents have happened where clients tell us that how a long lasting financial impact we were able to make in the lives of our investors and thereby bringing a smile on their face.”
When it comes to advising new partners, his single line advise is: “Don’t be a part of the rat race, keep up the hard work, success will follow”. Team e-Saathi takes immense pride in sharing the interview of Mr. Parikh. We wish him all the best for his future endeavours.
ES: Please introduce yourself and also share your vision and mission or goals in life.
Mirang: I am representing our family business in the name of Scud Marfin Pvt. Ltd. We work in a team and put in our collective efforts. I am a commerce graduate; engaged in the profession of helping individuals, achieve their goals.
Our vision is to spread the idea of savings that can beat inflation and at the same time support the fulfillment of dreams and aspirations of an individual or a family at large.
Our punch line is; “We have a different World waiting for you”
ES: What inspired you to choose the career of a financial advisor / distributor?
Mirang: I was brought into this field by my Maternal Uncle; who was into financial advisory but he was doing Life Insurance only; I joined him and under his guidance I started learning the concepts and values of this noble profession. In the year 2003, I met someone from the Mutual Fund (MF) business, I was a little skeptical about MF at that time but later I could sense that MF is going to be a strong investment opportunity where one can beat inflation and build capital.
ES : Setting the financial advisory business takes some time. How did you handle the challenges on the financial front in the initial period of your business?
Mirang: I joined MF industry through NJ in the last quarter of the year 2007; some period went well but during 2008 the real pain started as our initial clients were disturbed because of the market turbulence. The main challenge was to give them confidence about the MF investments they had made and to make them understand the idea of staying invested.
In our country people at large prefer fixed income investments. So, it was a little difficult to convince them about Mutual Fund investments initially.
ES : What made you join NJ as an NJ Partner ?
Mirang: In a marketing activity of NJ, an RE (Mr. Apurva) gave me a Brochureed the benefits of Mutual Fund business and also how it will help create long term wealth. I was convinced and that is how we started our journey with NJ in the name of “Scud Marfin Pvt. Ltd.”.
ES : Do you promote the idea of savings through MF SIP to your clients?
Mirang: Yes we promote the concept of SIP; and for this I am really thankful to NJ’s philosophy and conviction about the product.
I believe:
SMALL SIPs can definitely beat the BIG INFLATION.
ES : Client communications is an integral part of your business. Please share any best practices / services related to communications adopted by you.
Mirang: You are absolutely correct. In the current scenario you need to remind your presence to the clients and we frequently send MCS Videos and One Pagers from NJ for this purpose.
Secondly, we also send Newspaper Cuttings or any other important news from any source which can be helpful to our clients.
ES : How much importance do you give to Insurance in your advisory practice?
Mirang: Whatever heights you achieve, but you always need to remember the basics, likewise any financial advisor can’t ignore Life Insurance, which is the basic.
In the area of financial advisory, Insurance is equally important as wealth creation is.
"SAR SALAMAT TO PAGHDI SALAMAT".
ES:How do you educate and convince your clients for mutual funds, especially the first time investors?
Mirang: Whenever there is a new client, we gather his information and ask for his / her personal goals, dreams and aspirations. Then we guide them with the various financial tools for an investment suitable to his risk profile and time horizon.
ES : How do you evaluate NJ's technology initiatives such as various On-line Desks & Mobile Solutions ?
Mirang: Change is always good; and as far as NJ is concerned NJ is always ahead of time. I still remember NJ was the first to promote SIP, then others followed. Online transactions will gear up and will bring more business.
Digitalization is good; our PM Shri Narendra Modi also promotes Digital India. For those investors who are tech savvy, it is a blessing. As an NJ Partner, we are benefited by the digital platform as it reduces travel time and there is no geographical barrier.
ES : What advantages do you feel NJ E-Wealth offers to both Clients and Partners?
Mirang: It is easy to transact; as there is no specific time or place requirement. You can transact as per mutual convenience. While transacting, there are no chances of signature differences, unclaimed dividend, no mistake in name writing and it is easy to transmit in case of any unforeseen event.
ES:Please share with us any standards / best practices related to client segmentation. If yes, also share any differentiation made in service offerings to these client segments.
Mirang: We segregate clients on the basis of their time horizon, risk appetite and individual nature. E.g some investors are not ready to take risk, then we suggest them with products where there is low risk and moderate returns.
ES : What type of a boss / leader do you see yourself as? What is the image of the ideal boss that you aspire to become?
Mirang: A real leader is the one who can take calculative risk and allow subordinates and teammates to grow along with him. I aspire to become a person who can think empathetically and give strength to those who are associated with me so that they can grow and be able to fulfill their dreams and wishes.
ES : Can you share any incident /event which has had a lasting impact on you or on your business as a financial advisor /distributor?
Mirang: My brother who is a professor with one of India’s most prestigious institute, used to say; “SIP makes Investor Happy”; and we have always propagated this idea whenever we meet a prospective client and in most cases the lead became our client.
There are many incidents that has helped us create a long lasting impression; many investors come to our office and frankly confess that; “with your little push we can see the corpus.”
ES : How do you assess /see the future of financial advisory business in India? How can we as Partners be ready / prepared to make the most of it?
Mirang: With the help of advancement in technology by NJ; I am sure that NJ partners would be on a different scale altogether. We need to adapt with the change because the external factors change faster than the internal.
ES : How much importance do you give to Asset Allocation & Risk Profiling while offering solutions to clients' needs ?
Mirang: Asset Allocation & Risk Profiling is very important; because unless you know the actual requirements, goals and nature of the customer, you can’t give him what he really wants.
ES : Winning the trust of a Client is not an easy task. How do you think, you can win the trust of your Clients?
Mirang: Trust or Faith between client and advisor is a key factor. In my opinion, no one can win trust in one go, it is a continuous process. If we advise innovative and prudent products and follow fair practices, we can march towards 'Wining Trust of Clients'.
ES : What suggestion / advice would you like to give to new Partners who have not yet established themselves in the business?
Mirang: Each Day is a Learning Day. So, every day I am a new NJ partner with new ideas and thoughts. My suggestion is don’t be a part of the rat race, keep up the hard work, success will follow.
ES : Can you please share your short term and long term targets for your business.
Mirang: Looking forward to have an AUM of Rs 50 cr. and to have SIP book of Rs. 50 lacs.
