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I belong to a small village called Rajganj near the India - Bangladesh border. I grew up there, my parents still stay there. I went to Kolkata for higher studies. I completed my graduation and CA Inter, but did not manage to complete the full CA course. I did not want to go back to my village as I wanted to become successful. Since my student days, equity was a passion for me - I used to buy shares with my pocket money. So, I decided to get into stock broking and in 2005, I began an equity broking business in Siliguri, as a franchisee of Anand Rathi.
Siliguri is a trading hub and a transit point for tourists going to Darjeeling, located as it is at the foothills of Darjeeling. It has a population of about 500,000 people, has a vibrant tea business and is the largest town in Northern Bengal. Unfortunately, financial literacy is very poor in our city. Our people are also victims of chit fund scams that have rocked Bengal. Fear of investments is high, memories are grim.
Equity broking is a business where either your client makes money or you do. Both can't.
I started my equity broking business in 2005 and took up an ARN for mutual funds in 2006. I didn't however start off my MF business until 2008. My initial years in stock broking taught me one important lesson: broking is a business where either you make money or your clients make money - both cannot. For you to make money, clients need to trade frequently. If clients trade, they don't make money, but you do. If clients buy and hold, in the long run they will make money, but you can't survive in the business. I was in a real dilemma about what to do.
The turning point
In 2008, I attended a presentation that was given by Mr.Sundeep Sikka at the launch of Reliance SIP Insure. This struck me as THE solution I was looking for. It was good for my clients, and it gave me hope of building my revenues also, in a steady manner. That was really the first time I took up mutual fund distribution. I went the whole hog: there were 10 days for the NFO to close - I hired a vehicle, plastered it with posters, got hold of a mike and speakers, by-hearted my speech, and went about promoting the fund as enthusiastically as I could.
From then on till today, SIPs have been my main product. I remain as convinced today as I was in 2008 that SIPs are the best investment solution for retail investors. The product part is something I was clear about - the next challenge for me was to attract customers. I was new to Siliguri, I had no family there, no background, nobody knew me in Siliguri. I was in Siliguri because I had ambitions that were bigger than my village.
Social platforms and media relationships
I decided that the best way to build relationships was through social platforms. I became a member of Lions Club and started working sincerely for all the social causes that it supported. I never once spoke about my business or promoted my business - I just plunged into the social causes that the organization was supporting. I got to know a lot of people in the process - and since I didn't know anybody before, I was not part of any "group" or "faction" - I just interacted with everybody. From that time till today, I spend at least one third of my time in doing service on various social platforms. I am today the treasurer of a network of 70 Lions Clubs in our region.
I wrote to CII to become a member but was rejected as my business did not qualify. However, when CII started a Young Indian initiative, they invited me to join it. I did and today I am the Chairman of YI Siliguri Chapter. I am a member of Banbandhu Parishad - an organization that promotes literacy among tribals.
I don't use social platforms for business - I never promote my business on these platforms. I never approached any social platform with a short term vision - whichever platform I joined, I served whole-heartedly, and continue to serve. You cannot do a start-stop with such initiatives - that will do the cause no good, and will damage your own reputation too.
Profile builds trust. Trust builds the business.
It is these social platforms and the consistent work I do with them that has given me visibility and a profile in and around Siliguri. It is this work that has got me recognition, and has helped me acquire a profile, despite having no roots in Siliguri.
The other thing that helped me acquire a profile was that I consciously built relationships with local media. I contributed articles, built a rapport. That helped me as it got publicity to my efforts - both social as well as business efforts.
Our business is only about trust. Like so many other people, I too do a lot of investor education sessions, I explain many concepts to prospective investors. But I know that for most of them, it is not the education that makes them invest - it is the trust in the advisor that makes them invest. They hear us, they understand a lot of what we say, some things they don't understand, some questions in their mind perhaps remain unanswered - but finally, the decision to invest comes from one single factor - I trust this person, let me go ahead and invest as he advises.
We have a big responsibility to live up to this trust, which is why I continue to tell my clients to focus on long term SIPs as the best investment solution. Slow and steady will always win the race - there is no need to get greedy and repent later. Today, I have a SIP book of over 1000 live SIPs, I have 2600 folios, I serve over 500 families and my MF AuM is around 35 crores. My SIP book today is Rs.50 lakhs.
In a market that has got burnt badly by chit fund scams, its not easy to convince retail investors to invest in equity SIPs. They invest because of the faith they have in us and the belief that we will not mislead them. We have a big responsibility towards such investors. The more I meet such investors and put them onto a steady path of wealth creation, the more I get convinced that ours is really a noble profession - we should really be proud of the service we are rendering.
Road ahead after the first milestone of 1000 SIPs
My road ahead is greatly inspired by the Think BIG column in Wealth Forum. I have read and imbibed the 5 pillars of growth that Think BIG talks about. I have taken print outs and put them in front of my desk. As Think BIG suggests, I am going about building my business step by step. I wrote down my vision statement, as Think BIG advises. Why can't I aim BIG? Why should I be satisfied with 35 cr AuM? Do I have the belief that I can take this up to 100 crores and then to 1000 crores? I am 36 years old. I have created a base - is this not the time for me to think BIG?
Think BIG has opened my eyes to much bigger possibilities. I know that scaling up is full of challenges. I realize that I need to create a team, I understand that I need to put a lot in place in my business to grow much bigger. I have an efficient back office, which is a good platform to build on. I am confident that if I diligently follow the 5 pillars of growth, I will be on my way to realize much bigger aspirations.
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