The current scenario in India with respect to investing and overall market conditions is being perceived as the golden period for financial advisory business. This is the time when the stars are on your side. There are a number of factors which are contributing to making the environment favourable for growth of financial advisory business, like the rising market levels, positive sentiment, propaganda by AMCs, decline in appeal of other asset classes, etc., are all adding to the charisma of Mutual Funds.

Let's look at these factors in detail:

Media Campaigns: We understand the potential of the product we sell, but at times it becomes a herculean task to explain this potential to the investors if it has never appeared on TV, many people don't know anything about Mutual Funds beyond its name. Earlier we did not see many TV Commercials on Mutual Funds, only traditional endowment policy commercials were to be seen, but now, AMFI as well as individual AMC's have started propagating Mutual Funds through various mediums like TV, Radio and Print Media. Nowadays, we often get to hear radio commercials on Mutual Funds from AMCs. AMFI's investor education initiative “Mutual Fund Sahi Hai” Campaign has been successful in creating awareness about Mutual Funds among Indians. Even if it does not convince people to take the plunge, at least it generates curiosity, which gives you a chance to exhibit your offerings. Media exercises a significant impact and it is expected to boost your business in the near future.

Market sentiment: Talking about sentiment, you couldn't have asked for better. Markets are on a bull run since over 3 years. The Sensex has surged from 20,000 level in January 2014 to 34,000 level in April 2018. Investors have made enormous wealth by being invested in Equity over the last few years, and the good part is all newspapers and media houses are showing positive signals for the near future, and it is a huge motivating factor for more and more people to explore equity.

Bank Interest Rates: Fixed Deposits have remained as the preferred investment option for a large majority of Indians. But lately this option is losing it's luminance because the interest rates offered by all major banks on their fixed deposits are in the 6-7% range for almost two years now. Because of such low payouts people are looking for better alternatives for investing their money.

The present scenario with respect to fixed deposits lands financial advisors in a favourable position,

it's an opportunity for us to showcase our product basket to the FD investors. You can offer Debt Funds or Bonds to the fixed deposit investors who are looking for better returns, but aren't willing to dive into equity. Also there are people who invest in Fixed Deposits for very long periods like 10 years or more, this is a good time to highlight to them the need to invest in Equity, since over long periods the risk in Equity gets controlled, and secondly how the investors are heavily losing out on returns, especially over such long periods.

Gold: The all time favourite of Indian investors is also losing it's shine, people who bought gold after mid 2012, are either at par or have lost money. So, this scenario has demotivated investors and they don't want to inject more money into gold. So, this is your chance to divert gold investors into Mutual Funds.

Real estate: Another hot thing among the Indian investor fraternity, Real Estate, shares a similar story. People have made humungous money in properties in the past, but lately property prices have remained flat in most parts of the country, and the future prospects are also difficult to ascertain owing to the increasing regulatory restrictions in the sector and the large number of low cost houses being constructed by the state. So, again Mutual Funds offer a good investing alternate to property investors.

So, looking at the above factors, this is one of the most opportune moments for growing your business, the ball is in your court, your victory depends upon your service capabilities.

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Our clients: Our biggest challenge as well as our biggest strength.

The most prominent challenge faced by investment advisors in their practice is handling clients' emotions and their behavioral patterns. Advisors dilemma is, at times the clients' actions are regulated by their fear and impulse rather than your advice.

One major challenge faced by financial advisors is high customer expectations, especially in Returns context. Investors cannot imagine of a situation of loss on their investment, and when it happens they are devastated, and generally the fault is put on your shoulders.

When you recite Equity's potential to the client, supported by literature, graphs and tables; the client is actually seeing the bright side only and tends to visualize a replica of the successful examples in his/her case too. And when the flip side comes to play, it comes as a huge setback, and the client feels cheated.

Therefore, it is very important that the investor should be familiarized with the other side of the coin too, it is essential to attach disclaimers before he/she invests. The client, prior to investing, must know of the following:

• Not all funds are the same, the investor can get above average, average or even below average returns. There are no guarantees.
• Equity investments can be very risky if the investment horizon is short.

Once the investor is acquainted with the inherent nature of the investment, understands the risk attached, he/she will be more reasonable in their expectations from the advisor and the investment.

Another roadblock on the advisor's path is clients' lack of trust. The principles of sound advising lays delivering investment advice in alignment with the investors unique needs, goals, financial position, and risk profile. However, based on the above standard, the advisor quite often is unable to deliver quality advice, owing to the fact that this advice is based on half baked ingredients. Most times the picture we have in mind of the client's profile is distinct from reality. This happens because investors generally do not reveal complete data to their advisors for lack of faith. There are instances when investors ask advisors to devise a financial plan for them, without revealing an expected inflow of money from inheritance, or without mentioning about a second source of income, like a rental income, so in these cases the advisor underestimates the financial position of the client, and hence would advise accordingly.

Most advisors have to go through the trust trial, and the solution to this challenge lies in:

Realization: The investor must be made aware of the criticality of his personal and financial data in his financial plan and the repercussions that evasion of facts may have on his financial health. And, Confidence: The investor must be confident that his info will not be divulged. The advisor must practice and assure of utmost secrecy to the clients.

Gaining the trust of clients isn't a piece of pie, you need to put in efforts, you need to give some time and space to the client, and your words and actions must coincide.

And lastly, Response to Volatility, Investors' intense attachment to their money, pose a challenge for their financial advisors. Investors are scared of volatility, their hearts can skip a beat when markets are giddy. They at times commit investment sins in a state of panic, by basing their buy and sell decisions on market movements, and bothering their entire financial plan. And all we advisors can do is clinch our teeth, looking at the state of dismay.

The answer to the dilemma is the Equity story presented to the investor must include the volatile nature of the asset class and the ripples that the volatility can create on the investment in the short run. The idea is to keep the investor mentally prepared for any bumps that may come on the way, and refrain him from taking impulsive decisions. Also, the investor looks up to his advisor for support during turbulent markets, it's a crucial part of the advisory practice to handhold the investor, to prevent him from fumbling.

The bottomline is, client handling pose as the biggest challenge for most advisors. Clients become difficult because of their perceptions and behavioural patterns. However, Customer education, Awareness of Risk associated, and Confidence in their investment can turn your biggest challenge into your biggest strength.

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Often we come across articles and blogs talking about tips and strategies on how to become a successful financial advisor. Generally such literature touches upon subjects like personality traits, improvement of communication skills, sales skills, client management, time management, expansion of product basket, getting certifications, etc. All of these, undoubtedly are at the core of financial advisory practice, however, there's one factor which remains at the center of all of the above, which largely directs the growth of the advisor, and that is, his/her clients' well being. There is a direct correlation between the Investor's prosperity and the success of the financial advisor.

So, this article concentrates on the crucial aspect of “Keeping your client at the center”. So how do you go about working in the best interest of your client to grow your business? The answer to this is simple, “It's not about your business”, This can be construed as the sole Golden Rule of Advising. Although, it is not at all wrong to think about your profits and growth, after all you are doing a business, putting in immense efforts for your advancement. However, when your business is financial advisory, your growth is a bi-product of your client's prosperity. When you are suggesting an investment to an investor, always apply the doctrine of substitution, think of it as your own investment, if you would have been in a similar situation as your client, had a similar investment horizon and goal for investing, Would you invest in the product? If yes, then only go ahead with suggesting the same to your client.

| Concentrate on what the

| client needs and not

| what you think they want

Concentrate on what the client needs and not what you think they want: Many times there is a disconnect between clients' wants and our perception of what they want. We tend to anchor on our time tested methodologies and advise our clients accordingly, but what we do not realize at times is there are no uniform investment rules, because investors prioritize their wealth creation and risk minimization needs differently. We may be fabricating our advise trying to get optimum returns for the client while keeping the risk low, considering the client's age and income demographics, however for the client wealth creation may be paramount, he may be comfortable with a certain degree of extra risk for some extra wealth. Hence, we must deal with each client with an open mind, understand his specific needs, as there is no “general” in financial advising. However, we must call for his attention if he is going either overboard or is being over conservative in assuming risk.

| Regaining the

| trust of people

| at large

Regaining the trust of people at large: Many people are possessed by a negative notion about financial planners and advisors, because of the large number of mis-selling instances happening in the country. For this reason, you may encounter people who are unable to trust you, at least initially. Breaking the notion and regaining the trust of people is a challenging task, which can only be achieved by working in the best interests of clients, and creating wealth for them. So every new client is a new opportunity to regain that trust, and strengthen the image of the overall advisor fraternity.

When the client creates wealth, and that's because of you, your business gets a chance to grow since firstly, your trail income is based on the investment value of the client; as the client's investment increases in value, your income increases. Secondly, when the client recognizes your genuineness, when they see the efforts you put for their benefit, you have won their trust, and a client for a lifetime. And lastly, the happy clients are likely refer you to their friends and acquaintances, and the best part is you do not have to work all the way from the beginning, regaining the lost trust in advisors, you have a base built, a reference attached.

At the end, working for clients' well being may not reap immediate benefits, you may have to forego your gains at times in quest to get the best for your clients. And although it may be tempting to sell, especially when you are new in the business, yet working in the best interest of the client is surely the right thing to do, and will pay off eventually.

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