Yatin Shah
Co-Founder & Executive Director
While trust is the basis of any relationship, nowhere is it of greater importance than the one financial services firms build with their clients. With many years of experience in this domain, IIFL Private Wealth Co-Founders Karan Bhagat, Yatin Shah and Amit Shah were familiar with gaps that plagued the wealth management industry when they started the company in 2008. For when it came to garnering trust, educating and engaging clients, most wealth management firms did precious little. And this is what the three endeavored to change – as the years were to show – with great success.
At IIFL Private Wealth, wealth management goes beyond the standard asset management to cover wealth administration (An array of intricate financial planning and management tools, aided by technology, and involving the creation of an Asset Register and Investment Reporting), wealth management (preparation of an investment mandate, and establishing strategies according to client risk
appetite, income/liquidity requirements, asset allocation etc), and wealth structuring (asset protection and ring fencing of holdings within global, legal and tax frameworks).
An array of best practice has helped IIFL private wealth create a 360 degree all encompassing advisory service and ensured that its interaction with clients
Forging Relations with Trust
An array of best practice measures has helped IIFL Private Wealth create a 360 degree, all-encompassing advisory service and ensured that its interactions with clients are relationship-driven. For instance, its fixed fee structure as opposed to a commission-based practice translates into considerable cost savings for its clients. This, and many more such features, has helped the company earn strong client referrals that have added to its fantastic growth story. Today, it is the largest Indian private wealth management company with more than INR 77,000 Crs. of assets under advice.
Co-Founder and Executive Director, Yatin Shah explains, "We have built a strong alignment of interest by eliminating distribution incentives, so that we can be on the same side of the table as the client. Also, our employees own as much as 24 per cent of the company. They are thus able to take a long-term view of the firm and the client".
Leveraging Technology to Stay Ahead In the Game
Technology has emerged as a key differentiator in the wealth management industry. And IIFL Private Wealth has been at the forefront, providing new technology solutions to clients with its updated digital platform – an enhanced website, www.iiflw.com, as well as an app for Android and Apple platforms. The updated site allows for a superior user experience and showcases new product launches, access to world class research, analysis and product level performance, anytime, anywhere. Additionally, the launch of Caliber, an intranet software with a single sign on (SSO) feature has made the firm's internal processes such as client mapping and information, database manage¬ment, and work flow management extremely swift.
These efforts have been supplemented by the launch of the IIFL Market and IIFL Research app that boosts advisory services with live stock prices, research from institutional equities, stock ideas, strategy notes, in-depth data and analysis of market trends.
Looking ahead
Yatin sums up, "From our humble origins, starting off as a small 7 employee firm to the 410 at present, to the first flush of awards in 2010, to our increasing global footprint (14 domestic and 8 international offices), we have painstakingly recorded each achievement, without ever taking any of it for granted. Looking ahead, we believe the best is yet to come and we are ready to capture the opportunities likely to unfold in the coming years."