During his teenage days, Amit Suri was told by astrologer that he would become an entrepreneur. He told the astrologer that he doesn’t wish to because he thought businessmen made money through unfair means. No one in his family had been an entrepreneur and he was conditioned to pursue a respectable job. It seems that the astrologer had predicted right. Today, Amit’s firm AUM Wealth Management manages assets worth over Rs 100 crore across products.
The seed of entrepreneurship was sown after his father took up work after his retirement. Amit toyed with the idea of doing something either in the field of finance, travel or computers.
An ex-banker, his father Prem Nath Suri had taken up distribution of postal schemes and LIC in his second innings as he had no pension income. Amit used to join his father on sales calls when he was still 19. “For the first six months, I used to be his driver and hold his bag. I learned a lot from him about prospecting and he inspired me to become an entrepreneur,” recalls Amit.
After finishing his higher secondary school, he opted to join an evening college so that he could continue working with his father. But he realized that he wasn’t learning much in the classroom. Rather, he opted to join his father full-time. There has been no looking back since then. During his early days, Amit worked as an Agency Manager where he was responsible for training and recruiting new advisers for a leading fund house.
Like most advisers, Amit graduated from distribution of post office schemes and LIC to goal based advisory. The quest to learn and develop his advisory acumen took him back to school. He completed his Certified Financial Planner certification in 2006.
His firm has a team of eight people engaged in back office, administration and client servicing. Recently, his wife Jyoti has taken an active role in HR and administration which frees Amit’s time for business development.
Amit advises over 500 diverse families which has been built purely through referrals. He has been using NSE MF platform for executing client transactions. To keep his clients updated, he sends out a monthly newsletter, and disseminates financial planning concepts through WhatsApp and Facebook. Also, he has been using Morningstar Advisor Workstation for research and prospecting. “I use the Morningstar reports during bear market to show that the performance is not as bad as they think. Clients get convinced with these reports,” says Amit.
Amit likes to run his practice as a boutique catering to select clients. He aspires to grow big without neglecting his existing clients. This he hopes will increase the wallet share from existing clients as well. His greatest joy is to see his clients retiring comfortably with a sizeable nest egg.
When asked if direct plans are posing a threat to his practice, he says, “One of my client had three advisers. He also had some investments in direct plans. I advised him to choose one adviser even, if it is someone else, as his age is advancing. I explained to him that me and even any other distributor won’t be able to give you good services, if you work with three distributors. One year later, he switched all investments, including direct plan investments with me. Other than these isolated cases, I have not faced any competition from direct plans,” says Amit.
In his free time, Amit likes to listen to audio books and songs. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is one book which has influenced him a lot. “The key message in the book is that you should make up your mind and focus on your goal. When you aspire for something, the whole universe conspires in helping you to achieve it,” says Amit.
Last year, he went on a ten-day residential Vipassana (see things as they really are) meditation course to boost his productivity. “Its daily 11-hr meditation spread throughout the day. It helped me to look within and overcome my limitations. I wish to go there again if my wife permits,” laughs Amit.
This post is authored by Ravi Samalad.