Over your journey as a financial advisor, you'll find two categories of investors:

1. The conservative ones And 2. The Aggressive ones

We'll be talking about the first category, the conservative ones, who do not want to risk a penny. This category generally has had a peaceful life by investing in traditional investment options like FD's, PPF, etc., and do not want to look beyond them. Their ancestors advised their children and grandchildren to protect their money by investing in these products, and probably they have taken the lineage too seriously.

So, how do you go about explaining to them the importance of Risk in Investing, that Risk and Return are two sides of the same coin, that for survival in this world they have to get over the obsession of traditional low risk products; is what we'll talk about now.

1. Evolution of Needs: Firstly, the conservative ones need to know that 20 or 30 years back, expenses and needs were limited, the scenario is totally different today. Mere protection of money will not help them sustain through their entire life. His grandfather's son did not demand an I-phone as his birthday gift, his son will. His grandfather saw airplanes on TV, he travels in one, his grandfather or father never traveled outside India, his son had his passport when he was a year old. The needs are not the same, they have evolved, so why should the investment be the same, the investments need to match with the needs in order to fund the changing lifestyle.

2. The Concept of Calculated Risk: Modern day lifestyle and consumption pattern does require more money, and more money comes for Risk. However, investing is not gambling, it does involve risk, but sane investing is about taking calculated risks, meaning taking risk after carefully estimating the probable outcomes. It involves doing a careful assessment of the investor's needs and aligning them with the risk in investing.

3. Start with Baby Steps: The risk element in each investment product is different. It may not be ideal for a Conservative investor to take the giant leap to an Equity Mutual Fund to begin with. There are options in Mutual Funds which cater to their requirements of low risk. They can start with a low risk product like an FMP, where the risk involved is super low, since the returns are predictable, and then gradually move to bonds, and then to balanced Mutual Funds, and lastly to Equity MF's.

4. Equity for Long Term investing: Another facet of risk that all investors, who are scared of Equity, must understand is the core of it. Risk in Equity is primarily driven by market volatility, which is short term in nature. Market Volatility is the resultant impact of the market sentiment, it can be positive sometimes and negative the other times. The impact of this volatility on Equity stocks is they can witness quick picks and falls, and this transition cannot be predicted, which puts the investor's money into the Risky zone. Meaning, if an investor has invested in an Equity Mutual Fund today, he can't be sure that after six months his investment's value will only rise, the volatility and the sentiment may not be working in his favour. But over the long term, the prices of equity are not left at the market sentiment's discretion, rather it is driven by the growth and profits of the underlying companies. So, when your investor is investing for his long term goals, he should choose Equity. Because firstly, it's only Equity that can help him achieve his Long Term goals, since Equity over long periods has generated superior returns and has been able to beat all other asset classes, the traditional ones don't stand a chance. And Secondly, the risk is neutralized over long periods.

So, the bottomline is many investors are conservative because of their inherent nature, because of bad experiences, scary anecdotes, and limited exposure, and thus they don't want to restrict themselves to their 'Safe Zone'. But what they are not realizing is the safe zone isn't safe anymore, because the circumstances, the rising prices, the lifestyle upgradation, increasing choices; demand more. You have to bring them out of their shell, and explain to them that not taking Risk is the biggest Risk they are taking.

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Many financial advisors have achieved great success and have grown big in business, we have a team of people who help us sustain the scale which we have achieved. However, we often face troubles with our staff struck with low productivity, low work ethics, poor quality of work, and of course high retention, which put together hampers the growth of the business. The most evident solution that may occur to many of us would be a pay hike or a fat bonus, but this solution is not sustainable for a very long time. Getting the best out of your employees, it isn't just limited to remuneration, rather it is way beyond the pay cheque, the secret is job satisfaction, creating a team of happy and motivated people.

So, how do you go about keeping your employees motivated? We have listed down few effective ways which can help you in this direction:

Appreciate their efforts, Recognize and reward success: When you praise an employee for his/her hard work and achievements, a rush of excitement runs down their spine. This way you are setting examples for others also, people appreciate being recognized and glorified for their efforts and performance, and a culture of appreciation in office motivates the staff to work hard. Also, when your employees commit genuine mistakes, encourage them to learn from their mistakes, instead of being harsh on them.

Amiable environment: A clean work station, a comfortable chair, a pleasant working environment, makes a difference. Give them opportunities to connect with people and socialize. You can take them out for a team lunch, give them opportunities to work together as a team, encourage discussions among people, which may or may not be related to work. The idea is to create an environment which can make the employee look forward to coming to office the next day.

Let them know they are important: Encourage employees' participation in matters that matter. Seek feedbacks, suggestions, their inputs on client handling and while developing business strategies, since they are engaged in client interaction for most of their time, their inputs would be relevant on one hand and will motivate them on the other. Also, pass on the positive feedback that you may receive from the clients and let them know they are adding value to someone's life.

Employee self development: Give your employees opportunities for self development, provide trainings which can help them upgrade their skills, help them gain knowledge about the industry and products, thus accelerating the value they can contribute to your organization, and increasing their worth from a career perspective.

Quality of Work: A major factor which can keep an employee happy and motivated at work, is Quality of Work. Trust their abilities and give them challenging tasks, tasks which are important for the organization. When the work is challenging, it is likely that the employees will put in extra efforts and consummation of complex tasks will give them a sense of fulfillment, which will keep them motivated. Repetitive tasks can also put off people, give them opportunities to engage in different and more advanced activities, so as to break the monotony at work.

When you give them responsibility, give them authority as well: A top down approach may not be sustainable with the millennial population. Let your employees decide the strategy they are going to use to achieve their targets. Help them, guide them, advise them, but do not micromanage, let them take decisions, let them brainstorm and find their ways. This approach will create a sense of ownership within them.

Pay as per the industry standards: Money does matter, and at the end it's money which we all are working for, so do not underpay your employees, no matter how happy they are, they won't stick for long if they aren't paid in line with the industry standards.

Your leadership: Lastly, you play a very important role in effectuating the above and keeping your employees happy, by transmitting a happy and a positive vibe. Your employees look upto you, they get influenced by your ways, if they see a happy, optimistic and hardworking leader, they'll follow suit. You have the ability to shape the organizational culture to a large extent.

To conclude, motivation is the primary factor behind people who work hard and are productive.
When people are happy in their jobs, satisfied with their work, they rank high on the productivity meter.
A combination of the above can help you motivate your employees, let talent retain and grow.

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As a financial advisor, you play many roles, you advise clients on how should they be managing their money, goal planning, which products should they be investing in for their short and long term goals, portfolio review, etc. The role of a financial advisor includes, but is not limited to the above, in fact the horizon is huge. Many advisors limit their scope and end up playing the role of an investment product provider. The idea behind writing this article is to demonstrate to you the need to look at the big picture, and have a holistic view of the client's profile and portfolio.

Amid the plethora of investment products and providers available, what's going to make you stay here for the long run is being irreplaceable. The investor shall look up to you with trust and must place confidence in your abilities. It is very important that we as service providers review our roles and responsibilities so as to align with the changing customer needs, and to ensure that you are always adding value to the investor's life.

So, here are some uncustomary and equally crucial roles that a modern day financial advisor must play for their sustenance as well as for an overall development of their clients:

>Financial Mentor: One of the most crucial roles to be played by a financial advisor is that of a financial mentor to his/her clients. The need of the hour is that you are your client's personal financial coach, teaching the investor lessons on the basics, like spending, saving and investing, guiding him through various facets of investing like Why to Invest? When to Invest? Where to Invest in?, etc. The idea is to stand by and lead your investors into a secure financial future while preventing them from making the most common investing mistakes that most people make.

>Imparting Financial Education: An advisor's job neither begins nor ends with "Sale". The sale should be there, but it is supposed to follow the various other important aspects, and one of the most vital elements among all is Educating Investors. Before you place your product basket on the table, it's essential to familiarize the investor with the fundamentals, the need for Diversification, Goal Planning, Asset allocation and Investment Horizon, Risk Adjusted Returns, etc. The Why must be taken care of before the What. When the investors have a clear head, it instills investing confidence in them, and it is good to have investors who are aware. You would not have to repeatedly spend time in convincing them for investing, they would understand the need and act as per advise. A lot of questions and explanations can be avoided later when the Why factor is catered to in time.

>Behaviour management: Another crucial aspect of financial advisory is managing investor behaviour. Actually a significant portion of this element is taken care of by the above point, "educating your investors". Investors are generally scared of volatility, a sudden rise or fall in the markets trigger their emotions, which is evident in their behaviour, and they tend to take wrong investment decisions. So, your role as an advisor is to hold the investors' hands and remind them that volatility is normal, the investor is here for the long run, that their life goals can be affected by a small wrong decision. There is a need to consistently stir their memory and revive the basics.

>Assessment of their needs: A financial advisor must have a broad perspective while dealing with their clients. Because of your knowledge and experience of the industry, you would know a lot about your clients' investment needs, their risk taking capacity, and investing requirements, sometimes you would be able to see their footing better than how they themselves would see. You should be able to perceive the risks that the client may face in the future. It is not just about explaining the importance of goal planning and investing to them, you must help the investors identify their goals. You must have that foresightedness, so that you can advise them for what is right for them, and not what they ask you to do.

>Holistic View: As an advisor you need to have a holistic view and offer comprehensive solutions to the investor. It is very important that you not just concentrate on the investment under consideration but also take into account his past investments, his business, job prospects, personal preferences and family needs, tax matters, etc., before working on his financial plan and investing. Here, you must note that your roles must be refitted as per individual clients. There may be some who may need their advisor's roles to be limited or different. For instance there is an HNI client who needs you to do his financial planning and help him invest, but he has another person who looks into his taxation aspects, so here you need to restrict your role to advisory only, and not poke into his tax planning.

To conclude, a unique characteristic of every business is environment is constantly evolving, and with this evolution the needs and expectations of the investors. Therefore, reviewing our roles is an ongoing process, because the existing roles need to change and upgrade as per the market need. There is a need to get out of the comfort zone, the need to think and provide services out of the box, the need to exceed expectations. You have to evolve from being a conventional investment advisor to a trusted financial life partner.

A large part of a financial advisor's life goes in convincing investors that they must plan for their goals, secure their future, that they should write a will, that they should timely plan for their estate transfer, and the like. And being a part of the industry, being so close to the harsh reality of life, you all too must have shielded yourself by investing for your goals. You want to ensure that even when you are not there, your family's goals aren't compromised, so you must have secured your family by taking an adequate term plan.

But have you ever thought about what's going to happen to your business, who is going to take care of your clients' portfolios and goals, in case of your untimely death or disablement? Remember, you have promised them and yourself that you will empower them by securing their future and will work towards timely fulfillment of their goals. If you are also amongst those advisors who have not yet thought about what will happen to your advisory business when you are not there, then you must start thinking now. The reason why you should have a continuity plan in place as soon as possible, lies in the answers to the following questions:

In event of your sudden death,

Who's going to take care of your clients' needs?

What will be the source of income for your family?

What about your employees?

Not having answers to these questions will prompt you to take the first steps in this direction.

For securing your family's income, you must realize that simply naming your nominee may not be enough. Say for instance, your wife is your nominee, now in case of your death, your AUM cannot be transferred in your wife's name until she has a valid ARN. She will only receive the trail commission till the time the AUM is not exhausted. So if your wife wants to steer your business, she must have an ARN so that she can initiate the asset transfer process. Hence, the first thing to do would be helping your nominee take and pass the AMFI exam and get an ARN, thus making him/her eligible to take over your business. Further, it is also advisable that you groom the nominee or any other family member whom you think would be suitable for running the business, with business techniques and processes, educate them about the product and the industry, familiarize him/her with your clients, thus preparing them to take the helm in case of any eventuality.

When you take a term plan, you are covering your family with a financial shield, you are assured that your loved ones will have means to survive, maintain their standard of living and meet their goals in life. The term policy imparts mental peace to you. Similar is planning for continuity of business, it's like an insurance, a policy to look after your clients and family in the worst case scenario. Many advisors, in fact have realized the importance of insuring their business' future, and have adopted unique strategies to safeguard their clients' and family's interests in their absence. Some of them have prepared their family members for the takeover, some have plans to distribute the AUM like they distribute their other assets among their kids, some of them have plans to sell the business to another advisor, or maybe partnering with someone to keep the business going even when the advisor is not there.

Also your clients may not ask you directly, but they do wonder as to what will happen to their money and financial plan after you. So, just having a continuity plan is not enough, it is essential to communicate the same to your staff, family members and clients. You may not want to get into too much of details here, yet the idea is that your people must know what to do and whom to approach when all of a sudden you stop turning up.

To conclude, your business may outlive you, and providing for it's survival will impart mental peace to you. To ensure that your clients' interests are protected, and your family's income is not disrupted, in event of a mishap, it is critical that you plan for continuity of the business immediately.

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