WF : What is your business resolution for the New Year?

Shibu : As an individual one can have resolutions for the New Year, to be broken and resolved afresh the next year. But as a business house it is more about having business goals and we don't need a new year to set these goals. In fact we have short term and long term goals for the company, which we focus on during the entire year. Our goal is to establish ourselves as a wealth management house, distinct from the peer group in terms of quality of advice and service levels. At the personal level I must admit that I have resolved to diversify my business interests.

WF : What is your market outlook for 2011?

Shibu : With GDP growth expected to be over 8.5% I don't see any reason for the stock market to not perform in the year 2011. A return of 15-18 % on the sensex in the next 12 months from the current sub-20,000 level is not impossible. There are definitely some issues like rising inflation, increasing pressure on interest rates and a "scam-a-day" environment which dampens sentiments. The global economic and financial situation is recovering slowly. Our advice to investors would be to remain cautiously bullish in 2011. Ignore the noisy scams and stick to the basic principles of investing without forgetting the merits of asset allocation at all times.

WF : How do you see the business environment for advisors in 2011? What will be the key business drivers in 2011 in your view?

Shibu : We have digested the hectic pace of regulatory changes over the last two years. It is now time to embrace change and find positives in the change. Although the speed with which the regulations have changed has actually caught us off guard, in the long run we will not only live with it but also find merits in the new regulations. We will have to remain focused on creating client centric practices which can alone help in scaling up.

WF : Which are the product segments (eg equity MFs / PMS/ debt funds/ real estate/ PE/ etc) that you are likely to focus on more in this year and why?

Shibu : Asset allocation being the key to the success of any investment plan, I think a good balance between various asset classes with periodic rebalancing is important. Hence the product mix will depend on every individual's specific needs and will certainly not depend on the asset class in favour during a specific period. Hence our focus will be on every client's unique need.

WF : Are there any changes you are planning on your advice delivery and service delivery to your clients this year? In what ways will this be different from the past?

Shibu : We have launched our online transactional platform and the focus would be to use technology as a tool to enhance service levels and ensure institutionalized process for delivery of advice.

WF : What do you regard as the biggest competitor to advisors like yourself and how do you plan to tackle this competition?

Shibu : We believe that every distribution channel has unique advantages and hence there is space for all players. Nevertheless banks have the advantage of having a captive customer base and also the traditional trust which these customers have on the banks. In a sense banks probably give IFAs some challenge.

WF : Are you planning any changes to your operating platform this year? Will you be considering the stock exchange platform, for example?

Shibu : We have launched our own transactional platform and would focus on reaching out to as many investors as possible.

WF : The recent fraud case in a bank's wealth management unit has put a spotlight on the way wealth management businesses are conducted. Do you see that as a positive or a negative development for advisors? In what ways do you see the wealth management business changing, if at all, as a fall-out of this scam?

Shibu : In a generic way it is definitely a huge negative for the entire community of wealth managers. Clients would be more skeptical about the level of trust they can repose in their advisor. However frauds have happened in the past and every instance has helped in a way that the systems are tested and proper checks and balances are imposed. The distribution of financial products needs to be regulated and proper entry barriers need to be set up.

WF : What have been some of the most successful initiatives you implemented in 2010 that either drove up revenues or controlled costs?

Shibu : 2010 was a year of consolidation and our focus was on enhancing the 'wow factor' in client servicing. With such a large squeeze on margins due to changed regulations, top line was the only area to work on. This is possible only by increasing volumes. However pressures on margins definitely help in rationalizing costs and we have, wherever possible, tried to increase efficiency of all resources.

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