The partnerships segment of FIFA's recently concluded annual conference had a very insightful session on what it takes to build a professional partnership in our business - and the case study discussed was perhaps the finest one in the wealth creation business in India - the duo of MotilalOswal and Ramdeo Agarwal. IFAs coming together to build bigger businesses is a trend that is catching on rapidly. For those who are planning to get together and for those who are thinking about it, the video that this power duo put together - especially for this conference - has fantastic insights on all the do's and don'ts of building professional partnerships. Also check out the 5 points that they summarize as the critical success factors for building a strong partnership that can make 1+1 into 11 instead of 2.
In Part I of this 2 part article on the partnerships segment of FIFA's recently conducted annual conference, we discussed the jugalbandi between an advisor and investor, with a fantastic case study of Roopa Venkatakrishnan and her client Pramod (click here).
The second dimension of partnerships explored at the conference was between two professionals who come together to build something that is larger than each can do individually. In the IFA space, we have a few very successful partnerships that demonstrate the power of symbiotic relationships - we have Lalit and Yogendra at Edge Wealth, we have Yasir and Mazhar at Abacus, we have Vinod and Rajesh at Jain Investment - and we have some budding and promising partnerships like Brand New Day at Guwahati. Like minded IFAs coming together to build something bigger is a trend that is going to escalate in the coming years - and the session was therefore extremely topical and relevant.
One of the finest examples of a symbiotic partnership in the wealth creation business is the one between Raamdeo Agarwal and Motilal Oswal - a partnership that has evolved into one of the most respected equity franchises in the country - spread across broking, asset management and wealth management. Raamdeoji and Motilalji very kindly put together a video, especially for this conference, where they talk very candidly about what brought them together, and what continues to bind them together, through these 30 wonderful years of their partnership.
After the video was played, Raamdeoji had a very candid and mirthful discussion with Vijay Venkatram, MD, Wealth Forum, who anchored the segment on partnerships at the conference - on common worries that partners have when they come together, and how the two of them smoothly navigated away from such pitfalls to build the great institution that they have created.
For any professional partnership to be successful, the following factors are absolutely critical:
Shared values
Shared vision
Implicit trust in each other
Complementary skill sets - where 1+1 does not add up to 2 but 11
Respect for each other and tolerance for each other's idiosyncrasies
Moving on from navigating the pitfalls in partnerships, Raamdeoji gave a clear message to all conference participants: its time for each IFA to think carefully on strategic partnerships, if they really want to ride the crest of the big growth wave that is coming. He talked about how advisory firms in the US scaled up very significantly during their big secular growth phase, how advisors came together to make the most of the growth wave, and how they are today managing not millions, but billions of dollars in client assets. Shed your inhibitions and fears, collaborate with like minded professionals where you find the 5 success factors, and make 1+1 into 11 - just as the Raamdeo Agarwal and MotilalOswal partnership have done.
FIFA Annual Conference
