On the back of its huge success in serving affluent families (over 500 families with an AuM in excess of Rs.1200 crores), Mumbai based Amar Pandit's MFA Consulting has created an exciting new start-up called Happyness Factory, led by P L Natarajan Iyer. The aim of this new venture is ambitious, its scope breathtaking - it aims to reform the way Indians and indeed savers around the world think about money. It aims to get conversations around investing away from products and returns to what they mean to you, to what would make you happy, to how to make you happy. It aims to reframe expectations from return on investments to return on your life. And at the heart of this new paradigm is the wisdom the firm has distilled from years of successfully serving clients which is summed up in this simple equation: Purpose+Money=Happiness. Read on as Natarajan Iyer takes us through the innovative approach of this exciting new venture.
In our 12 years of helping more than 500 affluent and wealthy families on their financial planning/wealth management requirements, one thing is common. Most families just want to know one thing "Am I doing ok?". We have validated the same with countless other families and advisors that we have met over the years. However the conversation that everyone including financial institutions , banks , experts and even the media has with people is "Returns, Products, Kitna Deti Hai, Large Cap , Mid Cap, Benchmark, Active , Passive , Index and so on".
This is like giving someone a crash course on medical science and expecting them to become doctors. There is a lot of noise around Do-It-Yourself. The best doctors and professionals today know that most problems are diagnosed by reading people , looking at the reaction to the problems and understanding them behaviorally. The same is true in the field of financial planning /investing.
The value is in understanding a person or family's goals, their current situation and see what needs to be done to help them to attain those goals. Thus it is important to unlearn the language of Returns and Products and learn a different language of "Happiness, Purpose of Life, Goals, and the Behavior" that is required for investment success.
Watch the Happyness video: https://youtu.be/1iicWP4jn0A
I believe that there are moments in our lives when our financial situation overlap with the emotions that we are experiencing. For example , even a child knows that Buy Low and Sell High whereas world over people Buy High and Sell Low (including so called sophisticated investors). Thus to achieve investment success, it is very important to understand what makes you happy and work on things that truly make you happy. This is not just a feel good philosophy but a rock solid strategy which organizations around the world have started adopting. More than half of the Fortune 100 companies in 50 countries have initiated work on happiness research.
Happiness is a subjective phenomenon; travelling might make someone happy while reading a book might give you joy, going to a concert might make one ecstatic or enjoying a football match with friends may be what thrills another. In short, no two people will have the same explanation for what happiness means to them.
However we have helped countless families to find their version of happiness through a very simple formula
Purpose + Money = Happiness
Our own experience on working in pursuit of happiness of our clients has shown us data that the formula and our Way of goal based investing works , helps clients to stick to their goals and find their version of happiness. We have thus captured the essence of financial planning and what makes a person happy as the bedrock of our financial planning process in Happyness Factory.
Most of us are trained to think "What" first, "What stock or fund am I going to buy today?" or "What asset allocation should I use?". This is because it's what you hear about all day long. It's the message you read in some financial publications and see on TV. But "What" questions should come after we think about "Why" and understand "How."
Starting with "Why" means achieving clarity about your personal financial goals be it education, travel, marriage etc and creating a plan to answer the "How".
We thus follow a goal based approach that follows a Plan(why) - Process(how)- Product(what) model.
By working with clients to devise happiness goals that are specific to the person; be it education, marriage, a holiday, health, etc., HappynessFactory.in helps to plan, save and invest. However that is only one part of the equation. Starting the journey is the first part only but the key to success is to stick through the tough times with a strong focus on goals (like not selling when the whole world screams SELL , The world is crumbling). HappynessFactory.in will help you stay on track and achieve your financial goals. With each happiness goal being worked towards individually and systematically, you can stop worrying about money and start enjoying the happy moments in your life, helping you achieve your version of happiness!
We are there to help you find your version of happiness and Most Importantly "the Happy Return on your Life (ROL)"
The goal that we as a team are trying to achieve is difficult. We like to make a happy difference in the lives of more than 10 million families across India. None of this is possible without your support. We have made a happy difference in some of your family members and look forward to making one in yours as well.
In our 12 years of helping more than 500 affluent and wealthy families on their financial planning/wealth management requirements, one thing is common. Most families just want to know one thing "Am I doing ok?". We have validated the same with countless other families and advisors that we have met over the years. However the conversation that everyone including financial institutions , banks , experts and even the media has with people is "Returns, Products, Kitna Deti Hai, Large Cap , Mid Cap, Benchmark, Active , Passive , Index and so on". 