My training takes me across the country and meet many IFAs. Of course I meet employees in banks, mutual fund, IFA, …and thus an amazing range of people. Here is a brief summary of some amazing learning…

• Obviously all of them started as Life Insurance agents – well most of them anyway
• They took to Mutual Funds to pick up the funds which were being left on the table for shorter duration
• Most of them sold for commission..BUT none of them sold a 30 year product as a 3 year product
• Selling 30 year policies as a 3 year pay is purely a post 2001 phenomenon
• Many of them have done a variety of money making activities – like booking scooters, cement, etc.
• Most of them have smart well qualified children
• Children torn between the asset accumulation business and
• the Advisory business
• Most of them are wondering what to do with their business
• The children want to do some Advisory business…but not all are so competent
• The children do not realize that even the advisory business is Sales oriented
• Some with Rs. 800 crore aum want a strategy to take it to Rs. 20,000 crore aum
• Some crib about SEBI, some crib about not being able to grow fast enough
• some use a lot of technology, some use no technology at all
• the ones at the top of the pyramid are in self actualization mode
• Many realize that they are terribly over paid
• Many are in denial about trail continuing for the rest of their lives
• The average income of an IFA is Rs. 12000 a month. This is a stupid number. Average makes no sense.
• the mean, median, mode and avg without the top 100 distributors could be better indicators