How NJ Wealth empowering mutual fund distributors to succeed in India

NJ Wealth is a B2B2C mutual fund distribution platform that was founded in 2003 with the vision of spreading financial awareness, inclusion, and access to financial products across India. The company has since grown to become one of the largest mutual fund distributors in the country, with a network of 32,000 active NJ Wealth mutual fund distributors, an AUM of Rs 1.45 lakh crore, and 26.62 lakh happy customers.

NJ Wealth is committed to empowering its network of mutual fund distributors to succeed in the Indian market. The company offers a comprehensive 360-degree platform that provides distributors with everything they need to grow their business, including: A wide range of financial products to sell; A powerful CRM system to manage their clients; Training and support to help them become experts in mutual fund investing; Marketing and branding support to help them reach new clients.

In an interview with Bizz Buzz, Misbah Baxamusa, CEO of NJ Wealth, said, "We are committed to empowering our mutual fund distributors to succeed in India. We believe that by providing them with the best possible platform and support, we can help them grow their businesses and help more people achieve their financial goals."

Baxamusa went on to say that NJ Wealth is also committed to increasing the number of women in the mutual fund distribution business. We believe that women have a lot to offer the mutual fund distribution industry. They are often more patient and relationship-oriented than men, and they have a strong understanding of the needs of their clients, he said.

Could you provide an overview of NJ Wealth?

NJ Wealth is a B2B2C mutual fund distribution platform, started in 2003 with the vision of spreading financial awareness, inclusion and access to financial products via a network of empowered mutual fund distributors (MFD). At NJ Wealth our primary focus is enabling our mutual fund distributors who we call our NJ Wealth Partners to successfully run their financial products distribution business by providing them with a comprehensive 360-degree platform.

The NJ Wealth Platform offers everything an MFD would need to successfully start, grow and scale their business covering diverse aspects such as product basket, digital experience, sales, marketing and branding support, training and skills support, customer care support and so on. NJ Wealth's strength lies in our technology offerings and the experience and passion of our sales team in helping build the distributor’s business.

At NJ Wealth, we believe in a simple approach to building wealth. Choosing the right allocation and then practising patience and discipline along with timely reviews and rebalancing are the keys to long-term wealth building. Our philosophy is to work in the best interest of clients, in a way that they can build wealth with a reasonable amount of risk.

What role does NJ Wealth play in assisting individuals with their personal finance assessment?

NJ Wealth being a B2B2C platform, does not directly interact with clients, however, we connect investors with NJ Wealth mutual fund distributors providing them with a blend of both - human, empowered by the digital. NJ Wealth platform offers the requisite reports, tools and utilities to engage with investors and provide quality services with respect to investments, risk-profile-based curated portfolios, portfolio reviews, need-based investing tools and so on.

With “need-based investing” MFDs analyse the investors’ needs, quantify them and match them with the investor's risk profiles. Furthermore, the tool allows investors to map their investments to their needs and subsequently, track them. With the Portfolio Review tool, the MFDs can quickly evaluate and analyse the investor’s mutual fund portfolio with insights and do the needful to ensure the investors are on track to achieve their investment objectives. The primary role that we envisage for any distributor is to build trust, educate, hand-hold investors on their investment journey, especially during volatile markets and encourage the building of desired financial habits and virtues.

As an MFD, how does NJ Wealth contribute to the Indian mutual fund distribution system?

The mutual fund industry has witnessed a sharp spur of growth in the last few years with the Industry AUM growing from Rs 22.20 lakh crore in 2018 to Rs 39.46 lakh crore in 2023. Marketing campaigns such as “Mutual funds sahi hai” and evolving regulatory framework provided by SEBI have played a huge role in building confidence and awareness, fueling the growth of the industry. However, MFDs remain at the heart of the mutual fund industry. They have acted as catalysts for the growth of the industry by reaching out to investors, spreading awareness and making mutual funds accessible across India.

NJ Wealth is one of the largest mutual fund distributors in the country, having a network of 32,000 active NJ Wealth mutual fund distributors, an AUM of Rs 1.45 lakh crore and 26.62 lakh happy customers. Started in 2003, when the mutual fund industry was in its nascent stage, NJ Wealth today has a presence in 19 States and over 165 offices and a digital presence to reach potential MFDs and investors in every nook and corner of the country. NJ Wealth strives to spread financial awareness and inclusion across the country and empowers its network of MFDs to do so meaningfully.

What criteria does NJ Wealth consider when selecting MFDs to partner with?

Despite the rapid expansion of the mutual fund industry in the past few years, the AUM to GDP ratio of India just stands at 17 per cent as opposed to the world average of 75 per cent. Moreover, there are only 1.31 lakh MFDs, meaning only 1 distributor for over 10,000 people. This shows a huge shortage of distributors in the industry and also presents a great business opportunity to start a mutual fund distribution business.

NJ Wealth offers a comprehensive 360-degree platform to its network of distributors, allowing them to focus solely on client acquisition and servicing. To join NJ Wealth, individuals are expected to have a strong entrepreneurial mindset and passion to serve investors. The primary focus is on ethical individuals with an intent to learn and act in the best interests of the investors. From a regulatory point of view, any individual willing to become an MFD must clear the AMFI NISM V-A mutual fund distribution examination and get the necessary certification.

What do you think are the advantages of having more women actively involved in the distribution of financial products?

Traditionally, in Indian society, we see a lower financial awareness and participation of women in the financial matters of the family. Even for earning women, we see them rely on their partners, brothers or parents when it comes to handling finances. On the other hand, we also believe women to be great homemakers and great savers. All this only makes a very strong case for women to enter into the financial products distribution business also.

Currently, there is a stark difference in the male-to-female ratio in the mutual fund distribution business. We believe that having more women actively involved in the mutual fund distribution business can bring a lot of benefits. Apart from the obvious business and career opportunities, women distributors can encourage a lot of women to get interested in wealth management, gain the necessary literacy and confidence for decision making and aspire to become financially independent. This can also positively impact the overall financial savings and behaviour of the family. We would strongly encourage women readers to explore the mutual fund distribution business also as a fulfilling and meaningful career opportunity.