While we are constantly aiming for higher salaries to take those Instagram-worthy vacations, it is an accepted fact that the concept of savings is something we tend to forget. "There is no discipline when it comes to saving because we rather indulge in instant gratification," points out Bhargavi Boddapaty. To make savings great again, Boddapaty along with Anup Bhaiya from the nation’s financial capital, Mumbai, started Futureworth — an online investment management company that makes investing less cumbersome and confusing.
Boddapaty pursued her Master's in Financial Economics from Oxford and worked abroad till she finally decided to return home, which for her is Hyderabad, in 2015. She joined her father's company, Millennium Finance Ltd, which offers personalised wealth management services to clients with investments of one crore and above. This got her thinking about those who might not have that much money to invest but want to venture into equity and mutual funds. She wanted to bring in the same personalised advice for small-time investors too. Thus, Futureworth was conceived and was fully functional by January 2018.
"When compared to the West, our financial literacy is very low. We still stick to traditional investments like buying gold, land or a house," she explains. And though Fixed Deposits are a good choice too, the returns have been down from 8-9% last year to 6.7-7% this year. "This is why curiosity around mutual funds and equity markets is growing," explains the 29-year-old.
Banking on this wave, Futureworth offers to manage and build your mutual funds portfolio, making the process completely online. After answering a questionnaire with simple and direct questions like 'How soon do you need your money’ (which is a blessing as opposed to filling lengthy forms at the bank), they suggest a portfolio of mutual funds selected exclusively for you. Upon agreeing, they even review and monitor your portfolio.
Though there is that impending fear of losing money and viewing mutual funds as gambling, "5,000 per month is really not a big deal for an urban, regular youngster working in an MNC," she points out and implores us to think about the power of compounding. And now that they have started operations with full gusto, they intend to start marketing and promotions next month. A fact worth noting is that without investing anything in promotions, they have gained about 200 clients who have invested amounts ranging from `5,000 to `1,75,000 and everything in between.
Boddapaty had the privilege of attending the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Meet conducted last month and had the honour of listening to finance wizard Warren Buffett himself. "He emphasised on investing long-term as that is what will make all the difference," she recalls, narrating one of the nuggets of wisdom Buffett shared.
To know more about Futureworth, click on futureworth.com
