Marzee Kerawala started his full time financial advisory in January 2008, right at the peak of the last bull market. From then to August 2013 was a difficult time for financial planning professionals. Equity markets were sluggish and the period was marred with Lehman crises, Satyam fiasco, weak macroeconomics, dollar trouble just to name a few. In this same time period when more than 14000 IFA’s shut their shop, he has scaled his business to new highs and is now in one of India’s top league of practicing IFA’s, managing assets worth over USD 2 Billion!

A leading Certified Financial Planner, who has embraced the power of technology, Marzee spends lot of his time reading, attending trainings, seminars, conferences and public talks to keep himself updated on the latest trends. His office is decorated with awards that recognize his professional growth and advisory excellence. On 27^th July, his firm, NiveshIndia was awarded for outstanding performance in Equity and SIP at Goa’s Dr. SP Mukherjee indoor stadium. NiveshIndia today is one of the most successful advisory firms, having the unique feature of catering to Parsi clients across all Parsi colonies from Cusrow Baug in Colaba to Nirlon in Goregaon – as also satisfied investors from far flung suburban Parsi colonies from Vikhroli, Thane, Kalyan and even Pune.

When Parsi Times asked Marzee about how he built his successful Financial Planning practice in such tough environment, he says, “First of all, let me tell you that I have not achieved this feat overnight. It is my years of dedication and passion to create wealth for my clients that has got me here. I have devoted my significant time, money and energy to constantly upgrade myself. So after resigning from my well-paying job as CFO, India Aeroflot Russian Airline, I had to start from scratch. When I started my practice it was Jan 2008, that only made matters worse for me as the markets had crossed 21000 and thereafter it came down to 9000 by March 2009 and it wasn’t easy to get clients’ confidence. It was my period of learning and I had my share of failures as well. What helped me stay ahead in difficult times was my philosophy that my ‘clients interest comes first’. My advice has always been client centric and not company or product centric. It is the clear understanding of my clients profile and his objectives of Investments. I never register a client unless I have chalked out his detailed financial plan. To me financial planning means being personally involved with my client families in their financial journey. It also involves lot of hand holding in difficult times when markets are volatile, especially when an investor is naïve and the family has never had exposure to equity as an asset class. It is difficult times like this when you meet them, provide them with correct information and make them successfully sail through the ups and downs of markets that they become your clients forever. I attribute my success to the Faith and Trust my investors has posed in me and my abilities, and that to me is the biggest Asset of our firm NiveshIndia.”

When asked about what advice he would give to those who wish to start investing on their own, he says, “I genuinely feel that financial literacy is very low in our country. I meet people with hoards of Insurance policies without a single term plan. I see people who are in high tax bracket having most of their savings in FD’s. These are most common mistakes and they cost them dearly in future. Have a proper financial plan in place for your family. Start savings early in life. Invest in right asset class with right Asset allocations. One should always have 5 to 6 months of expenses in liquid funds. Regularly review the investments and rebalance the assets. Have proper Insurance and Mediclaim cover. Over the years I have learned and understood that SIP’s are the best wealth creation tools. If you follow all of the above you will get your financial freedom sooner than later.”