A Chartered Accountant by profession, Abhishek Mehta loves reading books. But his true passion lies in multiplying the wealth of his clients at Investza Capital company which he founded in April 2017.
Abhishek Mehta, chief strategist of Investza Capital, has a very satisfied clientele. With good reason, too: he has achieved approximately 17.3% return on investment (RoI) on the combined assets he’s managed.
It is this type of tangible outcome which drives Abhishek, whose Mumbai-based firm, Investza Capital AUM stands at around USD 5 Million and managing more than 300 families.
“We are in the business of trust,” says Abhishek, who acquired Chartered Accountancy Degree and Chartered Financial Analyst Certification from USA, before plunging into the world of wealth management. “It is not only imperative, but also immensely useful for me to be able to measure my work.”
He has even brought an external chartered accountancy firm on board, to audit the returns he’s delivered, and says he plans to publish the findings as part of his pitch to manage the wealth of a new generation of increasingly affluent Indians.
Setting the tone for growth
One of the primary ways in which Investza Capital differentiates itself in the wealth management industry, is its unique objective-based approach, shunning the more common product-based one.
Most firms would usually begin the advisory process by putting forth their view on different asset classes such as real estate, equity and debt – and then create products which are aligned to and could benefit from the view. This results in a portfolio of products which is premised on a hit-or-miss approach. Furthermore, often, advisory stems from vested interest – higher commissions, larger fees.
Abhishek, however, has ensured that advisory at Investza Capital begins first with an objective as decided by the client. This is then followed by the designing of a strategy that is tailor-made to meet that specific objective, and constant monitoring allows for a careful and ongoing analysis of whether or not the strategy is helping clients move towards their objective.
Objective-driven wealth management, then, is Investza Capital’s key proposition. Now, while objectives could me multi-fold, there are three chief ones that Abhishek has his team focus on.
First, it is to get sensible returns of 15% on the client’s wealth and quadruple their wealth in about a decade. Secondly, it is to create a safety-net to protect this wealth from external encumbrance. Finally, it is to ensure near-zero transmission loss while bequeathing one’s wealth to future generations.
This solid approach has been instrumental in helping Investza Capital go from strength to strength over the last few months. The financial strategy team working under his leadership is now 10 members strong.
“Whatever the parameters are for measuring the wealth management business, including assets, a front-line sales fraternity, profitability or income, all have been positive,” says Abishek, who was previously associated with Anand Rathi. “In fact, I believe all these parameters have grown four-fold.”
He now wants to focus on hiring more pure-play finance professionals, rather than increasing the number of marketing and sales people handling wealth management. Such an approach is very common with many other firms, emphasising that it is necessary to have more treasury experts and rank-holder chartered accountants involved in advising clients on how to build robust portfolios.
Keeping it real
Throughout his association with Investza Capital, Abhishek has been firmly against practices such as inflating the firm’s AUM to enhance its standing in the industry and among clients.
Far from clients being impressed by massive – sometimes made-up – numbers, Abhishek insists that in his experience, they often prefer the kind of upfront, ‘fearless’ and most importantly, ‘simplified’ approach that his firm chooses to employ.
When it comes to advisory itself, Investza Capital also made the decision to ban a number of what Abhishek calls ‘vested interest products’ in the wealth management industry. This is based on the firm’s data-backed conviction that they are not good for clients’ portfolios.
Now, while Abhishek is well-aware that he belongs to an industry known for being high on adrenaline, he remains clear and grounded about one thing: he might risk his own money, but never that of a client. “Growth is possible without much risk – the trick lies in getting the game plan right,” he contends.
Today, with about USD 5 Million of AUM trusted by more than 300 Families, it is evident that with Abhishek’s leadership and his team’s dedicated efforts, Investza Capital has grown rapidly in a short period of time, and shows no signs of slowing down in the times to come.