FinTech platform Fintso and American Academy of Financial Management(R) (AAFM(R)) Collaborate to Upskill Financial Advisors and Entrepreneurs

In a move to equip mutual fund distributors and financial advisors to navigate the rising volatility and complexity of financial products, Fintso, an integrated digital wealth management platform collaborates with AAFM to provide access to their professional certifications.

The American Academy of Financial Management India (AAFM India) through AAFM® FINANCE CLUB announced a tie-up with Fintso, the B2B2C Fintech platform for financial entrepreneurs and independent financial advisors that service the Indian wealth management sector. AAFM is the global professional organization that offers exclusive certified designations, charters, and master’s certification to candidates who meet the AAFM® USA high standards. The entity is a certification body that is TUV Accredited, ISO 9001 & 29990 certified. This move by Fintso is aimed towards upgrading the skillset of Financial advisors to enable them deliver prominent services to their clients.

Rajan Pathak, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Fintso elaborated on the collaboration, “We believe that financial advisors and distributors are aware that the clients they service look to them for knowledge and guidance in an increasingly complex world. Having the certification helps in building their personal brand and enhances the bond with their clients. The AAFM® certifications including Chartered Wealth Manager, CWM® Certification, enables this need, given the stringent international wealth management standards that it certifies.”

Said Mr. Vyas Rai Nagpal, Director from AAFM India – “We are extremely happy at this association with Fintso – it allows amalgamation of knowledge and the ability to execute, to the financial entrepreneurs who are the back-bone of the Wealth management & financial advisory services eco-system. We very strongly believe that this initiative will help our members to expand and build their businesses to the next level.  This is the heart of our Mission. The CWM® mark is recognized and accepted Nationwide as being the highest standard for Wealth Management™, and we believe that the Digital support that Fintso provides will enable advisors to stand out in this space.”

Adding to this, George Mitra, Co-Founder and CEO of Fintso further added – “Indian regulators are extremely progressive and are focused towards ensuring quality advise is given to investors. Being certified and registered by SEBI as an RIA (Registered Investment Advisor) will increasingly form a differentiator for business expansion. AAFM® provides the framework and necessary certification that helps in getting this RIA. Fintso itself is building out the support system to enable them to meet the requirements of RIA regulations.”

The collaboration is being kick-started with a subsidized certification course for the subscribers of Fintso. Likewise, AAFM FINANCE CLUB members and participants get preferential access as subscribers to Fintso. 

The wallet size of Indians is estimated to be ~$5.5 trillion and is expected to grow to $8 trillion in 5 years, with an increase in first time investors especially those that are looking to invest their savings beyond FDs, real estate and physical gold. It is also extremely fragmented – both geographically and in terms of the needs of the different segments – retail, affluent, HNIs, and UHNIs. It is estimated that over 75% of this market is served by independent, small distributors and advisors. Enabling them to provide better services is acknowledged as being essential in providing quality service and advise to clients.

Commissioner Dr./Jur. George Mentz, Esq. CEO & Founder of AAFM, USA said – “Professional credentialing and development are in a continued revolution around the world. Because we have paid attention to executives globally for more than 20 years, we are innovating education and standards with new methods of metrics, technology, accreditation, pedagogy, and development styles. AAFM FINANCE CLUB is a new innovative way of our education delivery in this digital world. Each certification is targeted at a specific skillset required to perform a role in the finance domain with world-class expertise. I welcome you to learn about our unmatched standards and accredited programs recognized by the AAFM® Certifying Board.”

Prior to this, Fintso also partnered with National Stock Exchange (NSE) Knowledge Hub in July 2020 to empower financial advisors to expand efficiently in the wealth management industry.

Fintech Startup Fintso Raises $2.6 Mn in its Maiden Round of Funding

Fintso, a 3-month-old fintech startup, founded by Wealth Management industry veterans, George Mitra and Rajan Pathak, has raised $2.6 milliom from a set of individual Angel investors. Investors include Rajeev Juneja (CEO of Mankind Pharma), Pratul Shroff (Founder of Infochips) and Dilip Khandelwal (MD and Head of Technology, Asia Pacific, Deutsche Bank), as well as other notable names, including the General Partners of some of the largest Consumer VC s in India.

A deep-tech based PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service), Fintso is a next-generation B2B2C solution to the wealth management industry for smart solutions and allied services to the ecosystem players.

This capital will aim to build a state-of-the-art platform that helps these IFA s (Independent Financial Advisors) and MFDs to Nurture client relationships, enable seamless operations, and help them enhance productivity. Apart from this, they will also be strengthening their operations and servicing teams to offer real-time support to their audience.

George Mitra, Co-founder and CEO, Fintso said: “We are extremely happy to have investors who believe in what we are doing and are providing much more than capital - by sharing their knowledge and experience. Their experience in having started and built-out enterprises, and being professionals who steer large organisations, will be invaluable for Fintso in its journey.”

Prior to founding Fintso, George Mitra was the CEO of Avendus Wealth, managing a team of 125 people and an AUM of $4 bn. Rajan Pathak, was the CEO of IFAN, managing a team servicing 1300+ Independent Advisors who advised on assets of $500 mn. The founding team, including Vijaykumar Panchagatti (Ex Director, Unisys), Tanay Chourasia and Rohan Daftary, have over 75 years of cumulative experience.

Adding to this, Fintso’s Co-Founder, Mr. Rajan Pathak, said, “Independent financial entrepreneurs have long been the “bridge of trust” for clients, not only existing, but new savers. Providing solutions to this eco-system, to help them do more, and do better, for their clients, is the most effective way of addressing this large, yet highly fragmented, market. Using Fintech, to enhance and augment their offerings, will ultimately help serve the individual investors address their needs more holistically”.

The disrupted ecosystem of Indian financial market often makes it difficult for service providers and vertical aggregators to efficiently service these large pockets of customers spread across the country. While independent financial advisors may have that reach, they lack the capacity to expand efficiently and cost-effectively to reach the wider and dynamic audience. Fintso focuses on bridging this gap with its RPA’s (Robotic Process Automation), AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) backed platform.

On this agreement, Piyush Gupta - Group CFO, HT Media says, “By using ‘Deep Tech’ and automation, Fintso is trying to solve a real problem of non-standardisation and information asymmetry in the large financial advisory space. The fact that it is led by a stellar team of professionals having a vast domain experience as well as technology background augers well for success. I wish them all the very best in their journey.”

Further, Pratul Shroff, (Founder of Infochips) added, “As India experiences growth and expansion in the coming decade, more and more people will feel the need to participate in the financial markets. Just like eComm growth in Tier II, III and IV cities, there is a huge pent up demand for financial information, and good solid advice on investment options and opportunities. Fintso fills that gap by enabling independent financial advisors to expand their reach and market in a meaningful way.”

Fintso also targets manufacturers and vertical integrators to offer them the benefit of wealth management. The platform aims at enabling digital players to become Omni-channels by allowing them to showcase their products to a larger audience in an efficient manner.