New Age Wealthtech Platforms Foster Financial Literacy, Inclusion and Democratise Investment Opportunities: CFA Society India's 6th Fintech Conference

BusinessWire India
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], March 12: The CFA Society India concluded its 6th annual Fintech Conference held at Taj Bengaluru, MG Road on 9th March 2024. The day started with a deep dive session into the Emerging Investment Platforms by Sandeep Gupta, CFA, Director of CFA Society India. Sandeep discussed the enabling role of wealth tech ecosystems to democratize access to previously difficult to invest options like Commercial Real Estate, Commodities and Private Equity for a larger set of investors. These platforms enable a demographic cohort of youth and women to unlock the compounding benefits of investing early on. The session moderator Megha Malpani, CFA, Partner at ZVEST Advisory emphasised that it is a collective responsibility of all finance professionals, whether traditional or new age, to neutrally impart financial literacy before recommending any opportunities.

Wealthtech industry leaders like Ajinkya Kulkarni, Co-founder and CEO of Wint Wealth, Avinash Rao, Co-founder of Alt DRX, Raman Chandna, Managing Partner & CIO of Grip Invest, Satya Sree Akella, VP legal of RuleZero Tech Solutions deliberated on various types of New Age Platforms across a myriad set of asset classes like Fixed Income, Real Estate and Private Markets. Nuances like taxation, deposit insurance guarantee, preference of Indian Investors for Gold & physical Real Estate etc. was discussed.

The role of regulations and regulatory bodies emerged as a prominent topic of discussion throughout all sessions of the conference. When asked about the recent perception of regulators as unfriendly towards Fintech, several key speakers emphasized that regulators operate with a long-term perspective but often take swift action when necessary. Although regulators may exhibit a deliberate pace, their interventions are executed with a world-class standard, as exemplified by initiatives such as UPI and T+1 settlements. It is crucial to recognize that regulators do not oppose technological innovation; rather, they encourage it. However, they may express reservations about certain operational aspects. Sensitivity in navigating regulatory boundaries is paramount, as regulators may respond unfavourably to certain approaches. Notably, Indian regulatory bodies have demonstrated unwavering reliability and agility akin to startup enterprises. They possess a keen understanding of the market dynamics and actively foster innovation. The introduction of Sandboxes by Indian regulatory bodies and the initiatives undertaken by IFSCA at Gift City to promote indigenous innovation were widely lauded.

During the conference it was also highlighted that New-age brokerage platforms like Zerodha, Groww, Upstox and AngelOne have been able to massively expand the base of Capital Market investors on the back of Public Infrastructure Initiatives of the Government like Adhaar, UPI, Account aggregators, etc. Today they command 57 per cent of the active clients of NSE, a stark increase from 7 per cent in 2017.

An enlightening panel discussion on the perspectives of venture capitalists regarding emerging platforms was led by Anand Dutta, Partner of Nexus VP, Siddharth Pai, Founding Partner of 3one4 Capital and Shuvi Shrivastava, Partner of Lightspeed India. The discussion covered the topic of current funding winter. However, Fintech will be a significant part of our returns 7-8 years from now as projected by a prominent VC.

The opening remarks were delivered by Ravi Gautham, CFA, Sr. Vice President and Head, Northern Trust Asset Management India and Director, CFA Society India. Further the sessions were ably moderated by Harsh Kumar, CFA, Partner of Zvest Financial Services, Kashyap Kompella, CFA, Founder of RPA2AI, Krishna Hegde, CFA, Cofounder of BrownRice Capital & Shamit Chokshi, CFA, Principal Offshore Fund Investments, International Business of ICICI Prudential AMC Ltd. and Director, CFA Society India.

There was detailed session on Tokenisation of Real-World Assets by Shailesh Dhuri, CFA, CEO of Decimal Point Analytics who highlighted the difference between Fractionalisation and Tokenisation. He estimated that Tokenization of global illiquid assets is estimated to be a USD 16 trillion business opportunity by 2030. Further Dhuri expounded "India has a diverse and extensive need for financing across various sectors. A robust fintech ecosystem that excels globally in sophistication, accessibility, risk management, and cost-effectiveness is imperative. Facilitating the exchange of ideas through platforms such as the India Fintech Conference is essential to achieving this goal. I commend the CFA Society India for organizing such a valuable series of events."
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