In the hard-nosed world of money managers, here is a fund house that is demonstrating a refreshingly sensitive side. DSP Blackrock Investment Managers has made a significant commitment towards Winvestor - a program that empowers women to become more financially aware and thus capable of managing their own money. And, its not just their own money that they can do a good job with, but women may just be a tad better than men in successfully managing the family's finances as well ! Read on as Aditi Kothari - who is the brain and the moving force behind Winvestor - takes us through why she created Winvestor and how she is rapidly spreading its reach to touch more and more women who need financial counseling.

WF : What was the genesis of the Winvestor initiative?

Aditi : A few years ago, a young employee in our firm met with an untimely demise and left behind a grief struck wife, the mother of his two children. She consequently became the beneficiary of a sizeable life insurance claim and some company compensation money. Prying relatives and other kin were quick to spot the opportunity and were keen to invest the money on her behalf. In her vulnerable state she may have even signed away her windfall had the DSP BlackRock team not intervened to guide her through a suitable investment plan according to her particular risk tolerance level and future financial objectives.

I also came across other such incidents involving freshly divorced friends with a sizable alimony and some single friends who were earning a healthy income but did not have the confidence, interest or knowledge to make their own investment decisions. Further, they did not know where to find a credible financial advisor who would understand their concerns.

This was the motivation behind Winvestor. DSP BlackRock wanted to make the highest impact and we decided to focus only on building awareness and matching interested women with passionate female financial advisors as we felt women would feel more comfortable talking about their concerns with other women.

WF : What is 'Winvestor'? What is 'Winvisor'?

Aditi : 'Winvestor' is an investor education initiative by DSP BlackRock to inspire women of all income levels and ages to empower themselves with financial knowledge by providing them with a platform to become financially literate. The women who participate in this initiative are recognized as 'Winvestor'.

'Winvisor' means female financial advisor, empanelled with DSP BlackRock Investment Managers, who has agreed to volunteer for the series of initiatives under 'Winvestor', by registering at http://www.financialadvisors.dspblackrock.com/adviser-resources/updates/winvestor/register.
aspx.

WF : What are the contours of the program? In what formats do you engage with women investors and empower them with relevant insights?

Aditi : Winvestor is a comprehensive awareness program aimed to inspire women to make their own financial decisions and assist them with meeting a financial expert.

For building awareness:

1. Dedicated Website - through our website www.winvestor.dspblackrock.com we stress the reasons why women need to learn to take care of their own financial future.

2. TV Investor Education Initiative - We recently launched Sheconomy, a special initiative in association with CNBC TV 18 that aims to guide new age independent women to take better financial decisions. The show features a panel of Winvisors who help these women to become better investors.

3. Print Investor Education Initiative - Some of our advisors have been addressing reader's queries on personal finance in Femina magazine since the past six months. This has also helped us build awareness, which we could sense by the sort of questions readers ask us.

4. Partnering with female financial experts (Winvisors) - We have received encouraging feedback and active participation from our empanelled female advisors who have been enthusiastic in supporting this initiative and also helping us expand this initiative by conducting pro bono one-on-one sessions with women seeking financial knowledge.

5. Dedicated Blog - We will be launching a blog with articles and case studies written by our Winvisors.

6. Social Initiatives - We are also sponsoring various social initiatives like conducting financial literacy campaigns for underprivileged women in collaboration with Sanchayan (a reputed NGO focused on spreading financial awareness based in North India) and sponsoring various awards to encourage women entrepreneurs in association with Mann Deshi (a non profit bank for rural women).

7. Research - We have commissioned a research study on women and investments, the analysis of which will be available on our website by the end of April.

For helping 'Winvestors' meet our 'Winvisors':

We have an easy registration process (http://www.dspblackrock.com/winvestor/register.aspx) for a complimentary personal financial counseling session with one of our 'Winvisors'. These 'Financial Planning Clinics' are individual counseling sessions to encourage women to discuss their personal finance queries with one of our 'Winvisors'. These counseling sessions seek to help women become financially aware & literate by making them understand various financial instruments, and provide them with personalized financial planning information tailored to their own situations and goals.

We also have a directory of Winvisors on our website to enable women to locate a 'Winvisor' and make an appointment on their own. If the Winvestor has found the winvisor through our site, then the first session is complimentary.

Our Winvisors understand the financial needs specific to women, are empathetic to their lack of knowledge and are patient while answering the most basic questions. They actively work to make our winvestors feel comfortable in sharing personal financial worries and look to help them in the best manner possible.

WF : How can an advisor become a Winvsor?

Aditi : We are looking for patient, passionate, knowledgeable and dedicated women advisors.

Any AMFI registered woman advisor empanelled with us, who believes in our program is welcome to register on our site: http://www.financialadvisors.dspblackrock.com/adviser-resources/updates/
winvestor/register.aspx

For more queries email us at Winvestor@dspblackrock.com

WF : Why should an advisor become a Winvisor?

Aditi : There are many reasons:

• You feel good about yourselves that you are making a difference in the lives of women who need financial guidance and making them more confident about taking financial responsibility themselves. In the bigger picture, you have contributed to the start of a revolution in empowering women to take charge of their own finances.

• As DSP BlackRock promotes the concept through media sources, registered Winvisors could be called to share their experiences on TV or contribute to magazine articles. Winvisors could also engage on our blog to share their experiences and thereby encourage women to understand their finances and motivate them to take charge of their own investment decisions.

• Registered Winvisors are included in our directory that is posted on our webpage to enable winvestors (potential investors) to contact suitable financial advisors (a possible avenue to get a potential client).

WF : Please could you elaborate on the Sheconomy Initiative?

Aditi : Sheconomy is a TV initiative under our Winvestor program in association with CNBC TV 18. It guides independent women to adopt wealth creation strategies by answering their queries on personal finance and helps them become informed investors.

The show launched on 12th January '13 with a panel discussion featuring a prominent matrimonial lawyer and a female psychologist who passionately believe that women must take care of their own finances. This will be followed by seven episodes with various clusters of women such as homemakers, women entrepreneurs, working women, young mothers, senior citizens, fresh graduates and even a special episode with men and women talking to our Winvisors who answer queries and provide investment advice. The last episode would also be a panel discussion with some prominent women who passionately believe in the idea, share their views and experiences and talk about why they feel women need to be in charge of their own financial future.

The show airs every Saturday at 6 pm and is repeated at 4 pm on Sunday on CNBC TV 18. One can also visit our dedicated Sheconomy website www.sheconomy.in for more information and to see any episodes that you may have missed.

WF : In what ways must AMCs and advisors engage differently with women investors and why?

Aditi : Women are different from men in terms of their aspirations, priorities in life, lifestyle commitments & more importantly their financial planning needs. Financial advisors must understand all these parameters and be empathetic when talking to women.

A financial advisor must understand that when talking to women he/she must deal with feelings and emotions, and try to understand the entire story before making any investment suggestions. Women like to be listened to and connected with before they are able to trust you and believe in the plan you present to them. In addition, financial advisors must be patient in explaining even basic concepts to women and thereby encourage them to make their own financial decisions by building their confidence one meeting at a time!

Here is what some of the leading women advisors who have participated in this initiative, have to say about Winvestor and Sheconomy :

Mona Fakih, Allegience Advisors, Mumbai

I think it's a great initiative, and a much needed one at that. Most men in our country are naturally inclined towards managing money, but women, by and large are still relatively clueless. If we are able to collectively do our bit to enhance financial literacy among women, it will go a long way not only in building awareness among women about financial matters, but also enhance their own self esteem and feeling of self worth. I do hope this initiative takes off in a big way in the country.

Shiney Sebastian, Affluenz Advisors, Kochi

The Sheconomy initiative is a very interesting one as it reaches out to the heart of the financial planning process in any family - the woman. In my opinion, women need far more inputs on financial planning than men, as I believe once their awareness of financial planning is enhanced, they can actually be far more successful investors than men, when it comes to staying committed to their plans through market cycles.

Sapna Narang, Capital League, Delhi

The need for such an initiative is indeed very real. Today women are acquiring greater personal wealth through professional ventures, business ownership, escalating salaries and inheritance. Despite contributing significantly to family income/ wealth, women generally shun taking financial decisions about their personal wealth. Numerous studies and research indicate that this is a global phenomenon. Financial management along with dispensing financial advice has long been considered a male bastion. Its time to see some change in this thinking.

Roopa Venkatakrishnan, Mumbai

This initiative is all about empowering women on financial matters. We see so often that women always have their fathers, brothers and husbands dealing with their financial matters - and thus they never get the exposure they need to truly become independent and empowered. Initiatives like this give them that much needed exposure. I have done these Winvestor clinics where we offer one-on-one counseling to women on their financial matters. I've seen how we are actually able to empower women through these initiatives.