Many ideas get discussed and debated - but to move an idea beyond the discussion table into concrete action, requires initiative. The idea of an all India Federation of IFA associations has been discussed at length, including in our Discussion Forum. The idea gathered momentum when AKIFAA took the initiative to convene a meeting of like-minded IFA associations in Kochi on 11th May 2013. This initiative has set the ball rolling for the formation of "Federation of Mutual Fund Distributor Associations in India" - a federation of IFA associations.
We had earlier carried a message from Mr. Suresh Nair about the agenda for the 11th May 2013 meeting (Click Here). Here is an update on the meeting from Mr. Suresh Nair, Secretary, All Kerala IFA Association (AKIFAA) :
"The meeting held at Cochin on Saturday, May 11, 2013 to discuss the formation of an all India Federation was a great success and hopefully May 11 would be remembered as a historic day for the IFA Community in India. The name approved unanimously was "Federation of Mutual Fund Distributor Associations in India"
The leading associations in the country like KAMFA, IFA Galaxy, ASK Circle, AKIFAA etc along with 7 other associations discussed and deliberated on the proposed bye laws and nominated the following office bearers who will hold the posts till the next AGM
R. Lakshmanan (KAMFA, Bangalore) -President
Oommen Panicker (AKIFAA, Kochi)- Additional President
S K Bagaria (ASK Circle, Kolkata) - Vice President
Davesh Bansal (NIFAA, Chandigarh) - Vice President
Ramesh Bhat (IFA Galaxy, Chennai)- General Secretary
Suresh Nair (AKIFAA) - Joint Secretary
C Satish Kumar (TNIFPA, Chennai) -Joint Secretary
Treasurer (Nominee of IFA Galaxy, Chennai)- name to be announced later
A 4 member Constitution Committee consisting of R. Lakshmanan, Oommen Panicker, Ramesh Bhat and S K Bagaria was formed to receive suggestions and finalise the bye laws. Time for receiving suggestions with regard to the bye laws has been extended till May 25, 2013. Once all the suggestions come in, the final draft will be prepared and we propose to register the Federation latest by June 10, 2013."
We spoke with R. Lakshmanan, the President of the new IFA Federation, to understand the approach of the new entity and the philosophy that will govern its functioning. Here's what Mr. Lakshmanan shared with us :
"When we originally conceived KAMFA, our vision all along was to have similar state level associations across the country, which could then come together into a single Federation of associations. I am happy that we have now taken the first step to realise this vision.
Our task now is to create an institution that rises above and lasts beyond the individuals tasked with creating it, so that it can deliver lasting benefit to the IFA fraternity across the country. We have to craft the constitution very carefully to ensure this.
Bottom-up and inclusive will be the defining mantras for the way we will be structured. Just like the nation can benefit immensely if it is built on a solid foundation of vibrant panchayats leading up to a responsible Parliament, so also will our Federation benefit from a similar bottom-up rather than top-down culture. We will have a Governing Council which will be represented by all associations, in proportion of their membership. This Governing Council will elect the Working Committee, from which the Federation's Office bearers will be elected.
Our approach towards AMC partners will be one of equal stakeholders in this very important business. Ours will not be an adversarial approach - we strongly believe in a constructive and positive framework for any dialogue and debates that can help take the industry forward and help serve investors better.
Our approach towards regulations and the regulator will be akin to how we regard a traffic signal. Traffic signals are meant to prevent traffic chaos and promote orderly flow of traffic. Stopping at a traffic signal is necessary for orderly flow of traffic in all directions. Likewise, we must regard regulations as traffic signals - which help prevent distortions in the market and are aimed to make growth smooth. Where traffic signals are doing their job well, we must respect them. Where some traffic signals are inadvertently creating traffic snarls, we must engage in a dialogue with the traffic police to rectify it and help it deliver the objective for which it was put in place. We would like to engage with the regulators in exactly this manner.
One of the principal tasks of the Federation will be to work with all stakeholders to promote right selling and thus serve investors better. Knowledge initiatives towards this end will be a key focus for the Federation."
The man who has been working tirelessly towards making this Federation a reality - Ramesh Bhat, Founder President of IFA Galaxy, Chennai is obviously a very happy man - and not just because the Federation is now becoming a reality, but also because of the magnanimous gestures of successful IFAs in helping provide momentum to this cause. Here's what Ramesh Bhat has to say :
"We have made a beginning, but our real task is to get large numbers of IFAs through their associations as members of the Federation. Let us all keep in mind that the more numbers we have, the more is the interface we can build with the regulator to genuinely represent the IFA's view points as a pan-India representative body. I appeal to all IFA associations to come forward and participate in the deliberations on the structuring of the Federation before 25th May and join the Federation once we register it.
In order to remove any impediments that may come in the way of all of us coming together, we have deliberately kept the fees very low. It is only Rs.5000 for an association with 50 or less members and Rs. 10,000 for an association with more than 50 members. Keeping this fee so low would not have been possible without the magnanimous donations that several successful IFAs have made towards the corpus of the Federation. Mr. V K Sudarshan from Chennai has donated Rs. 25,000, Mr. Kannan, KAMFA's President has donated Rs. 100,000, Mr, Lakshmanan from Bangalore along with his wife have donated Rs. 150,000, Mr, S K Bagadia from Kolkata has donated Rs. 100,000. Their message is very simple : let lack of corpus funds not come in the way of building this institution, and let us not place too high a burden on the IFA fraternity. They have contributed their personal money to help create and build this institution. I am deeply grateful to them for their very thoughtful gestures. I also appeal to other successful IFAs across the country to see whether they can also personally contribute towards building the corpus, so that the IFA associations are not placed with a heavy financial burden."
What do you think?
Would you like your association to become a member of this Federation? Do you have any suggestions, inputs, comments that can help shape this new entity? Do you like the philosophy and approach articulated by the Federation? Share your toughts with fellow advisors across the country by posting your comments in the box below - its YOUR forum !
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