Shrikant Kulkarni, Money Tree, Bangalore (ARN 33153)

I have been using OFA for the last 3-4 months. The biggest benefit for my firm is more meaningful client conversations due to client access to real time portfolio information. Before OFA, we used to send monthly/fortnightly portfolio statements from our ERP software to clients. At the time of client meetings, these statements would often be a little outdated, thus hindering conversations and client decisions. Now that our clients have the OFA client app, they can access their portfolio information 24/7, real time. Updated valuations result in crisper client conversations. It also takes away the need for me to send out bulk statements periodically to all clients - which gives me more time to focus on my business and my clients.

The other big benefit I get from OFA is the Ping facility, where I can edit any information/insights that comes to us on the OFA app and send it out with my comments to all my clients. It helps me keep clients posted on market developments and key insights, with my perspectives added, in a very convenient manner. Another highlight of OFA is its service team - they are very responsive and co-operative.

Prajakta Kashlekar, Pune (ARN 91663)

I started MF distribution almost 3 years ago, and have been using OFA for more than a year now. I have not felt the need to invest in back office software as OFA is able to give my clients all the information they need on their portfolios. Clients really appreciate the portfolio statements from OFA, and their satisfaction is helping me get more referrals from them. When I meet prospects, I seek information from them, upload on the desktop into OFA/Shubhchintak and I get a lot of detailed analysis that I can then share with these prospects on proposed financial plans. This helps me significantly in client conversion. Since I started using this platform, I am able to acquire 2 to 3 new clients every month. I am also able to execute all transactions across all fund houses on the OFA app.

One facility that is really useful is Ping. We get daily information on useful articles from ET and other publications, which I forward to my clients and prospects using Ping. This helps maintain steady information flow to my clients and helps them stay in tune with important information. A very convenient way to enhance knowledge of clients on an ongoing basis.

The OFA team is very good - very quick, very responsive. They have been an immense help to me. Most often I find that my queries are responded to within 1 hour itself. This helps me address client queries very quickly and enhances customer satisfaction.

Aditya Vikram Kedia, Kolkata (ARN 64916)

Compared with all other software and platforms in the market, what OFA offers is clearly very competitive, especially at the price at which it is offered.

I think the best feature in OFA is the client app which we can provide to all our clients. The portfolio statements are very user friendly, and meet all client requirements. Clients can get family tree level portfolio statements, which they find very useful. From there, you can drill down to individual PANs, and you get full portfolio information at each PAN level. You get information at each SIP level which is again a very useful feature for clients. Portfolio data is very well organised for clients.

The desktop version is also very good and offers comprehensive support for advisors. The only concern I have is that although the NSE integration is by and large smooth, there are still one or two types of transactions where we are still facing some challenges. We have spoken with the OFA team - they are very responsive and I hope these will be sorted out in a month or two.

I have been using OFA for 10 months. I have been using the Finnsys software for a few years now. Monthly portfolio statements continue to be sent from Finnsys, although clients get 24/7 access to their portfolio information from the OFA client app. We are doing a parallel processing right now, just to be on the safer side. There are a few reconciliation items that crop up in a few clients' portfolios as a result of this duplication - the OFA team is however helping us with a monthly reconciliation.

Girish Kodshettar, Bangalore (ARN 29837)

I have been using this platform for more than a year. It has improved a lot ever since the OFA mobile app was launched - earlier, there were some issues. OFA is very user friendly, the synchronization with NSE NMFII platform is good. And at the price at which it comes, OFA is very attractive!

The one view dashboard for advisors is very neat. It's a very useful summary on key business parameters. Browsing and drilling down to client level information is very simple - its like browsing your contact list in your smartphone.

I haven't given my clients access to OFA's client app. OFA produces reports at an ARN level while my present back office software can consolidate reports across multiple ARNs. Since my wife and I both have ARNs, this aggregating facility is useful for some clients who have investments across both ARNs. I have asked OFA's team to look at this enhancement.

Narendra Mohan Agarwal, Patna (ARN 15494)

I think it is a very good platform. For me, the best thing about OFA is its people - they have a very caring attitude. They explain in simple language and ensure that we gain comfort and confidence. I have been using this platform for more than a year now. The NSE integration has gone off very smoothly, which is very good for transaction execution on the mobile app itself.

OFA's consolidated reports are very useful, especially since they are available in the OFA client app, which gives clients instant access to all portfolio information whenever they need. We are continuing a parallel processing of pulling data from FundsNet and Finnet into our back office software to create portfolio statements, but OFA is fully automated and updated 24/7. The convenience is very visible.

The ping facility is very good, especially for business development. We schedule pings every week for all clients and prospects. Whenever there is a sharp market correction, we are able to send a ping quickly to clients and prospects reminding them that corrections are great investment opportunities. Ping facility helps us enhance the quality and frequency of our client communications, which helps significantly in business development.

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