Professional Advisors honour high performer

Venkat Raman –

venkat@indiannewslink.co.nz

The real estate market has remained robust for the past several years and the runaway growth in demand for housing unmatched by supply has created a surge in demand, offering in turn lucrative prospects for mortgage brokers.

Scores of people of Indian origin have given up their full-time employment and established their brokerage business, often as franchisees of well-known property companies and real estate operators, on the hope that they would strike it rich.

One or two have done so but for a larger number of operators, their million is still some time away.

For, as Rome, capital is not built in a day.

Performing Professionals

Ask Global Financial Services Limited (GFSL) Managing Director Ajay Kumar and he will tell you about the challenges that are inherent in this sector.

Now in its 18^th year, the Company has a staff complement of 25 persons of which 20 are Registered Financial Advisors, two are highly experienced professionals functioning as advisors and three are support personnel.

“I am just a member of a team of highly motivated people, who work hard to meet the needs of the customers, assure them of the best service possible at all times. In the case of mortgage loan applications, our objective is to not only get them the best terms possible after negotiating with the lending institutions but also help them to liquidate their loans as soon as possible. In the case of insurance, our experts recommend policies best suited to each and more importantly, stand by them in getting their claims settled without fuss and delay,” he said.

Stringent regulations

Mortgage and insurance brokers and registered financial advisors must follow the norms and code of conduct stipulated by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the Financial Markets Authority. Transparency, Honesty and Integrity are the core principles governing their operations and service delivery.

These are also the central factors, augmented by volumes, growth and expansion and staff motivation and career advancement that account for selection for awards and citations by organisations and programmes such as Indian Newslink Indian Business Awards and those given by industry-related bodies.

It was therefore no surprise that the Professional Advisors Association (PAA) honoured Mr Kumar with the ‘Mortgage Advisor of the Year’ Award at their annual National Advisors Conference held in Auckland on July 28, 2016.

These awards were instituted to recognise members of the PAA who demonstrate the founding values of the Association, namely client advocacy, diligence in their work, compliance with relevant regulations and professional development.

Judges comment

Nominated by industry partners, nominees were scored across a range of criteria by an independent panel of judges.

“Ajay realised many years ago that the value he could add over and above getting a client a mortgage was helping them pay it off faster. He designed his own ‘Interest Saver Plan’ 17 years ago and started using it with great success. Since then, he has built his own IT platform to run it and all his processes and still today is using it himself to help clients achieve their dreams,’ the judges said in their comments accompanying the Award.

PAA Chairman Rod Severn said that the winners of the Awards exemplify quality service and quality client care.

“Hotly contested across the industry, our winners thoroughly deserve the acknowledgment and we congratulate them on their achievement,” he said.

Outstanding performer

GFSL Marketing Manager Saurabh Gupta said that Mr Kumar is perhaps the first Mortgage Advisor in the country to win three Mortgage awards in a single year.

“These include the awards given by ANZ Bank and ASB Bank based on business volume and the top award of ‘The Mortgage Magazine.’ He also won the Best Financial Advisor (Mortgage & Insurance) Award at the Indian Newslink Indian Business Awards last year,” he said.

Mr Kumar attributed the continued success of his company and the awards that he has won over the years to his customers.

“I thank more than 4000 customer families and well-wishers for their support since 1999. It is their confidence in me and belief in my expertise that has motivated me to keep improving our quality of advice and customer service. We listen carefully to the needs of our customers and keep learning all the time to be able to deliver good advice. I promise our customers that we will keep delivering better services in the future as well,” he said.

GFSL has thus far arranged mortgages valued at $4 billion and insurance cover of $2.5 billion. The Company has won 30 awards since 2009.

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