“SMC Investments and Advisors Ltd. is all about what you do with your money and how you manage your wealth”

"SMC Investments and Advisors Ltd. is all about what you do with your money and how you manage your wealth"- D.K. Aggarwal, Chairman & Managing Director

Money making goes easily in today's world. Anyone can have the 'how to make money' skills but the real challenge comes after that; what will be the use of such money if it can't be managed properly? People need to know how to yield out fruits from their wealth.

Well, it seems a complex, time taking and huge process, but with proper guidance, enough time and effort, you can manage your money in a more effective manner. Wealth managers/advisories are the angels who advise individuals and families in undertaking this process of investing money and yielding wealth.

One such monetary guru is helping people by changing the way they think about money. Incorporated in 2008, SMC Investments and Advisors Ltd. is the crown jewel of SMC Group spearheaded by D.K. Aggarwal, a name to be reckoned among the domain of securities market and financial services.

SMC Group is counted amongst the top financial services companies in India catering a network of 102 branches and 2500 registered sub brokers/authorized persons spread across 500+ cities and towns in India.

It also has 24000+ registered associates/ service providers in distribution segment serving the financial needs of a large base of investors efficiently.

Adding more to its milestones, SMC has been awarded as the 'No. 1 Broker' of the country in equity, derivative and currency segment and it has also been rated as broking houses with the largest distribution network in the last three years by renowned corporate institutions like Bloomberg, UTV, BSE-IPF and much more.

Mr.DK Aggarwal recipient of the prestigious "Distinguished Entrepreneur Award" from PHD Chamber of Commerce on 2015 toasts the odyssey of SMC Investments and Advisors with The CEO Magazine.

What was the concept behind incorporating SMC Investments and Advisors? When did you charter the business?

I enjoy a business which offers challenges, requires creativity, innovation, and has tremendous potential to be scalable. Being in financial services, it offers all this which keeps me passionate and motivated and furthermore gives me the kick to do better.

We got the instinct that most of the HNI's (High Net worth Individuals) despite being highly successful in their businesses or in their career of top positions are highly mismanaged as regards to their financials. To tap this huge potential in this space, our wealth management and investment advisory business were initiated.

We also wanted to establish a firm to take care of corporate clients and also our existing clients, fund raising, private equity, and M&A deals for which they were taking aid from other investment bankers and financial intermediaries.

Our various businesses as mentioned above got the momentum when in last couple of years we have focused on the "Cross-Selling Activity" to our large client base of more than 1 Million customers.

What was your mission at the outset?

Right from the outset, we have a very clear mission to be a preferred and aspirational financial services provider for the clients; and to achieve this we have adopted client centric approach with a focus on innovation and adhering to the high value system of transparency, honesty, and ethical dealings.

Since the very beginning, our company`s goal is to be a global organization having a dominant position in financial and investment domain.

What sets SMC Investment and advisories as an exceptional brand?

We are one of the very few financial service providers who are offering almost all the financial services under one roof and most of the client`s needs are met at "SMC".

Our business is highly diversified which can withstand any tough time and change in the customer`s product preferences. We spend substantially on technology to remain ahead of the competition and offer innovative products to our clients.

What's in SMC's product portfolio?

We are into Financial Services and our product bouquet includes Broking in Equity, Commodity, Currencies in all the stock & commodity; currency exchanges of the country, Depository Services, Wealth Management & Investment Advisory, Investment Banking, Clearing Services, Insurance Broking for life as well as non-life, Debt Syndication, Real Estate Advisory, Funding/Financing through our NBFC i.e. loan against shares/loan against properties and Real Estate Fund.

Throw some light on the employee base of SMC Group. What do you look for in an employee?

Presently the group has more than 2,850 employees and the best part is that we have quite low attrition rate and our team is full of happy souls full of passion and integrity.

When we hire the fresh talent, the most important thing to us is that they fit into our corporate culture and the value system.

They must be innovative and passionate about the work since our belief is that "only innovation and passion differentiate one from the rest of the pack".

As we all know advertising is the oxygen keeping brands alive. How do you advertise your business?

SMC is a leading brand today in the arena of finance and investments. We have been availing the benefits of advertising through digital print, electronic media. Of late, we are also using digital and social media quite extensively for branding and to tap the untouched market.

 To what do you attribute your organization's success?

• Persistent and razor focused approach.

• Very good understanding of the business we are into.

• Positive attitude even in tough times, all the above has led to our journey of success.

What are your responsibilities as the helm of SMC Group?

Owning a business that employs thousands of people means that I also have the responsibility for thousands of families that depend on us to make good decisions. I also have a responsibility to my clients and vendors.

So for every decision, I make I have to think about the consequences and weigh a lot of factors. In the end, I am ultimately responsible for all the businesses that I am handling.

 If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?

"Be Passionate about what you do and do what you enjoy"

The Director's Periscope

D.K. AGGARWAL

Chairman and Managing Director – SMC Investments and Advisors Limited, SMC Capitals Limited  & Chairman – SMC Comtrade Limited and SMC Real Estate Advisors Pvt. Limited

Director- SMC Comex International DMCC (Dubai)

Mr. Aggarwal is a Fellow Member of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) with over two decades of experience in the securities market and financial services. His leadership qualities help him manage to control and supervise a large number of businesses in the capital and commodity market segments.

Mr. Aggarwal was national president in Commodities Participants Association of India, Member of Board Advisory Committee of BSE, MCX, NCDEX AND MSEI , Director of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry and also Chairman of its Capital Market Committee.

Along with this, his success story was telecasted on "The Big Idea" TV Show on Zee Business and "Leader for Tomorrow" on ETNow.

Award and Recognition:

Mr. D. K. Aggarwal has been the recipient of following prestigious awards and recognition for outstanding achievement in his field. He has been:

• Awarded "Distinguished Entrepreneurship Award 2015" by PHD Chamber of Commerce

• International Gold Star Millennium Award "Global Indian" by the hands of Mr. Korn Dabbaransi (Former Prime Minister of Thailand) organized by Citizens Integration Peace Society

• Outstanding National Citizens award by National Citizen Guild, New Delhi

• 'Rashtriya Udhyog Rattan Award' by All India Achievers Conference, New Delhi

• IPE-BFSI Leader award by Asian Confederation of Businesses for setting an example of a Role Model and Exemplary Leader.

• Brand Slam Leadership Award by CMO Asia.

He possesses exceptional leadership skill and adeptness to manage control and supervise all the affairs of the Company. An extempore speaker with excellent abilities to connect his audience, he is a visionary with in-depth knowledge of all aspects of financial market.