Rohan Mathawan
1. When was the idea for Wint wealth conceived?
Good financial growth comes from good investment opportunities, but these opportunities available to only a select few makes growth challenging and rather unfair. Co-founder Anshul and I both worked in the investment industry for a long time and noticed a disparity between the exclusive investment avenues available to HNIs and the traditional and limited low-yielding possibilities available to retail investors. When we discussed in depth, Anshul made me realize that there are multiple intriguing investment structures in the market but none available for retail investors. I intended to level the playing field by introducing the common man to previously undiscovered Debt investment options, and this led to the inception of Wint Wealth.
2. What was the specific need of the market that it addresses?
There was a preconceived notion in the industry that retail investors cannot understand advanced assets, so it is futile to convince them to invest in new asset classes. We at Wint Wealth set ourselves on a mission to change this misconception and address the gap by introducing assets for the common man looking to invest in a comparatively less volatile Indian Debt market. This would make growth opportunities accessible to all and promote financial inclusivity amongst retail investors.
3. How do you aim to bridge the gap between retail investors and debt market alternative investment funds?
Wint Wealth has democratized debt assets and made them available to retail investors at modest ticket sizes at as little as Rs. 10,000. These micro ticket sizes allow them to test the waters of the Debt market before deciding whether to increase portfolio allocation or not, depending on the individual’s risk appetite. We were the pioneers in a market that had previously been ignored and underestimated. We are leveraging fintech to make way for financial inclusivity for the Indian retail investor by way of product offering and financial literacy.
4. What are the steps taken by Wint Wealth to promote financial inclusivity amongst retail investors?
Our vision has been to transform the debt market by making it more retail investor-friendly and making way for financial inclusivity. Wint Wealth focuses on democratizing assets that were previously solely available only to high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) and making them available to retail investors at modest ticket sizes. It was the first mover in a previously unappreciated and undervalued market segment. Once there was perfect product-market fitment, we realized empowering these retail investors with knowledge was necessary to truly enable financial inclusivity. We thus ensured that brand focus always remained on educating potential investors rather than outright selling. With transparency and creating awareness, Wint has enabled over 15,000 retail investors to diversify their portfolios with inflation-beating bonds..
5. How has your experience in the finance world enriched your knowledge to achieve the company goals?
Anshul and I have worked in the credit industry for long, which helped us gain insight into the gap in the Debt market and roadblocks retail investors faced when it came to investing options and limited knowledge. We incorporated this for product development that resulted in a balanced product-market fitment and ensured that transparency and educating investors remained the core values of Wint Wealth.
This was the key ingredient in the success of the company as it helped us bridge the gap and organically earn investor’s trust over a period of time. Through promoting financial literacy, we were able to empower investors with financial awareness so that they understand their own risk appetite better and could independently take a call if Bond based assets were a good fit for their portfolio or not.
6. How has been the market reception to Wint Wealth?
During the initial days, gaining the trust of the retail investment community to park their money in the new asset products was challenging. However, new-age investors were looking for AIF opportunities, once we created transparency and awareness on Debt instruments, Wint witnessed faster adoption in their portfolios. Fixed-income instruments were viewed by them as an ideal investment option since they offer portfolio diversification, flexibility, and higher interest rates. It was about being there at the right time and place as Wint Wealth was one of the first and few to provide such exclusive opportunities. We are now recognized as market leaders in Democratizing Debt Investments for retail investors in India. Our unique assets are available for investment to everyone with a significantly reduced minimum investment amount. The platform now has over 15 thousand users and has recently surpassed the investment of 180 crores dollars through the platform.
7. Tell us a bit about your future plans for the company?
Our goal will remain on providing financial inclusion to retail investors and ensuring that they continue to see value in what we have to offer. There is a greater opportunity to reach the retail investor market and provide them with more options that were previously unavailable due to the larger ticket size barrier.
Wint Wealth’s goal is to create a platform for about 500 million retail investors in the next decade who want to diversify their portfolio with alternative assets while still earning significant returns. As we grow, we’ll continue to add additional structures to the platform that will provide superior risk-adjusted returns for individual investors.