Fintech platform Wishfin, an online marketplace for various financial services, has announced the launch of systematic investment plans (SIPs) on WhatsApp. Through SIPs, you can invest a certain sum in a mutual fund at pre-decided intervals.
With this, the company is looking at attracting the young and millennial population towards investing in MFs, said Rishi Mehra, chief executive officer, Wishfin.com.
How does it work?
Wishfin will be offering regular MF schemes. The company is an Amfi-registered distributor, which means you will be paying a commission on your investments through Wishfin. There is no additional charge to use the WhatsApp platform though.
A person looking to start an SIP is required to give a missed call on 844 778 2222 or submit her mobile number on the company’s website. Following this, you will get a message from a mobile number, 8929702833, which will be a “verified” WhatsApp number for Wishfin Mutual Fund. A verified badge on a WhatsApp number means that the number from where you have got the message is a verified business and is using WhatsApp’s business services for enterprises.
After you get the first message welcoming you to the platform, you are required to answer the questions through the chat. This begins with a yes or no declaration to being an Indian citizen and is followed by submitting your PAN number to check your KYC verification. If you do not have a verified KYC for MF investments, you would be directed to use Aadhaar-based e-KYC.
If you already have your KYC verified for MF investments, it will take you to the options of choosing between tax saving, short-term saving and long-term wealth creation categories. After this, fill in the monthly SIP amount, in multiples of ₹1,000. You can share your bank account details for an automatic deduction mandate, like it happens in a regular SIP, but this comes later.
You will then get a choice of three schemes each under the three categories mentioned earlier. The three schemes suggested in a category are based on Wishfin’s research, Mehra said. “We realise that most users of this channel will be millennials and hence we have shortlisted three products in each category that will suit millennials the most. We also wanted to keep the process simple. As the process evolves based on feedback, going forward we intend to give 10-12 choices to the consumer in each category,” Mehra said.
Once you start investing, you will get login credentials to Wishfin’s website, where you will be able to track the performance of your portfolio.
Should you invest?
Starting an SIP to start saving and investing systematically is a good habit. The process to invest through WhatsApp could also be very simple. But choosing the right fund is also important. Ideally, the process to be followed to start an SIP should start with determining the fund in which you want to start investing.
“The ease of starting an SIP will be of very little use if I do not know where to start the SIP. The tougher problem is to advise the customer what fund or scheme will suit him. That is the hard part,” said Srikanth Meenakshi, co-founder and chief operating officer, FundsIndia.com.
