FundsIndia.com: An Innovative, Cost-free Portal for Your Investments Date:   Wednesday , January 28, 2015 The investment scenario in India has always been marked by two extremes. On the one end, you have high-end financial services that cater to high net-worth individuals and ultra high-net worth individuals; but on the other hand, a large segment of the Indian population, which constitutes the middle class, is ignored. To counter this imbalance in service and opportunity, two NRIs had come together in 2008 to kick-start a unique initiative � FundsIndia.com. The men behind the platform, C.R. Chandrasekar and Srikanth Meenakshi, had spent over a decade in the US working for leading technology and finance houses. When they had their \'India calling\' moment and moved back home to stay closer to their respective families, they found a serious dearth of services for mutual fund investments. That\'s how FundsIndia.com was born. Chandrasekar, CEO, FundsIndia.com, explains, \"In 2008, there were no online distributors for mutual funds in India. We found it extremely difficult to invest our money safely in products of our choice. Moreover, the entire investment process seemed so complicated, what with all the paperwork, and manual management that was required. That\'s when Srikanth, a good friend of mine, and I decided to start a portal that would not just offer a wide range of investment products, but would also simplify the investment process and enrich an investor\'s investment experience in a cost effective manner. We began work on the platform in 2008 and by 2009, we were fully operational. There has been no looking back since then and the journey so far has been great.\" The bootstrapped venture was soon nurtured by firms like Inventus Capital and Foundation Capital, who helped fuel the company\'s growth. India\'s first online investment platform, FundsIndia.com began its operations primarily as a mutual fund distributor. Soon, it grew to offer a wide array of investment products, and today, investors can invest in equities, corporate fixed deposits, 24 Karat gold, loans, insurance and more. Currently, FunsdIndia.com caters to over 4 lakh customers, with approximately 10 per cent of them being NRIs. Meenakshi, COO, FundsIndia.com, attributes the success of the platform to the fact that it is more than just a one-stop shop for different kinds of investments. He explains, \"FundsIndia.com does not just function as an online store; we believe in going a step ahead and offering more to our customers through our value-added services. From free financial advisory services to flexible Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs), family account aggregation through a single login ID, investment triggers, Smart Solutions for important life events like retirement, children\'s education and marriage, Ready-to-go Portfolios, the system of a one-time mandate for any number of SIPs and more, our customers can make informed investment decisions for their future. All these services are complimentary with a free-for-life FundsIndia account\". Chandrasekar adds, \"Prudent financial advice need not be expensive, need not be complicated and need not be hard to execute. We are making it simple, inexpensive, and convenient for everybody to execute good savings and investment practices. Once a customer registers himself through a quick and easy online process, he can start investing and using these services right away\". Owing to the excellent quality of their advisory services and its scalability, FundsIndia.com was the recipient of the prestigious CNBC-TV18 � UTI National Online Advisory Service Award at the Financial Advisor Awards in 2014. The platform is registered with entities like the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the Credit Information Bureau Limited (CIBIL), the Central Depository Services Ltd. (CDSL), and the Central Insurance Repository Limited (CIRL). The biggest challenge for the organization has been that most people in India often overlook the value and importance of long-term investing using mutual funds. To help counter this fa�ade, FundsIndia.com has been striving hard to educate people on the many benefits of mutual funds through several online educational initiatives like FundsIndia University. Chandrasekar explains, \"While we do focus on investment awareness programs for our customers, we go a step ahead and ensure our employees are well-updated on all investment news and trends at all times. We encourage our employees to regularly attend industry seminars, and to take up different financial courses so that they deliver their best to customers at all times\". While the road ahead for FundsIndia.com seems long and exciting, Meenakshi believes that there are a couple of challenges the platform needs to conquer. \"These days, our newest thrust area is in the realm of mobile development. We\'d like to make our services available seamlessly across platforms and devices. Apart from this, we are also innovating on payment mechanisms to reduce the hassles of funding investments\". The online investment platform aims to continue offering quality investment products and services to its customers, fulfilling its vision of \'enriching India, one investment at a time\'. Services: � Mutual Funds � Equities from BSE � Corporate Deposits � Secure Online Platform to sell 24 Karat Gold � Insurance � Loans Management: C.R. Chandrasekar, Founder & CEO Chandrasekar started his career at MicroStrategy, a leading data mining and analytics firm in USA. Later, he moved on to work for Morgan Stanley and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce before starting his own retirement solutions company � ExpertPlan. Currently, ExpertPlan is the number 1 third-party online administrator for retirement solutions in U.S. He returned to India in 2003 and started an off-shore software solutions firm, Arrowpoint Technologies, which specializes in financial applications for clients across the globe, before starting FundsIndia.com. Srikanth Meenakshi, Founder & COO Srikanth started his career as a software engineer with IBM Global Services in U.S. After working with them for a span of 5 years, he moved on to work for a start-up online brokerage platform � FOLIOfn, as a system architect. Here, Srikanth contributed immensely towards several innovative concepts in the personal finance industry like basket trading, fractional ownership and personal folios. Later, he moved on to work with Fannie Mae, a Fortune 500 company, where he specialized in the securitization and capital markets divisions. In 2008, he returned to India to establish FundsIndia.com. Mutual Fund Partners:<./b> 39 Mutual Fund Houses in India 24 Karat Gold: Reliance My Gold Plan (RMGP), Satyug My Gold Plan (SMGP) Corporate Deposits 11 corporate deposits from leading houses like HDFC, Shriram Transport Finance Co. Ltd., Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Ltd., DHFL Ltd., and others Registered Entities: AMFI, BSE, SEBI, CDSL, CIBIL, CIRL Office: Wealth India Financial Services Pvt. Ltd., 2nd Floor, HM Centre, 29, Nungambakkam High Road, Nungambakkam, Chennai - 600034