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Mutual Fund is an excellent investment tool as it allows all kinds of investors access to professionally managed portfolios of equities, bonds, and other securities. The only downside is the loss of a significant portion of the investor’s returns as commissions to the mutual fund agent or distributor.
In 2013, Direct Mutual Fund plans were introduced by SEBI that permitted investors to invest directly without resorting to any agent or distributor. In direct plans, the expense ratio is low and with high returns. Still, many are hesitant to invest in mutual funds due to a lack of know-how.
Alan Joseph
Mohit Gang, Anil Bang, and Puneet Mehta—who are also active investors themselves— noticed these inconveniences faced by mutual fund investors face and came up with a solution. The trio launched Moneyfront, a financial advisory platform that lets investors invest profitably in direct plans of mutual funds and that too without any paperwork.
StartupTalky interviewed the Founders of Moneyfront to understand their venture better
Moneyfront – Company Highlights
| Startup Name | Moneyfront |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Mumbai |
| Founders | Mohit Gang, Anil Bang, And Puneet Mehta |
| Sector | Fintech |
| Founded | 2015 |
| Parent Organization | Moneymap Investment Advisors Private Limited |
| Website | moneyfront.in |
Moneyfront – About
Moneyfront – Founders and Team
Moneyfront – History and Launch
Moneyfront – Business Model and Revenue Model
Moneyfront – Funding and Investors
Moneyfront – Tools Used
Moneyfront – Startup Challenges
Moneyfront – Future Plans
Moneyfront – FAQs
Moneyfront – About
Headquartered in Mumbai (India), Moneyfront is a Robo-advisory platform to invest in mutual funds offering direct plans. It takes pride in three principles – paperless, simplified, and automated unbiased advisory. There is negligible awareness around the concept of direct plans despite being a client-friendly and hugely beneficial option to invest in. The company promotes this concept through technology and by offering transparent advice to clients wishing to invest in mutual funds.
Moneyfront offers financial advisory services via a comprehensive portfolio approach. Using a smart algorithm, it profiles the client and suggests the best direct plans custom-tailored for the investor’s persona.
“Our target customers are all existing investors in mutual funds who are currently investing through their banks or local distributors. We want to educate this base about differences between Regular Plans which they are currently getting and ‘Direct Plans’ which we offer being a registered Investment Advisor with SEBI,” quote the Moneyfront founders.
In September 2018, Niyogin Fintech, a platform that provides collateral-free credit to MSMEs, acquired a 50% stake in Moneyfront for Rs 12 Crore.
Chayanika Goswami
Moneyfront – Founders and Team
Mohit Gang, Anil Bang, and Puneet Mehta founded Moneyfront in the year 2015.
Mohit Gang is the CEO of the Money front. A management degree holder by education, Mohit is an investment expert and worked with Citibank and HSBC before starting Moneyfront.
Anil Bang is an expert in the finance domain. He started his career in ICICI bank and also worked with reputed global financial institutes like Morgan Stanley and Marshall Wace before joining Moneyfront. He has done extensive research on various national and global financial companies.
Puneet Mehta is a talented chartered accountant. He is a member of the ‘Financial Risk Management Program’ conducted by the Global Association of Risk Professionals. Puneet has worked with organizations like ICICI bank, Merrill Lynch, and Bank of America in various capacities in a career spanning 12+ years.
The founders are guided by the belief that a happy client is the best advocate.
At Moneyfront, everyone in the team has the freedom to express themselves freely. Each team member is empowered to take certain actions and contribute ideas for making the company leaner and swifter. The Moneyfront group takes client-feedback pretty seriously and acts on it effectively. It has a full compendium of feedbacks and keeps improvising based on client feedback and suggestions.
Shubham Kumar
Moneyfront – History and Launch
Mohit, Anil, and Puneet were discussing their respective investments one day somewhere around the end of 2015. They came to the same conclusion a big slice of their returns was being decimated as distributors’ commission. They wanted to avoid this and maximize the returns. Moreover, they wanted to avoid the clutter of time-consuming paperwork. The concept of Moneyfront was the result of this discussion– completely paperless with an automated advisory for clients.
MoneyMAP Investment Advisors Private Limited is Moneyfront’s parent company. The name MoneyMAP was inspired by the founders’ names (MAP – Mohit, Anil, and Puneet). The name Moneyfront represents the company’s idea to keep the client’s interest and money at the forefront.
Chayanika Goswami
Moneyfront – Business Model and Revenue Model
As Moneyfront caters to Direct plans of Mutual Funds, it doesn’t take any commission from fund houses. Regulations disallow any incentive from product providers if the company registers itself with SEBI as an investment advisor. It is only permitted to charge a fee for the advisory. Moneyfront charges a flat fee of Rs. 1200 per client per year. Moneyfront also offers free services from time to time to first-time customers.
Moneyfront – Funding and Investors
The company was initially bootstrapped by the three founders. Moneyfront raised seed funding in 2017.
Shubham Kumar
Moneyfront – Tools Used
Moneyfront uses a host of tools. For hiring, the Moneyfront team relies on online portals. It uses Google Sheets for updating and coordinating marketing efforts. The company is working on moving its servers to cloud-based platforms.
Moneyfront – Startup Challenges
The most challenging part for Moneyfront has been to deliver simplified options to clients. Moneyfront made a first-in-the-industry switch module with intelligent decryption that auto-reads clients’ existing portfolios. Moneyfront customers can simply upload their existing holdings and switch to direct plans without any paperwork in 5 clicks.
Rishabh Rathi
Moneyfront – Future Plans
The founders envision Moneyfront as a platform that simplifies the client’s investment journey, giving them holistic wealth solutions that are paperless, cost-effective, and comprehensively researched. Moneyfront is planning to include other wealth products soon and improve the platform’s technological sophistication. Moneyfront wants to establish itself as one of the biggest players in the Robo-advisory segment in the coming three years.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an Act, but a Habit.” I am also inspired by Madhushala from Harivansh Rai Bacchan – “Raah pakad tu ek chala chal, pa jayega Madhushala” (take one path and follow it diligently, and you shall reach your destination).
Moneyfront – FAQs
What is Moneyfront?
Moneyfront is a Robo-advisory platform to invest in mutual funds offering direct plans. It takes pride in three principles – paperless, simplified, and automated unbiased advisory.
Who are the Founders of Moneyfront?
Mohit Gang, Anil Bang, and Puneet Mehta founded Moneyfront in the year 2015.
How does Moneyfront earn money?
Moneyfront charges a flat fee of Rs. 1200 per client per year. Moneyfront also offers free services from time to time to first-time customers. Moneyfront caters to direct plans of Mutual Funds, it doesn’t take any commission from fund houses
Who is the Parent Company of Moneyfront?
Moneymap Investment Advisors Private Limited