India-based private sector lender Development Credit Bank (DCB) has introduced free Wealth Management advisory and no bank charges of service fee for Mutual Fund investments, as part of its wealth management foray.
DCB’s wealth management service covers full spectrum of financial planning including, risk profiling, asset allocation and portfolio selection. The bank has tied up with ICRA Online, enabling DCB customers to benefit from the research and financial services expertise of its partner.
Murali Natrajan, MD and CEO of DCB, said: “We possibly are the only bank today to offer Wealth Management services at no charge or fee to all our customers. We offer free wealth management advisory through our certified staff. There will be no fee or service charges levied by the Bank for the advisory or any mutual fund investments routed through us by the account holders. Wealth Management is an integral part of our strategy to grow retail business.”
Praveen Kutty, head of executive vice-president and retail banking, said: “Unlike other banks, which restrict such services only to high net worth clients, DCB plans to offer wealth management services to all customers, free of charge. However, those customers having a minimum INR5 lakh of investable assets can avail a slew of special services such as constant monitoring of their investment portfolios.
“We have set up a dedicated team of over 100 professionals for the new service. This team will continuously monitor and deploy the client’s wealth portfolio in various asset classes depending upon the risk appetite. By offering the service to all clients, free of charge, DCB intends to attract new clients to scale up its customer base, besides enhancing its relationship with existing clients.
“DCB expects to add around one lakh customers under its wealth management business over the next 12-18 months and will tap its existing clientele to attain this target. Unlike other lenders who offer similar solutions, DCB plans to provide a holistic solution to the wealth management client that will oversee the surplus, deficit and risk aspects of their portfolio.
“Out of its five lakh plus customer-base, DCB has identified 15,000 people, who have investable surplus on or above INR5 lakh. We already have enquiries from our existing customer-base to join the new venture. As of now, we have identified nearly 15,000 customers who have assets over INR5 lakh. This portion of clients will grow as we move ahead.”
