Dezerv: Tech-Driven PMS For Alternative Asset Class Investment
The main objective of the company is to provide senior professionals with a platform to find and invest in some of the most diversified investment instruments. In India, many professionals are in search of good investment opportunities but are not well aware of the market and the process of creating a low-risk and high-return portfolio. This is the problem statement that the startup wanted to find a solution to. Dezerv Investments Private Limited is a Mumbai-based wealth management company founded in 2021.With this platform working professionals in India will have access to a tech-driven financial platform through which they will get professional guidance on money management. Founders wanted to provide their clients with well-vetted bonds and top-notch pre-IPO opportunities. The platform seeks to address the current lack of high-quality wealth management and portfolio management advice in the nation. The company offers advice and investment services across a wide range of assets including alternative and new asset classes that are available online, with a focus on senior working professionals.
Founders & The Team
The start-up is founded by co-workers and former senior managing partners of IIFL- wealth management services; Vaibhav Porwal, Sandeep Jethwani, And Sahil Contractor. All three of the Dezerv founder comes from a finance background. Vaibhav Porwal is a CA, and Sahil Jethwani’s alma mater is IIM Bangalore. Sandeep Jethwani, on the other hand, graduated from Cardiff University, Wales. All three of them left their former positions at IIFL-One together in 2021 and started this wealth management platform. Other than having talented and highly experienced founders at the helm of Dezerv Investments Private Limited, they also have a skilled and dedicated team. Their team comprises wealth managers, investment experts, strategists, customer support team, etc. The company also boasts of their team’s alma mater and the companies they come from. In a few months, they have built a team of skilled professionals who are there to guide clients with their portfolio and in their wealth management journey. After learning about Dezerv founder, we will shift focus toward their targeted customers.
Target Customers
The company has from the very beginning mentioned that they are focusing on underserved senior professionals and even high-earning millennials as their target market. It is a known factor that HNI or high net worth individuals tend to have better access to building their portfolios. They have financial advisors who can help them in choosing the right investment instruments and opportunities and also manage their portfolios continuously to improve their returns. However, research has shown that other senior professionals in various industries feel lost when it comes to managing their money. They usually do not have any personalized portfolio to grow their money. Most of them are also unaware of the alternative asset classes that they can invest in, as they keep themselves restricted to common choices like shares, bonds, and mutual funds. They also have higher risk aversion, which means they tend to stay away from risky investment options and hold on to shares and finds that are amassing loss for a long time. Dezerv, on the other hand, is targeting a ‘middle’ niche of people having around 10 lakhs to a few crores of investing capacity by offering portfolio and money management for all types of investors. It is also one of the reasons they have kept the minimum ticket value at Rs. 50,000 to allow more investors to get proper portfolio management services. Wealth managers of the company help the investors find suitable investment options that will meet their risk and return expectations.
The Objective
One of the main objectives of the startup is to help investors grow their capital. Most investors are only focused on maintaining the value of their money and not on growing the value. They are mostly targeting to stay safe in case of inflation and to be in line with taxes. The conventional investment instruments are meant for the retention of value and not for growth. Dezerv Investments Private Limited, on the other hand, is more focused on finding growth-oriented opportunities, hence alternative asset classes. Now, alternative asset classes do have their own set of risks like lack of liquidity, limited regulation, high risks, etc. This is why they require constant vigilance, advisory, monitoring, and a robust system to streamline wealth management. The company’s main objective is to introduce these asset classes to an investor’s portfolio with the help of technology-driven processes and constant expert advisory to improve the returns. Let us learn more about Dezerv business model now.
Dezerv Funding & Business Model
According to the platform, over Rs. 600 crore worth of assets have been exchanged on it, and it expects to reach Rs. 1,000 crores in the coming months. They raised $7.2 million within 6 months of their launch to increase Dezerv valuation. The company’s board of directors includes prominent investors including Whiteboard Capital, Blume Founders Fund, Matrix Partners India, and Elevation Capital, several angel investors. They also have strong competition from various private financial advisory firms and private sector banks who provide human interacting wealth management services, unlike many DIY types of services. Currently, they are a ‘invite only’ platform. It means investors will have to pass through the selection process conducted by the risk assessors, quantitative experts, and wealth managers. If they deem fit, they will customize a portfolio as per the investor’s risk profile and offer the same to the client. This type of business model allows the platform to handpick the investors and provide a human interface from the very beginning of the wealth management process. To date, they have about 65,000 sign-ups on their platform. One of the most attractive parts of Dezerv business model is that you will not pay anything for the services provided to you. The company earns from the manufacturers of the assets and not from the clientele they serve. Also Read: Is MoonPay Safe To Use?
Benefits for Clients
Here are some of the benefits that one can experience if they choose to have an investment portfolio with Dezerv.
Expert Help: Technology has reached massive heights in every field. But, still, it cannot outdo human interactions and empathy. With this startup, you can get face-to-face expert help from industry veterans and skilled professionals. They will interact with and understand their investor’s requirements to provide the best possible alternatives. Regular Updates: Your wealth manager will keep you updated on every little change in the portfolio. They will provide you with details. Help you understand the nitty-gritty of the asset class and keep you in the loop at all times possible. Portfolio Rebalancing: The platform provides regular rebalancing of the portfolio as per the market conditions. Your wealth manager will help relocate your allocations to match your current financial needs and future possibilities. Smart Diversification: Dezerv helps in diversifying your portfolio into all types of asset classes. They include various funds like index funds, equity funds, PSU funds, credit funds, etc.
How to sign up?
The steps to sign up and get portfolio management services are:
- Go to the official page of Dezerv.
- Click on the ‘Build My Portfolio’ to start up the sign-up process.
- Enter your mobile phone number and get OTP to start the evaluation process for getting an invite.
- Provide all the asked details which include your financial history, income, risk appetite, the objective of investment, etc. for the evaluation.
- After this, the quantitative experts and investment managers will use the Black-Litterman model and modern algorithms to complete risk assessment and build personalized recommendations.
- Now, if you get an invite to sign up, you will have to invest a minimum of Rs. 50,000 to start.
- After investing the capital, choose the type of portfolio you want to build amongst the given 5 choices.
Careful: Prioritize safety and avoid risk as much as possible. Conservative: Create a diversified portfolio but maintain a low-risk profile. Balanced: Find a balance between low risk and high returns. Growth: Target high long-term returns with a moderate risk appetite. Aggressive: High risk and high return approach.
- After choosing the portfolio type, your wealth manager will recommend various investment choices that you can choose from. Those looking for a tech-driven platform with a touch of human interaction will find Dezerv the best place to start their investment journey. Instead of choosing conventional assets for investment, this start-up helps its clients find various opportunities in alternative asset classes. They provide complete guidance at every stage of portfolio building and management. Even though they are currently ‘invite only’, they are planning to remove this feature as they expand their services to a wider clientele.
