vivekTaru.com Quotes I like : Charlie Munger

Simple, pragmatic & peaceful approach to Financial Planning

Welcome to VivekTaru. I am Swapnil Kendhe. I am a SEBI Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) and a Fixed-Fee Financial Planner.

‘VivekTaru’ is a Marathi word meaning ‘The Wisdom Tree’. I chose this name for my website because everything boils down to wisdom in investing and money management.

I work on Education + Financial Planning model. I believe that my primary job as a financial planner is to educate my clients about the basics, principles, and practicalities of money management; so that they become capable of managing their money on their own.

I help my clients set their financial house in order and align their savings and investments with their financial goals and aspirations.

I follow the Defensive-Passive approach of investing as described by Benjamin Graham in his investment classic ‘The Intelligent Investor’. In this approach, we construct permanent portfolios which can majorly run on autopilot and require little further effort. The emphasis is on avoiding serious mistakes or losses and to be free from effort, annoyance, and the need for making frequent decisions.

I give advice based on the understanding that financial planning is all about the future and the future is unpredictable. There could be lucky as well as unlucky outcomes in the future. I believe that the financial plan should withstand and survive unlucky outcomes; not just rely on lucky outcomes.

After spending over twelve years studying and exploring personal finance and investing, I have realized that outcomes are not in investor’s or adviser’s control. No investor or adviser can find the best-performing fund of the future unless he/she is lucky. The role of an adviser is to help his clients focus on the process, follow time-tested principles and practicalities of investing, and avoid common investing pitfalls, since it leads to much better outcomes than focusing only on return.

I keep things simple in life and in financial planning. I do not recommend complicated financial products. Simple is more sophisticated in financial planning.

If you are looking for an unbiased, simple, pragmatic, and peaceful approach to financial planning, and if you want to learn to become a capable DIY (Do It Yourself) investor, you have arrived at the right place. 

Financial Planning Approach & Fees

My interview in Morningstar in February 2019: LIC agent turned fee-only RIA
My interview in Business Today - May 2023

For my background,

you can check this guest article published in freefincal.com on March 22, 2018 – Fee-only advisor journey: Swapnil Kendhe’s successful transition into a SEBI RIA 

In June 2020, Pattabiraman Murari of freefincal.com asked me write another article describing my journey as a fee-only financial planner till then. Here is a link to the article – Becoming a competent & effective financial advisor: My journey so far

Fixed-Fee

“Fixed-Fee” means I charge a flat fee for the advice, based on the amount of effort involved, not linked with assets of the client. 

No Commissions

I receive no commissions or incentives directly or indirectly from mutual fund houses, insurance companies, and other financial product manufacturers. Clients pay me a fee for the advice and invest in commission-free financial products like direct plans of mutual funds.

No Conflicts

The “Fixed-Fee” eliminates the conflict of interest involved in commission-based advice and AUA-Fee (Assets under Advice) advice. This helps me provide unbiased, objective, and comprehensive financial advice. 

Fiduciary

As a SEBI registered investment adviser, I have the fiduciary responsibility to serve my clients. Meaning, I have to put my client’s interest above my own.

Experienced

Over 12-years experience in financial advisory. Cumulatively engaged with over 500 client families. 

Swapnil Kendhe Podcast
"After having burnt my fingers and money with financial advisors who worked off commission, I reached out to a number of fee-only financial advisors. Out of all the advisors I spoke with, Swapnil had a unique story and truly gave me the feeling of being a life advisor. We tend to forget that importance of financial planning and its effect on our day to day life. Swapnil made me think about my finances holistically and that really changed my perspective on how to plan and increase my saving rate. I cannot recommend him enough."
Prashant Roy
Prashant RoyCorporate Lawyer
"I was looking for professional advice on my investments and read about Swapnil in freefincal.com. I am very happy and satisfied that I decided to hire Swapnil as my financial planner. He is very organized and professional at his work. He quickly grasps the current financial situation of an individual. Due to lack of time, we tend to miss out the important aspects of investing and get influenced by agents/brokers/banking advisors and invest in wrong areas. Swapnil is very good at highlighting the common investing mistakes investors do. He believes in keeping investing simple. He also educates about the crucial aspects of investing. I highly recommend Swapnil as a Fee-only Financial Planner. Keep up good work Swapnil and ALL THE BEST."
Sameer Joshi
Sameer JoshiSenior Business Analyst, Etisalat (Emirates Telecommunications), Dubai-UAE
"I feel fortunate to have met Swapnil to sketch out my investment strategy and financial planning. Since I met him, he is a single point of contact for all my investment needs, including mutual fund, insurance, debt or any other tax saving instrument. Swapnil has a wealth of knowledge and works in a very organized way. He uses simple techniques which help you connect to your long-term strategy, identify goals and put together execution plan. It's only when you engage with him, you realize all the benefits you were missing by not having a good financial adviser."
Jayant Poogalia
Jayant PoogaliaDelivery Head - ERP & BI, BrandSafway, Hyderabad
"I was already under the guidance of a famous SEBI Registered FA. But his style of investment advice was not suiting my thought process. I was looking for a FA who could give shape to this journey based on a strong understanding of investment philosophy. I didn’t want someone who would change my portfolio based on some random ratings on the websites or its past performance, just like expecting a medical practitioner would give antibiotics, even if you don’t need any of them. In the first few interactions, Swapnil gave me a thorough understanding of his investment philosophy. Those 5 sessions were invaluable, as many concepts and wrong understanding were cleared. He shared documents to read on equity and debt investments. He subsequently suggested a few changes in my portfolio. I did those meticulously and since then I never had to change anything in my portfolio. It’s just in autopilot mode. That’s what I wanted, and it’s super simple. I would suggest anyone and everyone take able advice from Swapnil, who will guide you to construct a portfolio that is easy to maintain, with no fancy ideas and return assumptions but effective to achieve goals which is the crux of the defensive investment style. Also along the process he also enables his clients so they can take decisions on their own. He even told me that I don’t need to renew his advisory as I can handle things on my own from now onwards. This kind of sincerity and honesty in someone’s profession is one of the rarest qualities to find in today’s world. Just hunt him down and straightway take his advisory, you will not regret it. Thanks, Swapnil. God bless you."
Kaushik Mukherjee
Kaushik MukherjeeTCS
"A HUGE THANKS!! I engaged Swapnil for my financial planning in 2020, a few months before the market crash. My financial planning has been extremely sorted since then - Thanks to Swapnil. If I were to summarize my experience with Swapnil, I would say - I SLEEP WELL AT NIGHT, NOT WORRIED ABOUT MY FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES. Before engaging Swapnil, I had been learning financial and investment planning on my own for a few years. I had been following ‘Investment Gyaanis' on social media on one hand and reading books on investing on the other hand. While I understood the concepts broadly, it was hard to understand the ‘conflict of interest’ some ‘experts’ have vs. genuine advice. Even if it’s seemingly genuine advice, it was hard to bring core investing concepts to fruition because of a variety of reasons, e.g. lack of conviction, the inertia to change, etc. That’s where Swapnil and his ilk of Fee-only Financial advisors come in. Swapnil epitomizes the truism "GIVE A MAN A FISH AND YOU FEED HIM FOR A DAY; TEACH A MAN TO FISH AND YOU FEED HIM FOR A LIFETIME". His working style is to enable ‘seekers' to understand the ‘Why’ of things - ‘Why’ things happen as they happen in financial planning. 'Why' is more important than 'What' and 'How'. Swapnil takes 4-5 sessions to onboard new users before preparing a financial plan customized for their needs. These sessions are a series of masterclasses in investing and money. Lastly, beyond my newfound investing prowess to plan for my long-term goals, Swapnil had an indirect influence on changing my 'not so good' spending habits as well. I strongly recommend Swapnil to anyone looking to get clarity on financial planning; even to those who believe they can do it on their own. The time and money investment with Swapnil is worth its weight in gold."
Naveen Yadav
Naveen YadavDigital Marketing and Analytics| Google| Ex Meta|Ex Publicis
"Swapnil is professional with high standards. I came to know about him while I was reading one post by Avinash Luthria. When I approached Swapnil, he politely rejected the engagement because he had already crossed a max number of clients. But he agreed to enroll me for a DIY financial planning program. It was an engagement worth the time and money I invested for. I am an avid reader and I read books on a wide range of topics from investments to psychology. But discussions with Swapnil expanded my understanding about investments to the next level. "Collective wisdom of the Market" is a key term which I still remember from our discussions. Also Swapnil regularly shares very good resources on holistic investing, I really find them worth reading. To conclude, with foundations learned from Swapnil I can confidently say that I am beating almost all retail investors in my contact by doing 'nothing'. As they say, "problem with good investment is that it is really boring." I'd say I am happy to get bored with Swapnil. I wish him the best for helping people improve their financial lives."
Suraj Mukade
Suraj MukadeComputer Scientist, Department of Atomic Energy. Govt. Of India
"I reached out to Swapnil in 2019 while I was trying to put my financial house in order and was planning for a major decision impacting my finances. Having talked to a few RIAs in Freefincal’s list of fee-only financial planners, one day I got in touch with Avinash Luthria of Fiduciaries.in, who suggested that I get in touch with Swapnil Kendhe. It was one of the best decisions to talk to Swapnil and engage him as my financial planner. Swapnil’s approach to financial planning is that of empowering the client by educating him about the asset allocation suitable for his risk profile. He makes the client independent in financial decision making by simplifying the asset allocation. Swapnil’s wisdom in financial planning and portfolio construction is the outcome of the knowledge he acquired after years of reading quality investment literature, coupled with the application of his own personal life experience when he was a financial products distributor. He knows both sides of the coin of the personal finance profession, namely distribution and advice, and its deeper impact on the outcome of your financial plan. Discussions we had while working on my financial plan were like pearls of wisdom. Swapnil approaches his work with the utmost care, professionalism, sensitivity, and confidentiality. He is an example of how one reaches “excellence” in one’s profession as an advisor when the work chosen goes beyond just a “means of livelihood” and in Swapnil’s own words, becomes "an art or a craft" that gives fulfillment beyond just a few bucks. Thanks Swapnil for all your guidance."
Raghunandan Alavani
Raghunandan AlavaniFormer Joint General Manager & Head of CRM HDFC Ltd.
"I was looking for someone to guide me to manage my inherited wealth and assets. I had spent a significant amount of time and money looking and paying for wealth managers that mostly turned out to be commission based. Most wealth managers I met didn’t seem to engage much in discussions regarding my financial management. Their level of engagement seemed to depend on how much of my portfolio I wish to manage through them. Everyone seemed to be more interested in wanting me to invest more in products that would get them more commission rather than keeping my interests as their priority or catering to my risk appetite. Fortunately, I found Mr. Swapnil through an internet search who has since then been a big help. I found his approach very systematic and organized. He engaged with me through 5 sessions and shared his knowledge he has gained over his vast experience in the finance industry, which helped me reduce my anxiety regarding financial planning. He explains things in a way that even a person from a non-financial background can understand. At the end of the 5 sessions, he shared with me a list of actionable items (action plan) mentioning all the steps I’m supposed to follow to execute that plan. Ultimately, I think for a person of non-financial background, all one needs is an honest, sincere, knowledgeable financial advisor who would guide you, keeping in mind your risk appetite and your financial philosophy, and I feel Mr. Swapnil is exactly that. Would highly recommend him to someone looking for similar qualities in a financial advisor."
Abhishek Patkar
Abhishek Patkar Audio Visual Business Automation Specialist
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