Purpose, Trust And The Future Of Wealth Management: Sandeep Jethwani On Building Dezerv

Mumbai: In a conversation with Vivek Law on Simple Hai!, Sandeep Jethwani, Co-Founder of Dezerv, outlined why India’s rapidly expanding investor base now needs far more than product access. According to Jethwani, the next phase of wealth creation in India will depend on disciplined portfolio construction, high-quality advice and technology-led trust at scale.

India's Growing Advisory Gap

Visit asg-reflektory.pl for more information.

The discussion centred on a major shift underway in Indian finance. While equities have become a mainstream long-term investment choice for millions of Indians, advisory infrastructure has not kept pace with the speed of wealth creation. Jethwani noted that India remains severely underserved when it comes to financial advice, even among affluent households.

He pointed out that the ratio of relationship managers to households in India is among the lowest globally. While developed markets have built deep advisory ecosystems over decades, India is still in the early stages of building a professional wealth management culture. As a result, large sections of investors continue to rely on fragmented advice, informal recommendations and momentum-driven investing.

Why SIPs Continue To Be A Popular Way To Begin Investing In Mutual Funds

Market Corrections and Investor Behaviour

Law asked whether the current market correction has become a wake-up call for retail investors who entered markets after 2020. Jethwani agreed, observing that many investors are facing their first meaningful downturn. While headline indices may appear relatively stable, portfolios heavily tilted toward mid and small-cap stocks have seen significantly sharper declines from peak levels.

According to him, the correction has exposed a larger issue in Indian investing behaviour. Many portfolios today are built through years of ad-hoc investing, often resulting in excessive diversification without a strategy. Jethwani remarked that it is common to see investors holding dozens of individual stocks and mutual funds simultaneously, creating complexity without proper risk management.

Stock Markets Brace For Volatile Week Ahead, West Asia Tensions & Crude Oil Prices To Dictate Investor Sentiment

The conversation repeatedly returned to investor psychology. Jethwani explained that market volatility often reveals how little discipline exists in portfolio construction. While investors have become more accepting of long-term equity investing, emotional reactions during corrections still dominate decision-making. He stressed that surviving difficult market phases is often more important than chasing extraordinary returns during bull markets.

From Product Sales to Long-Term Relationships

Law also raised the issue of why wealth management in India historically became heavily target-driven. Jethwani explained that for years, the industry was dominated by banks, where wealth products were sold alongside multiple financial services under aggressive sales structures. This created a system where product distribution frequently took precedence over long-term advisory relationships.

However, he believes the industry is now gradually moving toward a more client-centric model. Independent and specialised wealth management firms are increasingly focusing on long-duration relationships, transparency and fee-based advisory structures rather than transaction-led selling. According to Jethwani, wealth management is fundamentally a compounding business where the true value of a client relationship emerges over five to ten years.

India’s Investing Shift Deepens As Behaviour, Not Markets, Takes Centre Stage

To illustrate this, he shared the example of a client relationship that began with investments of around ₹15 to ₹20 lakh more than a decade ago and has since grown into a portfolio worth over ₹150 crore. The example, he said, demonstrates how long-term trust and disciplined engagement can create substantial outcomes over time.

Why Investors Are Willing to Pay for Advice

The discussion also focused on the growing acceptance of fee-based advisory models in India. Jethwani argued that Indian consumers are value-conscious rather than unwilling to pay. Investors are increasingly open to advisory fees if they clearly understand the value being delivered through portfolio reviews, family wealth discussions and structured financial planning.

AI, Technology and the Human Layer

Law asked whether technology and AI could fundamentally disrupt traditional wealth management. Jethwani described AI as one of the largest structural shifts facing the industry, but maintained that advisory itself will continue to require a strong human layer. According to him, wealth management combines both data-driven decision-making and behavioural guidance, making trust and personalised engagement difficult to fully automate.

SEBI Prohibits Mutual Funds From Investing In Pre-IPO Share Placements, Allows Investment In Anchor Rounds

At the same time, he acknowledged that technology is already reshaping how portfolios are managed and serviced. Dezerv operates on a discretionary model where portfolios are managed transparently on a fee basis without commissions or brokerage incentives. Using technology and data models, the platform analyses large volumes of information to construct and monitor portfolios across a limited number of mutual funds selected through quantitative frameworks.

Jethwani explained that technology has also improved the client experience significantly. Investors today expect flexibility in engagement, whether through physical meetings, video calls or digital updates. The hybrid advisory model has therefore become increasingly important, especially for time-constrained professionals and entrepreneurs.

The Mango Millionaire’s Guide: Why ‘Simple Hai!’ Is The Masterclass India Has Been Waiting For

Democratising Wealth Management

The conversation touched upon the broader democratisation of wealth management in India. Although regulatory thresholds currently restrict portfolio management services for smaller investors, Jethwani said the long-term objective is to use technology and scalable advisory models to eventually serve a much wider population.

Reflecting on his own journey, Jethwani spoke about growing up in Nagpur in a family of public sector bankers, where ethics, education and discipline were deeply emphasised. His early experience during the 2008 financial crisis, shortly after entering the industry, shaped his approach toward risk management and investor behaviour.

He explained that the idea for Dezerv emerged from observing a recurring problem among first-generation wealth creators. Many successful professionals and entrepreneurs were earning and investing well, but lacked structured guidance on managing wealth over the long term. The platform was built to address this gap through disciplined investing, transparency and technology-enabled advisory.

‘Simple Hai! With Vivek Law ’Podcast’ | Market: A Slave Of Earnings

Building Sustainable Wealth

Towards the end of the discussion, Jethwani emphasised that wealth management is ultimately a trust-driven business rather than a sales business. Sustainable growth, he argued, comes from creating long-term value for clients rather than pursuing rapid expansion through aggressive product pushing.

The conversation concluded with a broader reflection on India’s financial evolution. As more households enter formal investing for the first time, Jethwani believes the industry’s next challenge will not simply be increasing participation, but ensuring that investors remain disciplined, properly advised and financially resilient across market cycles.

Read full story at source