Looking back, looking forward
(Employee day speech for the COO of a financial services company. Some names have been changed.)
Friends, it’s good to be here among colleagues and families.
Friends, it’s good to be here among colleagues and families.
Today is a day to look back and to look forward.
I remember standing before you last year and talking about imagination and vision and success. I had said that success comes to those who can imagine a future and take bold steps to create that future.
As Franklin Roosevelt said: "It isn't sufficient just to want - you've got to ask yourself what you are going to do to get the things you want."
I’m delighted to say that this is a company that has the guts and vision to dream big and the ability and perseverance to start making that dream a reality.
Our story started in 2008 with a simple idea from Rahul’s hospital bed that grew into a prop desk.
In 2009, that prop desk became the inspiration and the base for a bigger dream and we set up ABC Company.
Our goal was ambitious – we wanted ABC to be right up there among the leading hedge funds in the world.
2010 was the year in which we took several concrete steps to build a solid foundation for growth to achieve our vision.
So let us take a moment to look back on some of the highlights of 2010. Take a bow people, because you made it happen.
On the product front, we launched the fund for offshore global investors. How can anyone forget the late nights, the dinners in the conference room and the hard work that made it possible for the fund to be established in record time?
We developed a new product called QPS for domestic investors. We successfully empanelled with large institutions like India Infoline and JM Asset Management for distribution within the first two months of soft launching the product.
We set up a robust trade execution platform.
On the operations front, we became a registered member of BSE & NSE and setup the broking infrastructure.
We opened the ABC Asset Management office in Mauritius.
We set up a world-class infrastructure supported by strong functional systems, policies and processes.
We streamlined the finance department and established a formal budget at a company and group level.
We established comprehensive risk management processes and implementation guidelines.
We cut operational costs by 5% by identifying redundant expenses.
On HR front, we created an employee handbook and streamlined processes for a whole bunch of activities from on-boarding to goal setting to performance appraisal. We put in place a reward and recognition program and training calendar and have introduced people bonding initiatives like the Monday mantra and Bright Star contest.
And finally, we delivered an annualized risk adjusted return of 19.49% with Volatility of 10.23%.
I can confidently say that we are the only multi strategy equity long-short fund targeted at Indian capital markets with a track record of 10 plus months. That gives us a huge competitive advantage.
By any standards, this is great going and I congratulate all of you for making it happen.
I look back at what we’ve achieved as a team and I ask myself, Oh My God, how did all this happen? What is the secret sauce that makes this company do so much in so little time?
The answer of course is that there is no secret sauce. It’s all about how we have built this company. It’s about the people who make the difference.
Our approach to business is captured in our mission statement. We endeavor to provide our customers innovative, cutting-edge, research-led investment solutions. We will be second to none in our ability to innovate and serve our customers with commitment and agility.
Those are fine words. But our mission statement is not something that we frame and put on a wall in our board room.
Our mission statement is something that each of us lives every day because we are a company built on four pillars: Trust, Innovation, People, and Passion.
Trust means that our customers know that we keep our promises.
Innovation means that we use technology and insight to create products and services that deliver superior returns.
Passion is what makes us enjoy what we do.
And of course, nothing of all this would be possible without people and team work.
I started by saying that today is a day to look back and to look forward. So let us now take a moment to talk of where we want to be.
What are our goals for 2011? What is the unfinished agenda of 2010 that we need to complete?
First... For QPS, we want to maintain the momentum of the positive feedback we heard from clients during the soft launch and complete the pending formalities of the launch on the IIFL & JM platform by end of February.
Right after the launch, we will market QPS across India and the Middle East to generate an AUM of at least Rs 100 crores in 6 months. I know this is a conservative target and I am confident Sarita and Kapil and the team are on track to achieve it.
Second… For the offshore fund, by end of March we expect to complete the first round of meetings with investors in Middle East & Europe. In addition we will participate in conferences in Vienna, Singapore & Dubai followed by a few more in upcoming months. That will help us expand our network of clients and deepen our relationships and prepare us for achieving the initial target of 25 million dollars by end of Q2.
Again, I know this is a conservative target. But what we have leant in this business is that relationships are the key to success and it is important to under promise and over deliver and build a comfort level with our investors and clients through consistent performance and transparency.
In Q3 and Q4, we will have delivered more than 20 audited NAVs. That will allow us to broaden our client base to include Fund of Funds and even large institutional clients in additional geographies like Singapore, Hong Kong and even the US. Our target for the fund is 250 million dollars.
Third… By end of 2011, we expect the broking vertical to become the dominant revenue generator for ABC Company.
Yes, I know we have only recently got our stock exchange memberships and that we have been caught up with the work on QPS and the offshore fund.
But we must stretch and deliver. Our target is to generate a minimum monthly revenue of 100,000 dollars. Ashok is on top of this initiative and I know he has all our support to meet the target.
Are these difficult goals? To a certain extent! Are they impossible? Absolutely not. Not for this team.
We are a company that has a culture of stretching and delivering. We work hard and we work fast. I don’t want us to ever lose the momentum of a start up.
2011 is an exciting year for us. As we grow in size and reach, we will grow our brand through a systematic PR campaign to increase our awareness in target markets. Our systems are coming into place. We will now become more visible.
As we grow, some change is inevitable. You will see new faces as we expand the team, you will see new systems and updated processes as we streamline our operations. Accept these changes. Embrace them because through them, we evolve.
But some things will not change. In our rush to grow, we will never compromise on those core values of trust and integrity that define us as individuals and as a company.
But no company or team can rest on its laurels. We live in times of great opportunities and growth. As a company and as a team, we must be prepared and willing to grasp those opportunities.
As Mark Twain said, twenty years from now we will be more disappointed by the things that we didn't do than by the ones we did do.
So let’s throw off the bowlines and sail from the safe harbor. Let’s catch the trade winds in our sails and explore and dream and discover.
Thank you.
I remember standing before you last year and talking about imagination and vision and success. I had said that success comes to those who can imagine a future and take bold steps to create that future.
As Franklin Roosevelt said: "It isn't sufficient just to want - you've got to ask yourself what you are going to do to get the things you want."
I’m delighted to say that this is a company that has the guts and vision to dream big and the ability and perseverance to start making that dream a reality.
Our story started in 2008 with a simple idea from Rahul’s hospital bed that grew into a prop desk.
In 2009, that prop desk became the inspiration and the base for a bigger dream and we set up ABC Company.
Our goal was ambitious – we wanted ABC to be right up there among the leading hedge funds in the world.
2010 was the year in which we took several concrete steps to build a solid foundation for growth to achieve our vision.
So let us take a moment to look back on some of the highlights of 2010. Take a bow people, because you made it happen.
On the product front, we launched the fund for offshore global investors. How can anyone forget the late nights, the dinners in the conference room and the hard work that made it possible for the fund to be established in record time?
We developed a new product called QPS for domestic investors. We successfully empanelled with large institutions like India Infoline and JM Asset Management for distribution within the first two months of soft launching the product.
We set up a robust trade execution platform.
On the operations front, we became a registered member of BSE & NSE and setup the broking infrastructure.
We opened the ABC Asset Management office in Mauritius.
We set up a world-class infrastructure supported by strong functional systems, policies and processes.
We streamlined the finance department and established a formal budget at a company and group level.
We established comprehensive risk management processes and implementation guidelines.
We cut operational costs by 5% by identifying redundant expenses.
On HR front, we created an employee handbook and streamlined processes for a whole bunch of activities from on-boarding to goal setting to performance appraisal. We put in place a reward and recognition program and training calendar and have introduced people bonding initiatives like the Monday mantra and Bright Star contest.
And finally, we delivered an annualized risk adjusted return of 19.49% with Volatility of 10.23%.
I can confidently say that we are the only multi strategy equity long-short fund targeted at Indian capital markets with a track record of 10 plus months. That gives us a huge competitive advantage.
By any standards, this is great going and I congratulate all of you for making it happen.
I look back at what we’ve achieved as a team and I ask myself, Oh My God, how did all this happen? What is the secret sauce that makes this company do so much in so little time?
The answer of course is that there is no secret sauce. It’s all about how we have built this company. It’s about the people who make the difference.
Our approach to business is captured in our mission statement. We endeavor to provide our customers innovative, cutting-edge, research-led investment solutions. We will be second to none in our ability to innovate and serve our customers with commitment and agility.
Those are fine words. But our mission statement is not something that we frame and put on a wall in our board room.
Our mission statement is something that each of us lives every day because we are a company built on four pillars: Trust, Innovation, People, and Passion.
Trust means that our customers know that we keep our promises.
Innovation means that we use technology and insight to create products and services that deliver superior returns.
Passion is what makes us enjoy what we do.
And of course, nothing of all this would be possible without people and team work.
I started by saying that today is a day to look back and to look forward. So let us now take a moment to talk of where we want to be.
What are our goals for 2011? What is the unfinished agenda of 2010 that we need to complete?
First... For QPS, we want to maintain the momentum of the positive feedback we heard from clients during the soft launch and complete the pending formalities of the launch on the IIFL & JM platform by end of February.
Right after the launch, we will market QPS across India and the Middle East to generate an AUM of at least Rs 100 crores in 6 months. I know this is a conservative target and I am confident Sarita and Kapil and the team are on track to achieve it.
Second… For the offshore fund, by end of March we expect to complete the first round of meetings with investors in Middle East & Europe. In addition we will participate in conferences in Vienna, Singapore & Dubai followed by a few more in upcoming months. That will help us expand our network of clients and deepen our relationships and prepare us for achieving the initial target of 25 million dollars by end of Q2.
Again, I know this is a conservative target. But what we have leant in this business is that relationships are the key to success and it is important to under promise and over deliver and build a comfort level with our investors and clients through consistent performance and transparency.
In Q3 and Q4, we will have delivered more than 20 audited NAVs. That will allow us to broaden our client base to include Fund of Funds and even large institutional clients in additional geographies like Singapore, Hong Kong and even the US. Our target for the fund is 250 million dollars.
Third… By end of 2011, we expect the broking vertical to become the dominant revenue generator for ABC Company.
Yes, I know we have only recently got our stock exchange memberships and that we have been caught up with the work on QPS and the offshore fund.
But we must stretch and deliver. Our target is to generate a minimum monthly revenue of 100,000 dollars. Ashok is on top of this initiative and I know he has all our support to meet the target.
Are these difficult goals? To a certain extent! Are they impossible? Absolutely not. Not for this team.
We are a company that has a culture of stretching and delivering. We work hard and we work fast. I don’t want us to ever lose the momentum of a start up.
2011 is an exciting year for us. As we grow in size and reach, we will grow our brand through a systematic PR campaign to increase our awareness in target markets. Our systems are coming into place. We will now become more visible.
As we grow, some change is inevitable. You will see new faces as we expand the team, you will see new systems and updated processes as we streamline our operations. Accept these changes. Embrace them because through them, we evolve.
But some things will not change. In our rush to grow, we will never compromise on those core values of trust and integrity that define us as individuals and as a company.
But no company or team can rest on its laurels. We live in times of great opportunities and growth. As a company and as a team, we must be prepared and willing to grasp those opportunities.
As Mark Twain said, twenty years from now we will be more disappointed by the things that we didn't do than by the ones we did do.
So let’s throw off the bowlines and sail from the safe harbor. Let’s catch the trade winds in our sails and explore and dream and discover.
Thank you.