How a 400-meter hurdle champion ended up leading a stock broking house

Edited excerpts from an interview with B Gopkumar, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Axis Securities:

Can you tell me something about your family background and growing up years?
My formative years in my hometown, Mangalore, shaped my beliefs about work and life. Born and raised in a community that values simplicity and hard work, I learned the importance of staying grounded and never giving up early on in my life. My parents raised me to be an independent, confident person, supporting my decisions and career choices.

Sports was my first love during my graduation and post-graduation years. As captain of the athletic team, I represented my university in 400m hurdles in various inter-state competitions, winning several awards and accolades. While the facilities at that time were limited, I tried to make the most of it and continued pursuing my passion for running throughout my post-graduation.

Once I completed my MBA, I was eager to take on new challenges. I believed in my potential and wanted to explore the corporate world for the growth and learning opportunities it offers. Guided by the drive to be more, I decided to shift to Mumbai in 1994 and started my corporate journey.

Getting into markets and the stock broking business doesn’t seem to be your first choice as you started with a marketing job. So how did you land up in the stock market? Purely by chance?
With an MBA in marketing, my first job was as a marketing communications lead. At that time, the main players in the capital markets were standalone establishments that could not offer a corporate experience. As a fresh graduate yearning to make it big in the corporate world, I wanted to foray into capital markets with an organization that supported my ambitions. It was around 1997-98 that the broking organizations started evolving with a corporate structure in place, and that is when I began my first stint with capital markets.

I was fascinated by stock markets during my growing-up years, all thanks to my father. My father is a professional company secretary who completed his certification as a part of the first CS batch. Every other day, he would bring home new IPO forms, which intrigued me, often leading to a discussion around them with my father. When I was in the 8th standard, I got a chance to visit the Mangalore Stock Exchange and got moved by all the commotion and excitement on the floor. Later, in my college years, I participated in a 3-month long inter-management school stock market competition and was declared the best fund manager.

While I started my corporate journey as a marketing professional, my heart was always with the capital markets, waiting to make the transition as soon as the right opportunity knocked at my door.

How aware were you of markets and investing before you joined Kotak Securities? A lot of well-qualified and highly successful people, for example, have little idea when it comes to handling their own money.
Being inquisitive helped me to acquire a fair amount of stock market exposure before joining Kotak Securities. Fascination with stock markets led me to track stocks and read up on the right investing techniques. I started by investing in mutual funds and gradually moved to stocks as I gained more insights into the working of the markets. With experience and a focus on constant learning, my understanding of the markets has only deepened over the years.

When you work closely with the brightest professionals in the financial sector, you pick up confidence and know how to become a prudent investor. I have been handling my finances pretty well for all these years, with 90% of my investments in equities. Recently, I started using our professional fund management services to manage a part of my portfolio.

I am sure you would have a lot to share but it would be great if you can summarise your key learnings from the time spent handling the broking business.
After years of working closely with the markets, I have realized the importance of having a long-term vision to succeed in any endeavour. Be it managing business or personal finances, keeping the larger picture in mind helps you stay focused, cutting out short-term distractions. With the business landscape and technology constantly evolving, it becomes imperative for business leaders to be willing to learn and innovate.

Over the years, you have seen how technology and digitization have changed the market. Do you think that technological disruption has just started when it comes to how we invest our money?
Technology has brought about a revolutionary change in the financial services ecosystem. When I started my career in the broking business, investors used to visit internet cafes to place their requests. With digitization and affordable internet, investors now use mobile phones to access stock markets. The process of opening a Demat account and placing an order has become paperless, with customer onboarding taking about 5 minutes compared to the 15 days required earlier. This ease of investment has been made possible by technology. And this is just the beginning.

Technology will play a key role in empowering customers to make informed decisions. Digital solutions, like AI, Machine Learning, or basic data science, will help investors to identify the right opportunities at the right time to build valuable portfolios. Evolution in products and business models will make it easier for investors to pick and choose solutions that cater to their requirements. We are already seeing retail investors embracing baskets, model portfolios, and other research-based products as it enables them to fulfil their financial goals, diversify their portfolios and avail the expertise of market veterans at negligible cost.

Today, the broking industry has become truly ‘Bharat’ as technology has made it easier to reach retail investors in Tier 2-3 cities. With equity penetration in India still hovering around 3%, there is immense potential for growth in the broking industry, and technology is the key to unlocking this potential.

In your pastime, what kind of books do you like to read? Any recent favorites?
I always enjoy a good read, and one of my favourites is Authentic Leadership by Bill George. I go back to this book for inspiring lessons on leadership and to renew my commitment to my team and the organization. Apart from reading, I also tune into interesting podcasts on leadership, markets, and sports, especially while running or

commuting. Podcasts are a great companion and a fantastic way of catching up with current events while on the go.

Can you tell me more about your experience running long distances? Is running a marathon just about health and fitness for you?
For me, running is therapeutic and an outlet to maintain my physical and mental well-being, which is very important given the current circumstances. I believe completing a run is truly rewarding and fulfilling as it boosts your confidence while reducing stress. Participating in marathons helped me sharpen my focus and to keep moving toward my goals. I made great friends with like-minded runners, who inspire and motivate me to be a better runner and a leader. For me, a good run is one of the best ways to elevate my life and deal with challenges more efficiently.

I have been a running enthusiast for more than ten years now, as it brings me immense satisfaction, and participating in marathons is another way of enjoying this enthralling experience. Though I participated in several marathons, completing the Mumbai Marathon is one memory I cherish immensely. Facing the sheer challenge of being a part of one of the largest marathons in Asia and months of training to prepare for it made crossing the finish line a special moment for me.

Do you often tend to draw parallels between running a marathon and how the markets work? If you can share some insights on this.
I believe that training for a marathon is the ultimate test of endurance. It requires consistent training to build the stamina that helps you cross the finish line. While completing a marathon is the ultimate goal, runners accomplish this goal at their own pace. Surprisingly, investing in the market is not too different from running a marathon.

Just like marathon runners, the ultimate goal of all investors is the same – to accumulate wealth. But, achieving this goal requires consistent efforts, such as a disciplined financial approach, SIPs, etc. Also, some investors reach their milestones earlier than others, depending on their investment choices and financial situation. By training over time to make smart financial decisions, you significantly improve your chances of fulfilling your financial goals.

Ultimately, like marathons, financial prosperity is a long-term game. Keeping your eye on the goal is the best way to set aside all distractions and short-term volatility that often acts as roadblocks to building a rewarding portfolio.