Mortgage and finance brokers, Rod Peirce and Niti Bhargava are changing the lives, and the financial futures, of their clients and communities through financial education, resulting in both personal satisfaction and benefits to their businesses.
Both based in Melbourne, Rod and Niti come from different backgrounds and broking experience, but share the same passion for helping their clients have choices through financial literacy.
Rod, Aussie, is a seasoned broker with over 20 years’ experience and Niti, Resolve Finance Derrimut, is a first-generation migrant who joined the broking industry from banking in 2020.
In our recent conversation with Rod and Niti, they talked about the lack of financial education in schools both here, and as Niti explained in India, meaning many young people don’t have the knowledge they need to make smart financial decisions.
“There's a lot of people that just don't understand, or haven't been taught about the basics – how to use money, how money can be used to assist you to provide growth, whether that growth be in bricks and mortar or whether that be growth in other areas,” said Rod.
“It's not about being rich, but it's about being in a position where you've got choices.”
Rod’s ultimate driver is to make sure that his clients are in the best possible position to enjoy life, and build wealth along the way.
Niti recalled her experience when she first moved to Australia from India 17 years ago, explaining that while she had to ‘find her feet’ culturally, she also had to adapt to the Australian financial system, something she helps migrants with today.
“Even though India is really big on academic achievements, financial literacy is never taught there,” says Niti, also explaining the challenges women face in particular in a culture where the men of a household – husband, father, brother – make the financial decisions.
Financial literacy travels through generations
For Rod, it’s important to fill this gap and provide a financial literacy foundation for future generations.
And, it’s working.
With 20 years of clients behind him, Rod is now a broker for his clients’ children and has seen first-hand how the financial skills he taught their parents have filtered down to the next generation.
"It's about creating a base. It won't happen overnight, but if you can change the narrative, then certainly it gives consumers a better chance, for this generation and the next generation," he said.
“It's really about, providing that education and helping them along that journey of understanding. How important it is to condition yourself, how important it is to understand the power of money if used properly.”
Rod also runs public webinars for first home buyers on a regular basis.
“That is a tool that I use to continue to sell the message about financial literacy. Then what the process is for first home buyers and how they need to prepare for first home buy ownership,” he said.
During our conversation, Rod mentioned that he learnt ‘from the school of hard knocks’, a sentiment Niti agreed with, adding it is a motivator for the work she does on financial literacy.
“If we can actually make someone else's life easier or the younger generation's lives easier, that’s a good outcome,” she said.
Realising the power of financial literacy
In 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic took hold, Niti began to encounter a number of migrant women experiencing financial abuse.
“There were cultural barriers, they weren’t allowed to earn their own money and manage their own funds,” she explained.
It was the inspiration for Niti to begin running free financial literacy sessions, which have increased from once a month and targeted to migrant women, to once a quarter with an expanded audience.
Niti said the sessions start with the basics – opening bank accounts, how to look after budget planners, how to look after monthly statements and so on.
“We teach them all the basic steps, and then that gives them confidence to understand the system here in Australia,” she said.
The experience of one of Niti’s clients who came to one of her financial literacy sessions shows how powerful having control of your finances can be.
Her client, who held a stable well-paid job and was pregnant, and had to leave her home and separate from her partner, but she didn’t know anything about their finances, or have any direct access to her money.
She had to start from scratch, but over three years and with Niti’s guidance and support was able get back on track, and after three years bought her own home at the end of last year.
This recovery from financial abuse is something Niti is proud to have been a part of, but the biggest victory she says is that her client is now active in promoting the value of financial literacy herself.
“She makes sure every single time she's going anywhere, she talks about the importance of financial literacy. It doesn't matter how much your husband earns or what kind of affluent family you are in, you need to take control of your own finances,” said Niti.
Good for brokers, good for clients and good for the economy
The benefits of improved financial literacy extend well beyond their own business’ bottom line according to both Rod and Niti, but it’s when talking about the impact they can have on their client’s lives that their passion comes alive.
“We are making our bread and butter from this profession, but then we also are in the position to make that difference to the younger generation,” said Niti.
“Making a difference and empowering someone on their financial wellbeing is definitely going to make a difference in the long run.”
"It's definitely not only putting them into a really strong position, but as an economy as well, on a macro level, it helps the economy," Niti stated.
For Rod, seeing his clients have choice is what it’s all about and one of the most important aspects of what he does.
“I really play on the education side of it and believe it's one of the most important aspects of our role, to assist with budding first home buyers or even existing homeowners for that matter as well,” he said.
“What we do as a broker cohort is support our client base. If we do it properly, we will have a profound, or already having a profound, impact to people's lives. I love that.
“If we can provide better choices through education, then I think that's great for the consumer, it's great for the economy.”
