I have set the root component of the sword to attach to the character hand_rSocket, however instead of attaching at the base of the sword it attaches halfway. What can I do to solve this? Any help appreciated.
It’s probably because of the wrong pivot point -> should be at the sword. Either fix it in your 3d program, or just move and rotate the socket so that the sword is in the right position -> you can preview it in person (not the best solution) 
Even if I change pivot point in 3ds or reset it it still ends up same. The pivot looks fine if I open the and view the mesh,
://s12.postimg.org/t1g105a09/Untitledd.jpg
however when I import it into the blueprint the pivot is in the middle again…
://s15.postimg.org/g6b5zx2p3/Untitleddd.jpg
This is definitely a problem with the pivot like you said as other models provided by unreal work fine