Manoj Kumar, ED, SEBI
delivers the Keynote Address
Mumbai : Bombay Chamber organised its
annual Mutual Fund Conclave yesterday at the St Regis Hotel, Mumbai. The theme
of the Conclave was India’s growth funded by Indians.
In her welcome address, Pinky Mehta, President, Bombay Chamber and CFO,
Aditya Birla Capital, said, “The Assets Under Management (AUM) of India's
mutual fund industry rose by an impressive 40.70% over the past year, climbing
from ₹46.94 lakh crore in August 2023 to ₹66.04 lakh crore in August this year,
as reported by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). Recognising
this expanding market, SEBI has introduced a simplified regulatory framework
for launching passive mutual fund schemes, known as MF Lite. This initiative
aims to reduce compliance burdens and encourage new entrants into the mutual
fund space.”
Setting the theme for the Conclave, Nilesh Shah, Past President, Bombay
Chamber & Group President and Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra AMC said,
“The MF industry represents a sustainable model where distributors,
manufacturers, and investors come together to drive economic freedom. It is
unique in aligning the interests of all three stakeholders. The industry's
primary responsibility is to safeguard investor trust, which has remained
strong thanks to regulatory oversight.”
He further added, “Currently, 93% of household savings in India go into
instruments like bank savings and fixed deposits, which do not keep pace with
inflation. The remaining 7%, invested in equities and mutual funds, offers
inflation-beating returns. This imbalance means most Indians are not
financially secure. A greater push, such as through initiatives like Jan
Nivesh, is needed to direct savings toward real-return products. The younger
generation must also be engaged - 18 crore Indians traded in cryptocurrencies
and lost money, with many of these being young investors. The MF industry needs
a North Star, to guide these efforts toward long-term financial security for
all.”
The Keynote Speaker, Manoj Kumar, Executive Director, SEBI, said, “With
60 lakh crore AUM, the regulator should work fast too. There is no meaning to
whatever has been built if trust is eroded. Our objective is to help everyone.
We are making changes to MF to match the pace of growth of the industry. We
actively consult with everyone for these changes - the industry, the distributors
and gain a holistic view. The recent introduction of MF Lite was in keeping
pace with the needs of the industry and investors. To reduce compliance burden
and make it lighter, while also ensuring compliance standards are adhered to.
Similarly, the new asset class for HNIs. With a lot of unauthorised activities
that happen at the lower end of the market, we need to take action and adopt a
development approach to the same. Since there is a need in the market, we
address it by bringing it into the regulatory framework. The structure we are
trying to create is that all PMS and AIF players should be facilitated in MF
Lite and the new asset class. “
In a Fireside Chat on Guardrails for a Growing Mutual fund industry,
between Navneet Munot, Director, Bombay Chamber and Chairman, AMFI and MD &
CEO, HDFC AMC and Anil Singhvi, Managing Editor, Zee Business, the two speakers
shared insights on reaching the 5 crore unique investors and cautioned that the
industry still has a long way to go.
The Conclave also saw two panel discussions. The first which was on ‘The
journey from 4 cr to 40 cr investors’ was moderated by Latha Venkatesh,
Executive Editor, CNBC TV18 and the panelists included Nilesh Shah; Swarup
Anand Mohanty, Vice-Chairman and CEO, Mirae Asset Investment Managers (India);
Lalit Keshre, Co-Founder & CEO, Groww and D P Singh, DMD, SBI Mutual Fund.
The second panel moderated by Nisha Poddar, Managing Editor, Times
Experiences included panelists Soumya Rajan, Founder & CEO, Waterfield
Advisors; Karan Bhagat, Founder, MD & CEO, 360 ONE; Sudhir Variyar, Deputy
CEO, Multiples Alternate Asset Management; Ashish Gupta, Chief Investment
Officer, Axis Mutual Fund and Vishal Agarwal, Partner & National Leader -
Transaction Tax and PE Channel, Grant Thornton Bharat LLP. The panel discussed
about wealth creation through AIFs and PMS.