Bombay Chamber Mutual Fund Conclave says industry needs a North Star to guide towards long term financial security for all

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.