Mutual funds are not likely to be allowed to handle pension funds. The government and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) are not keen to hand over the management of pension funds to mutual funds, as and when the pension funds business is opened up.
At a recent meeting with government officials, a delegation of fund executives was virtually told to forget the whole thing, said S K Mitra, chief of Birla Sun Life. In a last-ditch effort, senior fund officials had met finance ministry officials along with IRDA, where it was made clear to them that only insurance companies would be allowed to manage pension funds.