RTAs launch interoperable investment management platform

Registrar and transfer agents (RTAs) KFin Technologies and Computer Age Management Services Limited (CAMS) on Thursday launched an interoperable investment management platform MFCentral.

This move comes after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in July had announced that RTAs should jointly develop an interoperable platform for purchase and redemption of MF units.

MFCentral is a collaborative effort of KFintech and CAMS, in association with industry Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi). For the first time ever in the industry, MFCentral offers digital access to investor lifecycle engagement with the entire MF industry under one roof.

At the launch event Madhabi Puri Buch, whole time member at Sebi said “Today, what is important is that the industry as whole is evolving from being product focused to actually being service focused. For the first time I am feeling and believing that in this initiative we have indeed put the customer at the center of everything.”

MFCentral will be scaled up in three phases. The first phase, which has gone live, would cover non-commercial transactions (service requests of investors), financial portfolio view, and consolidated account statement amongst other features. The next two phases will see the launch of a mobility platform, financial transactions, and integration with ecosystem partners for several value-added services.

 Anuj Kumar, Managing Director, CAMS said, “The platform will bring about simplification in mutual funds services and reduce turnaround times, while providing safe access.”

Besides single portfolio view, the platform will provide complete fungibility of physical and digital services. It would offer investors the option to generate reports on unclaimed payments and raise service requests for non-commercial transactions such as nominee change and address update.