Master Trust gets Sebi nod for portfolio mgmt

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has given the Master Trust Group its approval for providing portfolio management services (PMS). The services will be offered by the group's newly-formed company Master Portfolio Managers Ltd.

The Ludhiana-based financial services provider currently has 10,000 clients and over 150 outlets in 11 states.

Talking to Business Standard, Gurmeet Singh Chawla, who has been appointed as the managing director of the newly-formed company, said, "Portfolio management services were earlier confined to national players only. We are the first company in the region to get licence to operate as portfolio management service providers.

On the features of the PMS his company will offer, he said, "The minimum threshold limit would be Rs 5 lakhs. The commission would be based on either management fee and profit sharing or only management fees. Due to high real estate rates, the investor does not have enough money to enter the sector. The services would provide an opportunity to these investors to park their money in the sector. This will give better returns as compared to other investment instruments."

"We have also started offering Internet-based trading, which will benefit our clients in India and abroad. Earlier, some customers had to call or visit offices, now they can actually transfer money online. HDFC Bank will provide payment gateway, while we shall offer depository gateway to NSDL and CDSL. We have also tied up with banks and institutions for meeting margin funding requirements of clients," adds Chawla, who is also director incharge of the Chandigarh regional office.

The group has also launched its website which provides pre-open, mid-day and post-closing market commentary, advisory services, mutual fund, foreign exchange and insurance sector information. It has also started SMS and email services in its advisory division.

Apart from stock broking, the group provides services in commodity trading, forex, Cat I merchant banking, insurance broking, mutual fund distribution, financial planning and DP services to its clients. It has a daily turnover of over Rs 500 crore is planning to expand its operations in states like Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Orissa and Gujarat.

"We are very bullish on the market in the long term. We are laying special emphasis on regular training of our human resources so as to meet the future challenges," added Chawla.

The Master Trust Group has nine companies under its umbrella "" Master Trust Limited, Master Capital Services Limited, Master Commodity Services Limited, Master Commodity Brokers Limited, Master Insurance Brokers, MTL Share and Stock Brokers Limited, Master Share and Stock Brokers Limited, Master Portfolio Services Limited and Prime Industries Limited.