The Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) has scrapped the idea to launch a separate transaction platform for mutual funds.
The decision comes in the wake of a number of transaction platforms already launched in the recent past. National Stock Exchange (NSE), Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), ICICIdirect, and Cams and Karvy have launched MF transaction platforms in the last few months.
“For the last two years we were thinking of launching some platform. We have worked on it but now we have found that others have already launched it and that has created the open market. Now we feel that there is no need to launch a separate platform,” A P Kurian, chairman, AMFI, told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar on mutual funds organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce here today.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) was the first to launch its mutual funds transaction platform in association with UTI MF. "The growth of the MF industry in the last one year has been largely on the back of debt funds. On an average, during that period between August-December 2009, around Rs.4,000 crore equity funds were sold but redemption was to the tune of Rs.5,000-Rs.6,000 crore,” he said.
Further, AMFI has requested the finance minister to bring parity in tax treatment for equity Fund of Funds, and other equity schemes of mutual funds.
“In our pre-budget memorandum, we have requested the finance minister to make dividend of equity schemes of Fund of Funds more attractive to investors,' Kurian said.
