Capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has asked the mutual fund (MF) industry to aggressively market debt schemes to retail investors.
In addition, fund houses have also been advised to focus on rural markets, as the penetration is low. Of the 44.4 million investors, 87 per cent are from urban centres, according to the data compiled by Sebi.
The issues were discussed during a recent meeting of Sebi’s advisory committee on mutual funds and the regulator asked the mutual fund industry to focus on retail investors as the thrust was so far limited to high net worth investors (HNIs) and corporate India.
According to the latest data available with Sebi, the corporate sector accounted for 56.55 per cent of the mutual fund industry’s assets under management (AUM) by the end of March 2008. The share of retail investors was only 6 per cent, with the remaining accounted for by HNIs and other institutional investors.
Sources said that the committee expressed concern over the fact that fund houses are opting for an easier option by marketing debt schemes mostly to companies and HNIs resulting in a slow growth of the market. The retail investors have an appetite for debt schemes as they have been investing in schemes like the US-64 for decades, said a source who attended the meeting.
Mutual funds also appear convinced about the need to market schemes more aggressively to retail investors as they noticed that these investors stayed invested despite a rush for withdrawal during the recent liquidity crisis.
“It is good for fund houses to tap retail investors but we are operating in a low-cost structure and our business requires a pull strategy where investors stay with us if they have a pleasant experience and they will spread the word that can bring more investors,” said ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company Deputy Managing Director Nilesh Shah.
Besides, he said, that the present environment offered an opportunity to retail investors to optimise their returns. “In a slowing economy, the government is lowering interest rates and providing liquidity. When interest rates fall, income plans and gilt funds-debt funds will continue to be attractive,” Shah added.
