Eminent Business Leaders, Policy Makers, Media personalities and students from various prestigious institutions including the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Delhi, gathered at The Royal Plaza Hotel, Delhi, on 25
th November 2015, to attend the 14
th Mutual Fund Summit.
The Summit opened with a panel discussion on the importance of the Mutual Funds Industry to the economy of the country, and the importance of attracting more investors to the mutual Fund fold. Shri. SK Jindal, Chairman, Investments and Investor’s Protection Committee, ASSOCHAM, pointed out that the Mutual Fund Industry in India has grown by leaps and bounds in last 20 years, and there is a huge potential waiting to be tapped. The measures that need to be taken to exploit the potential were subsequently discussed.
Speakers like Shri. Sundeep Sikka, CEO, Reliance Capital Asset Management Ltd. and Shri. SC Aggarwal, CMD, SMC Group noted the relevance of improving the onboarding process for retail investors. A simple Onboarding Process is perhaps the most important step determinant of attracting retail investors; to make the process simpler; Shri. Sikka suggested that KYC of Mutual Funds be interlinked with KYC of Bank Accounts or Government Identity Programs.
Taking the agenda forward, Shri. Ananta Barua, Executive Director – Investment Management Department, SEBI remarked that the growth of the Mutual Fund Industry and the need of attracting retail investors, should be looked from the long term point of view. Shri. Barua pointed out various steps that SEBI has taken in last 25 years to improve the regulatory structure of the Capital Markets of India and how it has improved the market confidence and sentiment. This sentiment, according to Shri. Barua, is critical to attract retail investors and to ensure the long term growth of the industry.
The summit proceeded with Technical Sessions on other critical aspects of the Mutual Fund Industry in India. There was a hearty discussion on the status of financial advisors in the country. The issue saw two viewpoints – one that financial advisors should be given better income earning opportunities through improved margins, to take mutual funds to the grassroots level. The counter viewpoint was that there was a conflict of interest in financial advisors selling financial products as they will tend to sell products which offered better margins to themselves. Given the complex nature of the issue, the debate was let off for future.
At the end, it will be pertinent to mention the advice made by Shri. Vinod Anand, Visiting Faculty, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, to the young audience that one should keenly invest in the mutual funds for they are the best mechanism to ensure long term wealth maximization.
