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 CONTENTS
7 COVER STORY

Tomorrow,
and tomorrow,
and tomorrow…
There are a total of
about 1.1 lakh
crores of rupees
invested in India’s
mutual funds and
the number of
investors is now
about 12 crore

6
PREFACE
Hailing the unsung heroes
Dhirendra Kumar

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 3

10 22
ADITYA BIRLA SUN LIFE AMC DSP MUTUAL FUND
‘AI, data analytics will ‘Stock market
offer custom solutions doesn’t lose
to investors’ money, people do’
Sidharth Damani Abhik Sanyal

12 26
AXIS AMC EDELWEISS MUTUAL FUND
‘Sheer population of ‘A Maldives tour guide
Bharat holds huge knew of the Mutual
untapped potential’ Fund Sahi Hai drive’
Boniface Noronha Niranjan Avasthi

15 28
BANDHAN AMC FRANKLIN TEMPLETON
‘The size of passive ASSET (INDIA)
funds has grown ‘Millenials have
36 per cent in a year’ invested `96,000 crore
Gaurab Parija in mutual funds’
Geetanjali Sachwani

18
BARODA BNP PARIBAS

32
ASSET MANAGEMENT INDIA HSBC ASSET MANAGEMENT INDIA
‘KYC is the most ‘Pandemic fuelled
difficult challenge in digitisation in the
smaller towns’ mutual fund industry’
Mahmood Basha
Kailash Kulkarni

20 34
CANARA ROBECO
ASSET MANAGEMENT ICICI PRUDENTIAL AMC

‘More distributors will ‘Fintechs are

come to MFCentral, driving mass
MF Utility’ financial inclusion’
Gaurav Goyal Abhijit Shah

4 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

36 53
INVESCO MUTUAL FUND PPFAS MUTUAL FUND
‘Over 95 per cent ‘We didn’t want to
of our transactions hard sell our fund in
are digital’ the initial days’
Haresh L. Sadani Jayant Pai

39
KOTAK MAHINDRA ASSET
MANAGEMENT
‘MFCentral is the
56
SBI MUTUAL FUND
most impressive of
online platforms’ ‘It’s premature to
Kinjal Shah
label passive fund
as a revolution’
D P Singh

41
MIRAE ASSET INVESTMENT
MANAGERS (INDIA)
‘Covid pushed
everyone to

58
become digital-first’ SUNDARAM ASSET MANAGEMENT
Shrinivas Khanolkar ‘Earlier, not many
knew of mutual funds;

44
MOTILAL OSWAL now SIP is a verb’
ASSET MANAGEMENT Ajit Narasimhan
‘B-30 cities contribute
17 per cent of
industry’s total assets’
Rajkumar Dhiman

60
TATA ASSET MANAGEMENT
‘Investors need a mix
47
NIPPON LIFE INDIA
ASSET MANAGEMENT of both active and
‘The Sahi Hai drive passive funds’
needs to solve the Anand Vardarajan
next problem’
Sandeep Walunj

50 63
PGIM INDIA MUTUAL FUND UTI ASSET MANAGEMENT
‘Hybrid robo-assisted ‘Since Sahi Hai drive
platforms will aid launch, industry has
customer experience’ grown over twofold’
Abhishek Tiwari Sandeep Samsi

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 5

 By Dhirendra Kumar
Preface

Hailing the
unsung heroes
I
n recent years, every investor and the fund. It’s a
aspect of mutual funds — truism that mutual funds are
from product design to not bought but sold. However,
fund management to those who strategise and
investor interaction — has execute the selling are rarely
undergone a revolution. If you talked about publicly in the
The one aspect of
think back to the way fund media. the mutual fund
investments were done as At Value Research, we revolution that
recently as 2013, there are new believe that this gap should be
ways to do everything today. filled, and the publication that has had the least
Choosing funds? Investing in you are reading right now is attention paid to it
them? Tracking your part of our effort to correct this
has been the
investments? Redeeming your anomaly. In the pages that
funds? EVERYTHING has follow, we have for you a cross- marketing and
changed! section of views from the sales department
However, the one aspect of marketing leaders of the
this revolution that has had the mutual fund industry,
least attention paid to it has something that we believe will
been marketing and sales — set the tone for how the asset
the very process that is the first management companies will
interaction between the approach the future hereon.

6 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

Cover Story

Tomorrow,
and tomorrow,
and tomorrow…
There are a total of about 1.1 lakh crores of rupees invested in India’s
mutual funds and the number of investors is now about 12 crore

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 7

A
re those numbers two and three are widely
wrong? Are they many, discussed, factor number four is
many times larger than
One of the generally ignored. Perhaps,
what they should be? reasons why someone discussing mutual
Are we lying? The answer to all mutual funds’ funds in the media and
those questions is no. That in social media feels that while
number is roughly correct. This
AUM has grown the returns generated by mutual
is the truth — the only thing is
that the truth that has been told,
shall we say, a little early.
23 times funds as well as their security
and safety are relevant to
since 2005 is investors, the industry-wide
This is where India’s mutual aggregates are of interest only
funds will be around the year
due to the to those in the business.
2040. If you think the numbers efforts made by
are too high, then just look back
the sales and Sold, not bought
to say, 2005. That was a time In reality, this sales and
when the current era in India’s marketing team marketing effort is an incredibly
economic or investing history and how they important part of the entire
had not yet begun and even the process. The aggregates of the
great bull run of those years was
expanded the industry are the aggregates of the
in a nascent stage. The total reach of this country, of the Indian economy
AUM of India’s mutual funds at investment and of all the investors in the
the end of 2005 was `1.82 lakh country. All of us who are
crore. At that time, anyone who product passionately involved in any role
had said that in 2023, this in Indian mutual funds
number would be 23 times understand very clearly that all
higher would have been accused things considered, this is the best
of being absurdly optimistic. way to invest. Mutual funds give
And yet, here we are. the Indian saver the best options
The intervening years have to safely and profitably invest in
seen all kinds of times in the exactly the kind of asset that is
economy and in the markets, most suitable for their financial
from the very bad to the quite needs and goals. If, in 2040 or
good. There was even a three-year even earlier, there are 12 crore
period when the total AUM of investors holding `1,000 crore in
mutual funds actually declined. India’s mutual funds then that’s
Despite all that, these have been investor happy and pleased. a huge number of families who
sterling years, averaging a 20 z The regulatory framework, are making their money work
percent growth rate. which has ensured that investors hard in the best way possible.
mostly get a fair deal and do not
Who did this? have to worry about the basic Small t Big t Small
There are four members of the safety and security of their There’s a further reason that the
team who have combined to investments. expansion of the mutual fund
achieve this: z The entire marketing and sales footprint in India is so important.
z The Indian economy, because effort around funds because of Another question that is rarely
of which a lot of people have which the reach and asked is where does all this
more money to invest convenience of mutual funds has money go. The 43 lakh crore that
z The performance of Indian expanded dramatically. the industry has collected today
mutual funds which has always One strange thing that has is direct funding for Indian
been of the kind that has left been observed over the years is industry (the small part in
practically every long-term that while factors number one, international funds excepted).

8 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

Almost all of it is routed through
the secondary markets (debt or
equity) but money is fungible
With most funds allowing
and by adding to the pool of an SIP of as low as `500
capital available to Indian
a month, mutual funds
business, a large and tangible
contribution is made to the have shattered the myth
nation’s growth. This is specially of investing
so because this money tends to
be far more stable than what the
punters put directly into the larger corpus by setting aside a in direct control of the mutual
markets. petty amount every month. For fund industry. This creates a
This process has received a many, it has completely shattered different situation from the years
tremendous boost because of the the biggest hindrance and a myth past when there were many low-
success of mutual fund industry of investing—that one needs to hanging fruit at every point.
in growing SIPs. This is what have a huge sum of money for Now, the years of hard work are
converting small cash-flows to investing. Investors are getting beginning. Fortunately, there are
capital. With most funds allowing confident about investing now new tools available to the
an SIP of as low as `500 a month through SIP day-by-day. The industry to continue the growth.
(and in some cases with even monthly SIP contribution has Most importantly, there is a
`100), mutual funds have helped increased from `4,744 crore to compounding effect at work—not
numerous investors accumulate a `14,734 crore in the last five financially but psychologically
years. and in terms of advocacy of
Likewise, the reverse mutual funds. People who have
mechanism, Systematic Withdrawal had a good experience with
The monthly SIP funds put more and more of their
Plan (SWP) has enabled retirees to
contribution has generate a regular source of income own money into funds. On top of
increased from from an accumulated corpus. So it that, their success is
has solved the problem of both— contagious—it spreads to their
`4,744 crore investors who are in the families, friends and
to `14,734 crore accumulation phase and the one acquaintances. From there on,
in the last who are in the income generating the same cycle repeats itself with
phase. those individuals.
five years The result should be that the
A vision for the future rate of spread of mutual fund
As we said up front, a lot has investing should accelerate. We
been done already and a lot more say ‘should’, not ‘will’, because
will be done in the years to that’s the hard work that the
come. In a sense, of the four mutual fund industry will have
factors that we have identified to do—of converting the
up above, the first three are not interested into true believers.

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 9

SIDHARTH DAMANI | Head - Business Enablement & Marketing
Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC

‘AI, data analytics will offer

custom solutions to investors’
Online platforms will further empower investors, says Damani
How has online access to mutual mutual fund investments with
funds impacted the interaction other aspects of financial planning.
between investors and your With the way content is being
business? Looking ahead over the consumed now on online platforms,
next decade, how do you expect I expect a lot of investor education
this to evolve? initiatives to also feature on online
There has been a profound impact of platforms.
online access and delivery of mutual
funds on the interaction between the How have the above changes
investors and mutual funds. With impacted distributors of different
the evolution of online access, sizes and types?
investors are now able to buy and Online access has led to increased
sell mutual funds units at any time competition but at the same time
of the day. The accessibility and created many opportunities for
convenience for investors has traditional distributors to engage at
increased exponentially. In addition a deeper level with their clients.
to this, various online platforms are Some distributors have opened a
now providing tools and resources new revenue stream (fee-based
that allow investors to not only service) by using online
research mutual funds but also platforms to research
compare and manage portfolios at and recommend
the click of a button. This has schemes while
empowered the investor to make some have
more informed decisions. invested in
Going forward, I expect this technology to
trend to grow even further and offer online
scale new heights. With artificial
intelligence and data analytics, an
online platform will be able to
provide custom solutions to an
investor based on factors such as
goal, risk profile, etc. The advanced
algorithms can be expected to
become even more sophisticated
along with the changing dynamics
of the market. The expansion of
online platforms to avenues other
than mutual funds will align the

10 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

services to their customers.
Providing value added services
such as research, personalised
“Technology and investor education
service and financial planning has programmes will play an important role
become a differentiating factor in expanding the reach of mutual funds”
among the distributor community.

What role do you see the

emergent ‘fintech’ sector play? to the contribution of nearly How do you see the prospects of
The journey from India to Bharat `44,000 crore in the entire financial unified platforms like MF Utility
has been greatly influenced by the year of 2017. This clearly reflects and MFCentral?
emergence of “fintech” players. the rise in popularity of regular and Convenience, cost effectiveness,
They have made mutual funds disciplined investing, and I firmly transparency and investor
more accessible with online access believe – ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’! education are some of the
that provides the necessary fund advantages offered by unified
information, and past performance How has the B-30 campaign platforms. I expect these to
which enables an investor to take a fared? What more can be done to continue to grow along with
much more informed decision. One expand the geographical reach of the mutual fund industry with
of the things fintech players have mutual funds to smaller locations? the shift from physical to
been able to achieve is increase in Today, the active investors from T-30 financial assets.
market access. We are now seeing and B-30 cities are almost at par in
investors across India coming from terms of volumes while, in terms of Is the supposed passive fund
much smaller towns without any value, T-30 still is far ahead. revolution real? Hypothetically,
geographical limitations. Lastly, However, there is room for further how will funds be pitched if
customer service has evolved to a market penetration. the right comparative performance is not
great extent with options ranging regulatory incentives to encourage in the picture?
from online chat and email to market penetration into untapped The passive fund revolution is for
provide quick service to investors. markets has shown meaningful real with many new players
results. Technology and investor entering the asset management
Has the ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’ education/awareness programs are space with a clear objective of
campaign worked? What are the the two major pillars which will launching more passive/index
learnings from it? play an important role in expanding investment products. Passive
I believe the ‘Mutual Fund Sahi the geographical reach of mutual funds aim to replicate the
Hai’ campaign has been a funds to even smaller locations. A performance of a specific index
widespread success in increasing mutual fund along with the help of rather than active stock selection.
the awareness of mutual funds in AMFI can come together to create In a scenario where comparative
India with the entire industry various strategies such as curation of returns are not considered,
coming together and echoing the local language content, partner with factors such as liquidity, risk,
same message. The SIP contribution local authorities/government/NGO, expense ratio and transparency
since the start of the current creating local champions, SIP will play a key role in pitching
financial year stands at over campaigns, etc., to further penetrate the funds. I believe, index funds
`43,000 crore which is almost equal the market. could be a great conversation
starter for not only the first-time
investor but also someone who is
seasoned and well versed with
“This year’s SIP contribution stands at mutual fund investments.
Another way would be to
`43,000 crore so far. In contrast, the increase awareness about passive
entire 2017 saw SIP flow of `44,000 crore.” fund investing in other asset
classes such as debt and gold.

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 11

BONIFACE NORONHA | SVP & Head, Marketing & Digital
Axis AMC

‘Sheer population of Bharat

holds huge untapped potential’
At the same time, Noronha praises the ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’ drive
How has online access to transactions compared to
mutual funds impacted the websites and mobile apps. More
interaction between investors importantly, online access has
and your business? Looking also enabled the process between
ahead over the next decade, the distributors and customers to
how do you expect this to move from physical to phygital.
evolve?
We have seen significant growth How have the above changes
in the usage of digital platforms. impacted distributors of
Over the past three years, different sizes and types?
multiple new features have been Distributors, too, have embraced
introduced on digital platforms, digital for their business
leading to increased adoption. We transactions and customer
have seen the adoption of these engagement. They have
features driving traffic to our embraced social
platforms. platforms with large
The interaction investors have reach as well. They use
with our business is becoming their financial and
more and more virtual because of customer knowledge
the significant reduction in the to put out relevant
interaction time, from ‘days’ in content for all
‘physical’ mode to ‘minutes’ in market and life
‘digital’ mode, and the stage contexts.
convenience the platform brings They have
to them. adopted
This is reflected in the growing multiple SAAS
digital transaction/service platforms,
volumes and the increase in the which enable
percentage share for digital customer
platforms for sales and service engagement
asks. We believe we will see a and portfolio
significant uptick in the number management
of investors accessing digital on the fly.
platforms. For Axis
New conversational platforms Mutual Fund,
like WhatsApp and chat could the physical
also grow to occupy an equal forms are now in
percentage share of interactions/ the low single-digit

12 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

percentage. Overall, digitisation
has reduced the cost of
acquisition and transaction for “The Sahi Hai campaign showcases
distributors. Platforms like BSE the power of the ‘Collective’ and how the
etc., are at minimal or no cost for
the distributors. That has helped
mutual fund industry joined hands to
the industry and distributors build the category together”
handle increased volumes
efficiently. This is a constant,
irrespective of the size or type of are the learnings from it? the campaign message to the
distributors. The ‘Mutual Fund Sahi common man.
Hai’ campaign has been a huge Over the years, consistent
What role do you see the success in democratising the visibility for the campaign and
emergent ‘fintech’ sector play? mutual fund category for the simplicity of messaging has
The key role fintechs play is masses. It’s been a case study helped message recall and aided
defining customer experience. across the BFSI sector as a consideration for the campaign.
There are multiple fintech models campaign that aided exponential More importantly, it showcases
across B2B and B2C space. But category penetration, and the the power of the ‘Collective’ and
when we look at each player, we numbers speak for themselves. how the industry joined hands to
can distinctly imagine who will Within a year of the campaign, build the category together.
be the customer. five million new investors
For example, in one fintech, entered the category, whereas How has the B-30 campaign
customers are savvy investors within two years, the industry fared? What more can be done
who invested directly in stocks AAUM (Average Asset Under to expand the geographical
before mutual funds, whereas, in Management) had grown by 33 reach of mutual funds to smaller
another fintech, their customer per cent. locations?
base is more of a UPI-conversant It was a very well-thought-out B-30 is a hugely untapped market
first-time mutual fund buyer. In a campaign. Be it minimum for the BFSI sector in general.
third fintech, for instance, their investment amount, liquidity, The sheer population
customer might be a first-time lock-in period, or even staying of Bharat holds a huge untapped
exclusive mutual fund buyer. invested for long-term, each of potential. The best part about this
But they all have a the campaign’s messages directly potential is that the dreams and
very distinct tailor-made UX addressed myths around the aspirations of Bharat are at an all-
journey for their chosen category and educated the masses time high today, with social and
customers. Every quarter we have about the advantages of investing digital media opening their
a few new fintechs innovating for in mutual funds. Another thing worldview to the immense
newer use cases and distinctive that worked very well for the possibilities that are on offer.
customer segments. campaign was the smart use of As an industry with inherent
high-reach digital and mass benefits and safeguards to protect
Has the ‘Mutual Fund Sahi media properties like Cricket that the investors’ interests, mutual
Hai’ campaign worked? What ensured consistent exposure of funds are poised to leverage this
potential and help Bharat achieve
its dreams. The contribution of
B-30 to industry AAUM has
“The contribution of B-30 has increased increased significantly in the last
significantly in the last four years, and four years, and its growth rate is
much faster as compared to
its growth rate is much faster as T-30 assets.
compared to T-30 assets” This shows that the efforts are
in the right direction and are

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 13

paying off. Distribution is the
biggest challenge for B-30, and
while FMCGs have cracked the
“As future performance cannot be
distribution game, financial definitively determined, investors will
services, with its many checks
and balances, still need to
choose (mutual funds) based on their
overcome this. As an industry, we trust in the brand”
need to put in concerted efforts to
increase mutual fund distribution
across Bharat on both fronts, investing their hard-earned money Is the supposed passive fund
physical and digital. in it for the long term. revolution real? Hypothetically,
For extending the physical how will funds be pitched if
network, we could look at some How do you see the prospects of comparative performance is not
models that have worked in other unified platforms like MF Utility in the picture?
industries, like the BC (Business and MFCentral? Customer experience would be
Correspondents) network in the Each of these platforms has another key driver for investors
banking industry, and large evolved for different business when they are investing. As
national distributors for setting segments. BSE is one of the key future performance cannot be
up offices/branches in B-30 platforms for most brokers and is definitively determined, investors
locations, or even working at the the largest industry platform will choose based on their trust
district and taluka levels to driven by leading players. in the brand to do well and their
appoint micro mutual fund MFU and MFCentral are experience on the platforms.
distributors that can enable complete platforms in terms As a responsible mutual fund,
access to mutual funds at a of API availability and NFR we also believe in advocating best
grassroots level. capabilities. investing practices for our
Digital, on the other hand, can MFU has been a key enabler investors - which will be a big
provide scale quickly and provide for corporates, HNIs and theme in passive investing. For
instant access for distributors and distributors for a while now. example - financial discipline,
investors to enable or start their MFCentral is a new-age industry rather than comparative
investing journey online. However, portal, and its usage for the same performance, will help investors
for B-30, the approach to category should grow exponentially in understand how to get the best
education will have to be future. Integration with both results from an index investing
extremely simple, in native dialect Kfintech and CAMs RTA is a key point of view.
and reassuring for investors to differentiator for each of
start trusting the category and these platforms.

14 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

GAURAB PARIJA | Head – Sales and Marketing
Bandhan AMC

‘The size of passive funds has

grown 36 per cent in a year’
Parija explains how mutual funds have gained traction

How has online access paradigm shift in how we interact This investor behaviour was the
to mutual funds impacted with our investors now. We were opportunity we rode on to drive
the interaction between able to ride this wave of change engagement and mindshare among
investors and your business? with our differentiated digital investors, because mindshare drives
Looking ahead over the next communication capabilities. As wallet share and hence business.
decade, how do you expect digital adoption skyrocketed, we Over the next few years, the
this to evolve? realised investors were also winning entity would be one that
The pandemic accelerated consuming educational and creates personalised content for an
digitisation in the financial informational content more investor and ensures it is delivered
services industry, leading to a than ever. on their preferred channel.

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 15

How have the above changes
impacted distributors of “The ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’ campaign
different sizes and types?
Firstly, to be fair, many partners has advocated mutual funds as a
had already moved to digital beneficial investment product”
platforms prior to the lockdown.
However, the event accelerated
the change for those using seamlessly and efficiently audience. Explaining financial
hybrid models also to go digital. through this segment. The concepts in a language people
As of date, a lot of distributors fintech channel has witnessed understand was a big reason for
across segments, sizes, and significant growth in AUM the campaign’s success.
geographies we work with have across product categories in 3. Reaching masses. By utilising
gone entirely digital, thanks to FY23. In fact, the share of various media channels like
the ease of online transactions fintech/RIA has increased the television, print, and digital
and the multitude of platforms. gross sales of mutual funds by platforms, the campaign
While sales interactions and six per cent. successfully reached a wider
onboarding are being followed in audience across different age
a hybrid model, transactional Has the ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’ groups and socioeconomic
interactions have pretty much campaign worked? What are backgrounds. The campaign
moved digital. UPI, online the learnings from it? effectively leveraged social
banking, and payment gateways As mentioned above, the ‘Mutual media platforms to engage with
aided by WhatsApp have been Fund Sahi Hai’ campaign the younger audience and raise
the most significant enablers in achieved its objectives of awareness about mutual funds in
this case. increasing awareness about a digital-savvy generation.
mutual funds amongst the public. 4. Trust-building. The ‘Mutual
What role do you see the The ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’ Fund Sahi Hai’ campaign aimed
emergent ‘fintech’ sector play? campaign provided several key to build trust and credibility for
The Fintech sector’s involvement learnings for the mutual fund the mutual fund industry.
in mutual fund distribution has industry. 5. Positive branding. The
improved accessibility, efficiency 1. Simplicity in communica- campaign focused on positive
in the investment process, and tion. The campaign emphasised branding, associating mutual
user experience for investors. the importance of using simple funds with a reliable and
The sector and its solutions have language and relatable messaging beneficial financial product. This
brought many clients outside our to explain complex financial approach helped change the
current scope into the mutual concepts. This approach helped perception of mutual funds to that
fund ecosystem. in making mutual funds more of a viable investment option.
With the awareness of mutual relatable and understandable to a 6. Long-term approach.
funds growing multi-fold thanks broader audience. The campaign encouraged
mainly to the ‘Mutual Fund Sahi 2. Use of regional a long-term investment
Hai’, many clients who wanted languages. The extensive use of approach, emphasising the
to experience the benefits of the regional languages was key in potential benefits of staying
industry have been able to do it the campaign to reach a relevant invested in mutual funds for
extended periods to achieve
financial goals.
7. Fund for every need. The
“Most distributors have gone entirely campaign was able to
demonstrate the utility of
digital, thanks to online transactions multiple categories and
and multitude of platforms” investment solutions; this has
enabled investors to appreciate

16 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

that mutual funds are a lot more
than just equity investing
“The size of passive funds has grown
How has the B-30 campaign from `4.7 lakh crore in March 2022 to
fared? What more can be done `6.46 lakh in March 2023”
to expand the geographical
reach of mutual funds to
smaller locations? have the potential to contribute to become integral components of
We have come a long way in the growth of mutual funds in India’s mutual fund ecosystem.
taking mutual funds beyond the India significantly. From a
top 30 towns now christened distributor point of view, unified Is the supposed passive fund
B-30 towns (it all started with platforms help distributors focus revolution real? Hypothetically,
B-15 and then expanded). Given on sales and spend little time on how will funds be pitched if
the very low penetration, the the operational part. comparative performance is not
need was to incentivise the This convenience and in the picture?
promotion of mutual funds in accessibility can attract new Passive funds have grown
these towns. The campaign, investors and simplify the tremendously in the past few
coupled with other initiatives, investment process. The need for years. The AUM of passive funds
has expanded the penetration of multiple sites and the challenges has grown from `4.7 lakh crore in
mutual funds in these cities as of getting a holistic view has March 2022 to `6.46 lakh crore in
measured by the growth of AUM, been eliminated by consolidating March 2023. This is a 36 per cent
folios and SIPs. investments and giving one growth across both equity and
There is still a long way to go dashboard. The ability to transact fixed-income schemes.
in these towns as regards the across funds and buy multiple While one can ascribe this
consideration of mutual funds as funds via one payment growth to various reasons, one
the first investment choice. It is instruction clearly increases the needs to understand that,
also pertinent to remember that client experience and eventually, the choice of a fund is
changes in the behaviour of convenience. made on the basis of the overall
clients’ preference for mutual Some platforms have extended client experience over the years,
funds over other traditional forms the utility to make changes to with the route becoming
of investment will take time to their profile data across mutual secondary. Thus, if, in a
build, given the client profile in funds. This means a client has to particular category, passive funds
these markets. simply log onto their preferred continuously outperform active
platform and get a complete view. funds, it would be naïve to keep
How do you see the prospects of Also, it clearly helps in better and believing that active funds are
unified platforms like MF Utility more thought-through decision- better and vice versa.
and MFCentral? making. With an ever-increasing Given that the NAV of a fund
Unified platforms like Mutual number of clients and platforms captures all costs to a large
Fund Utilities (MFU), MFCentral, adopting digital means of extent, a measure of performance,
and stock exchange platforms transactions, these platforms can the risk is relatively simple.
Hence, in our opinion, the choice
of strategy boils down to the
customer’s actual experience
more than aspects of costs,
“Unified platforms like MF Utility transparency etc.
and MFCentral help distributors The active and passive funds,
both, have their own space and
focus on sales and spend less time basis for investors’ goals, risk
on operations” preferences, and expectations,
should the choice be made.

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 17

MAHMOOD BASHA | Head - Retail & International Business
Baroda BNP Paribas Asset Management India

‘KYC is the most difficult

challenge in smaller towns’
Basha offers an intriguing solution to this problem

How has online access to mutual conversion to service. It has believe that advice via personal
funds impacted the interaction assisted us in broadening our interaction and transaction/service
between investors and your reach, lowering acquisition costs, via digital mode is the way
business? Looking ahead over providing a better seamless forward for the industry.
the next decade, how do you transaction experience, and
expect this to evolve? engaging with investors more How have the above changes
Digitisation has changed the way effectively. Personal interaction is impacted distributors of different
businesses interact with investors, still the best way to offer good sizes and types?
from the initial conversation to the financial advice. Going forward, I Over the years, we have seen an

18 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

increase in the adoption of
technology by traditional
distributors of all sizes,
“Fintech platforms will increase
particularly post-COVID. Using penetration and compel all participants
technology tools, many large to improve customer experience”
distributors have built
capabilities to execute
transactions and service their
investors. Small- and medium- learnings from it? fungibility across regulators (RBI,
sized distributors have begun to Yes, it helped in reaching Bharat. SEBI, or IRDA) /universal KYC
use platforms built by exchanges Simple communication combined would help accelerate growth and
and industry participants. with advertisement in penetration. Furthermore,
mainstream media such as reasonable incentives for
What role do you see the television, newspapers, and distributors could go a long way.
emergent ‘fintech’ sector play? billboards has helped mutual
Fintech platforms will increase funds in general, and SIPs in How do you see the prospects of
penetration and compel all particular, transition from being a unified platforms like MF Utility
ecosystem participants to improve push to a pull product. and MFCentral?
customer experience through They provide significant
technology. They would use How has the B-30 campaign convenience and a seamless
advanced analytical tools to profile fared? What more can be done to transactional experience for all
their investor base and provide expand the geographical reach of participants in the ecosystem. They
more tailored solutions. mutual funds to smaller should be promoted more widely.
Handholding of such investors locations?
during market cycles/periods of The fact that B-30 locations are Is the supposed passive fund
underperformance is something to expanding faster attests to the revolution real? Hypothetically,
be aware of. success of the B-30 campaign. how will funds be pitched when
KYC is the most difficult comparative performance is not
Has the ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’ challenge in acquiring investors in the picture?
campaign worked? What are the in smaller markets. KYC Passive funds are expected to
continue to grow. However, they
are suited to a specific type of
investor, such as corporations,
“Passive funds are expected to grow. family offices, and HNIs. Given the
However, they are suited to a specific opportunities for active funds to
deliver alpha over time, active
type of investor, such as HNIs, family funds continue to provide value to
offices and corporations.” a large percentage of investors,
including retail investors in India.

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 19

GAURAV GOYAL | National Head, Sales and Marketing
Canara Robeco Asset Management

‘More distributors will come

to MFCentral, MF Utility’
Goyal feels they can grow their business five times, 10 times with tech
How has online access to more and more from the AMCs
mutual funds impacted the in terms of overall digital
interaction between investors experience.
and your business? Looking
ahead over the next decade, How have the above changes
how do you expect this to impacted distributors of
evolve? different sizes and types?
Online access and delivery of Distributors across categories
mutual funds have meant that, are witnessing a fast adoption of
as an AMC, we are always on technology, using digital tools to
our heels. The interactions are enhance overall customer
not only around awareness experience, and witnessing their
about mutual funds, businesses grow manifold. They
products and solutions are leveraging technology to
but also about the acquire and onboard new
overall user investors and to engage and
experience. service existing investors.
Because this Technology and digital solutions
space (AMC + have empowered distributors to
aggregators) is service investors across
so crowded, geographies, and now they are
giving an no more limited to a particular
elevated city. Distributors and partners
investor now understand the power of
experience technology and can now think
has become a of growing their businesses 5x
key to new client or 10x by leveraging technology.
acquisition as well as to the
retention of the existing What role do you see the
client base. Digital emergent ‘fintech’ sector play?
experience is now an Well, fintechs are already
integral part of the playing a significant role in the
overall customer industry. If you see the number
experience and user of new SIP addition, fintechs
experience. Going have a significant share of it.
forward, we believe With their technological
that the investors and expertise and nimble
partners will demand footedness, their business is

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expected to grow higher from
current levels. In short, the
industry potential is very vast, “The ‘Sahi Hai’ campaign has been
and it has room for all the players able to build a ‘dil ka rishta’
to grow.
(connection) with investors
Has the ‘Mutual Fund Sahi across segments and age group”
Hai’ campaign worked? What are
the learnings from it?
Without a doubt, the ‘Mutual Fund The B-30 campaign has worked MFCentral, and the Stock
Sahi Hai’ campaign has worked well in increasing the market Exchange platforms have become
exceedingly well for the industry. share of B-30 locations and in the mid- and back-office support
With its reach across the length expanding the investor base, to many distributors. It has taken
and breadth of the country, it has overall flows and AUM of the away a lot of operational burdens,
given a huge boost to the industry industry. With such an increase thereby allowing the distributors
and all its players in creating in the B-30 base, we believe it is to focus more on business
awareness about mutual funds. always good to take a small development activities. We
The key learning for us has pause, rewind and reflect upon believe more and more
been that if you simplify the what we have already done and distributors will start subscribing
communication, talk to investors then look to take new initiatives to the services of such platforms.
in their language (jargon free) and to expand the markets further. As
position your products as an industry, we can invest much Is the supposed passive fund
solutions, there are potential more in investor awareness revolution real? Hypothetically,
investors, people sitting on the campaigns to promote awareness how will funds be pitched if
fence, who can easily become about mutual funds and to comparative performance is not
mutual fund investors. It has expand the distribution footprint in the picture?
helped in gaining a lot of trust at these locations. We need to While passive funds have their
and confidence from investors appreciate that money and own benefits, we believe we are
and the community. Further, the investing are very emotional quite a distance away before they
campaign has been able to build topics for most investors, and we become a very common
a Dil ka Rishta with investors need to get everything right investment product.
across segments and age groups. before attempting to reach out to Considering the huge economic
any new category of investors. growth potential in the country,
How has the B-30 campaign we believe active funds have a
fared? What more can be done to How do you see the prospects of significant role in creating wealth
expand the geographical reach of unified platforms like MF Utility for investors, and they will
mutual funds to smaller and MFCentral? remain a core part of investors’
locations? Unified platforms like MF Utility, allocation.

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 21

ABHIK SANYAL | SVP & Head - Consumer Marketing
DSP Mutual Fund

‘Stock market doesn’t lose

money, people do’
The senior vice president and head of consumer marketing doesn’t
believe the role of distributor will diminish any time soon

How has online access to mutual while enhancing convenience. questions and increase
funds impacted the interaction More investors and mutual fund accountability. Of course, better
between investors and your distributors (MFDs) are now access to information has also
business? Looking ahead over researching, transacting, and increased their ability to make
the next decade, how do you managing portfolios better. more informed decisions. The
expect this to evolve? I think investors have gained other big change for us is
It has been a game changer for greater control and transparency. leveraging technology to
our business. The digital shift has The ability to directly connect personalise experiences. We can
democratised investing by with us, our fund managers and now craft more superior,
removing geographical barriers, in many cases, our top leadership customised interactive learning &
reducing information asymmetry has empowered them to ask investing experiences for different

22 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

cohorts of investors, which also helped create a pull factor for If 75-80 per cent of the mutual
helps us build better relationships mutual funds among traditional fund business today still comes
with them. savers and prospective investors, via distributors, I don’t expect this
Looking ahead, I see even faster while also giving them access to number to fall drastically even
growth of tech usage to enhance much more organised information over the next few years as with a
the industry. Artificial than earlier. This also means lot of information can also come a
intelligence, machine learning distributors are getting more clients lot of confusion, again increasing
and other newer technologies will today who expect transparency, the demand for expert advisors.
further add value to investors and insights, direction, accountability, Therefore, I would say the rise
mutual fund distributors while and value. This expectation will of ‘online’ largely has had and
evaluating funds, diagnosing have an impact across the will have a positive impact on the
portfolio health, or setting up distribution value chain. distributor community.
pathways towards investment Having said that, mutual fund
goals. Perhaps, blockchain tech dustributors play and will What role do you see the
might enhance transparency and continue to play a big role in emergent ‘fintech’ sector play?
security in fund transactions. keeping investors on the right The fintech sector is making the
However, as tech-first players track. While there is a spurt in investor as well as the distributor
emerge and start playing a bigger DIY online investors, inevitably in communities introspect and
role both on the manufacturer as times of market volatility, they reboot to a certain extent. It is
well as advisory sides, regulatory can get fearful, confused, and making a big difference to our
adaptations will be crucial to make mistakes. And it’s only at industry in the following ways:
ensure investor protection, fair such moments that one recognises z Going where the investor is.
competition while strengthening the need for expert guidance. The ease and convenience
the path to profitability. Sometimes, one can get caught provided by new age platforms is
Having said this, two things to up in the direct vs egular battle enabling a very large volume of
look out for. While technology but the fact is that the overall pie investors from across India who
streamlines processes, a balance is big, as India is still very under- have internet access, to enter the
must be maintained to address the penetrated as far as investment mutual fund world even with
needs of non-tech-savvy investors. instruments are concerned. As smaller sums of money - as
And the biggest 800-pound gorilla access continues to improve, more reflected by the inordinate growth
to address - investor behaviour. All inexperienced, small-ticket of the number of small-ticket
the technology in the world cannot investors will enter the mutual mutual fund investors over the
replace the need for investors to fund space and will need hand last few years.
exhibit the behaviours needed to holding, considering the variety z Streamlining the analysis &
earn better outcomes. After all, the and complexity of the products, investment process for investors,
stock market doesn’t lose money, no matter how much one attempts which is making mutual funds
people do. to simplify. Distributors much more accessible and
themselves are gaining a lot from transaction-efficient at scale.
How have the above changes technology and automation and z Helping investors gain far more
impacted distributors of different can scale up growth faster than data-driven insights and
sizes and types? earlier, if they’re able to leverage personalised recommendations
The improved online access has this space well. than earlier, therefore
significantly enhancing investor
engagement.
z Helping mutual fund distrib
“The emerging fintech sector is helping utors and advisors harness the
power of technology to provide
investors gain far more data-driven better information and insights
insights than before” that helps their clients take
better and timely decisions than

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 23

 for retirement, guarding against
the perils of unregulated new age
investments, the many evolving
legs of the campaign have helped
spread the right information,
bust many myths that investors
might have had and reinforced
the right behaviours needed to
earn better outcomes.
The ability for AMFI to work
with big guns like Sachin
Tendulkar, Mithali Raj, MS Dhoni,
Rohit Sharma to spread the
message has also gone a long way
in building awareness, familiarity,
and an element of trust for the
category.
And the data solidifies the
feeling. The Indian mutual fund
industry AUM has grown 2.5
times from `17.5 lakh crore to
about `44 lakh crore, while the
investor base has grown > 3 times
(1.2 crore to 3.8 crore people).
ever before. I’m part of AMFI’s financial And SIP contribution has also
Further, the increased emphasis literacy committee driving the grown 3.5 times (from monthly
on digital payments and secure campaign. But data suggests that `4,000 crore to `14,000 crore)
transactions aligns with the the campaign has played a role in since the campaign began.
mutual fund industry’s need for growing the industry. My key learning from the last
safety and seamlessness when it The sustained high decibel few years is that improving
comes to execution. As India campaigns over the last six years access, simplicity and
continues its digital that have reached all corners of effectiveness of communication
transformation, I believe the India through various channels, while maintaining relatability by
fintech sector will help amplify be it via television, out of home, understanding different consumer
investor participation, financial print, radio, on-ground psyches in different parts of India
inclusion, better decision-making, activations, events, digital and across market cycles, is the only
and overall industry growth. what not, have ensured that the way to enter the minds of
awareness for mutual funds is prospects and investors. Only if
Has the‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’ significantly higher than what it everything clicks, will there be
campaign worked? What are the was before 2017. Whether it was synergistic growth.
learnings from it? about SIPs, goal-based investing,
My answer might be biassed since preparing for volatility, planning How has the B-30 campaign
fared? What more can be done
to expand the geographical
reach of mutual funds to smaller
“The sustained high decibel locations?
To a large extent, it has done well.
campaigns over the last six years have As far as the reach of the industry
reached all corners of the country” messaging is concerned, it has
penetrated deep within the

24 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

Beyond-30 (B-30) markets in
addition to the top cities across
India to build recognition and
“As a majority of new mutual fund
familiarity for the category. To investors are young, distributors need
that end, the share of B-30 cities
to utilise unified platforms to provide
in terms of industry assets has
improved. value-added services”
However, it continues to
comprise a small portion of the
industry than the larger markets. quickly across AMCs helps in platforms are bright.
It is, therefore, clear that much making people feel more
needs to be done to improve the comfortable in taking their next Is the supposed passive fund
penetration of the industry in the steps. So, I see this as a positive revolution real? Hypothetically,
country, both in terms of move for the industry in terms of how will funds be pitched if
cornering a larger pie of significantly improving access comparative performance is not
household savings as well as and insights. in the picture?
better allocation of money On the other side, the We truly believe passive
towards investment instruments development of these platforms investments play a significant
from these cities. like MFU, BSE Star, etc., has role to help investors take
I think the industry is on the helped rationalise cost structures advantage of the markets in a
right path. Effective utilisation of for the distributor over the long cost effective and tax efficient
online channels, technology, run as expenses on physical manner. The fantastic ongoing
regional educational efforts that branches and relationship growth of investor assets in
cater effectively to local managers can substantially index funds & ETFs across the
sentiments and a clear focus on reduce. These platforms have industry only goes to show the
creating more expert mutual fund helped many distributors go hearty acceptance of passives as
distributors across the country ‘global’. a category.
will help in the growth of the A majority of new mutual fund However, this does not
industry in smaller locations, investors in India are very young necessarily mean the decline of
where conversations and human millennials. They are tech-savvy, actively managed funds. Alpha is
interactions still play a significant think mobile-first and are there to be earned in different
role in gaining trust and driving comfortable in undertaking sectors and in different stages of
the choice of savings or transactions on their own market cycles, if one is following
investment instruments. digitally or with some digital the right principles and not chasing
assistance. Therefore, it is critical outperformance at any cost.
How do you see the prospects of for all distributors to be able to I believe with increased
unified platforms like MF Utility utilise platforms that can aid in transparency about the benefits of
and MFCentral? efficient customer onboarding, passive investments, more focus
From an investor perspective, any information management and will be on metrics like tracking
unified platform or aggregator like streamlined execution, in error and consequently, expense
MF Central that can help in addition to value-added services. ratios which can act as the right
transactions and operations Hence, the prospects for these tie breakers, in a world where all
else is likely to be equal.
This also means all fund
houses as well as intermediaries
“The rise of index funds and ETFs will need to analyse and educate
investors about the long-term
doesn’t mean the end of actively- tracking error data to make
managed funds” rational investing decisions, and
not fall for gimmicky moves.

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 25

NIRANJAN AVASTHI | SVP and Head - Products, Marketing and Digital
Edelweiss Mutual Fund

‘A Maldives tour guide knew of

the Mutual Fund Sahi Hai drive’
Interaction with Edelweiss’s senior VP and head of products and marketing
How has online access to mutual
funds impacted the interaction
between investors and your
business? Looking ahead over
the next decade, how do you
expect this to evolve?
Reflecting back on my entry into
the mutual fund industry in 2008,
I vividly recall the time spent
waiting in queues to submit
applications before the 3:30 PM
cut-off time. There were instances
when the lines were so long that
we missed the NAV deadline,
requiring explanations to
investors. From there, we have
come to a point where
approximately 95 per cent of
applications are now processed
digitally. This transformation
undoubtedly holds numerous
positive implications for both
investors and the dynamics of
investor-business interactions.
This shift has introduced
heightened convenience,
personalised information
dissemination, and individualised
experiences, fostering enhanced
trust and affiliation with our
brand. Considering the trajectory
over the coming decade, we
anticipate that technological
advancements, evolving regulatory
frameworks, and shifts in investor continue to elevate the overall How have the above changes
preferences will collectively investor experience while impacted distributors of different
reshape the mutual fund introducing an expanded array of sizes and types?
landscape. These changes will investment opportunities. The digital transformations in the

26 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

mutual fund space have positively
influenced distributors of varying
sizes and types. They have swiftly
“Unified platforms hold the potential to
embraced the digitisation of enhance service capabilities, benefiting
mutual fund delivery, leveraging it both distributors and fund houses”
to their benefit by extending their
market presence without the need
for significant workforce
expansion. This advancement has successfully dispelled numerous How do you see the prospects of
notably enhanced their operational misconceptions surrounding unified platforms like MF Utility
capacity to conduct business mutual funds. One of the most and MFCentral?
beyond their home location. significant takeaways is the With the growing number of
necessity to simplify investors, efficiently catering to
What role do you see the communication methods to their needs becomes paramount.
emergent ‘fintech’ sector play? achieve a broader and more These unified platforms hold the
The advent of fintech is poised to profound effect, thus enabling potential to greatly enhance
contribute to the growth of the mutual funds to resonate with a service capabilities, benefiting
mutual fund market and drive larger audience. Another key both distributors and asset
increased market penetration. It insight is that when all industry management companies (AMCs)
holds the potential to play a stakeholders collaborate, the by boosting their efficiency.
multifaceted role in transforming resulting impact is amplified, and Leveraging these platforms more
the mutual fund industry, this collaborative approach could extensively than we currently do is
leveraging its innovation potentially be replicated in various imperative, as doing so will enable
capabilities to enhance distribution strategies in B-30. us to achieve greater scalability
accessibility and efficiency. This and efficiency in our operations.
could lead to a revolutionary shift How has the B-30 campaign
in how investors access, receive, fared? What more can be done Is the supposed passive fund
and engage with mutual funds. to expand the geographical revolution real? Hypothetically,
However, this transformation is reach of mutual funds to how will funds be pitched if
contingent upon fintech entities smaller locations? comparative performance is not
devising innovative solutions and The B-30 initiative addresses a in the picture?
seamlessly integrating mutual distinct segment of India, Passive funds are set to continue
funds with complementary characterised by a significant growing alongside active funds.
offerings, akin to the example set population with limited financial However, the notion that their
by Yuebao in China. knowledge. Given the substantial growth will come at the expense of
scale of this market, it’s expected active funds due to diminishing
Has the ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’ that any campaign would require alpha might not hold entirely true.
campaign worked? What are the considerable time to reach its Given that India is still an
learnings from it? maximum impact. To unlock the emerging market, numerous alpha-
As a testament to its widespread full potential of this market, generation opportunities are likely
impact, during my recent visit to expanding our distribution to persist. Both passive and active
the Maldives, a local tour guide network is crucial, potentially fund strategies can coexist
responded affirmatively when I necessitating a fourfold increase in harmoniously. Presently, a well-
mentioned working for an Indian the number of distributors rounded portfolio demands the
mutual fund company, saying compared to our current count. inclusion of both these strategies.
‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai.’ This This expansion would enable us The recent noteworthy
illustrates the extensive reach the to better connect with performance in the large-cap
campaign has achieved. underserved areas and enhance category, following an extended
Beyond just generating the accessibility of mutual funds interval, serves as a testament to
awareness, the campaign has to these smaller locations. the viability of this coexistence.

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 27

GEETANJALI SACHWANI | VP & Head of Marketing - India
Franklin Templeton Asset (India)

‘Millennials have invested

`96,000 crore in mutual funds’
Sachwani says 95% of first-time investors still seek a distributor’s help

How has online access to mutual Online access and delivery have retirement and other financial
funds impacted the interaction made it easier, personalised, goals.
between investors and your transparent, and cheaper for One of Franklin Templeton’s
business? Looking ahead over investors. This has led to a core values includes ‘Put Clients
the next decade, how do you significant increase in investors First’, as we always want the
expect this to evolve? using mutual funds to save for customer to have a choice in

28 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

every aspect of her investments.
Over the last 27 years in India,
we have made sure we build a “The youth are open to meeting brands
self-supporting eco-system that online, receptive to brands they can
gives the customer the freedom
to invest based on her risk
resonate with and engage on topics that
appetite, goals, and preferred matter to them”
channel.
Over the past decade, more
than a billion Indians have started their money journey by How have the above changes
linked their Aadhar to their bank investing their faith in us as impacted distributors of varied
accounts. A recent Wunderman their knowledge partner. sizes and types?
Thompson report, ‘The Future While India is known for its I am going to start by quoting
Shopper’, states that 58 per cent culture and traditions, the youth John Templeton – “Remember, no
of all consumer spending is now are open to meeting brands investment is forever.” Not even
online, and 71 per cent of the online, receptive to brands they in yourself. Change is the only
search process also happens can resonate with and engage constant, and who knows this
online. While this is for a variety with brands on topics that matter better than all of us in the mutual
of product categories, investing to them. fund industry?
in mutual funds requires an While we have experienced So many of our distributor
intense understanding of the the audience doing their partners have re-invented
markets, economy, relative fund homework online, the comfort of themselves, their business models
performance etc. seeking guidance from an and customer acquisition strategies
Our role here is to be the experienced distributor and the to adapt to the current times, new
customer’s knowledge partner at confidence of investing through normal, and new ways.
every stage of investment – them still stands strong. And I For example, we all know about
before, during and after the am not surprised by that. Zerodha’s Kite and Varsity,
decision-making. Our investor Platforms like Zerodha and Groww, Upstox, Small Case…
education initiatives are all Groww are able to do both by FinEdge, one of India’s leading
available online and, in fact, bringing technology and digital wealth management and
promoted so that customers can expertise together to give a goal-based companies, has been
make well-informed decisions. smooth experience. trying to fill the investment gap
The Franklin Templeton The role of a distributor/ with its DiA program (Dreams
Academy is open to those advisor is key in making the right into Action). DiA is an investing
interested in knowing more investment choice, and I do not platform based on the innovative
about mutual funds at basic and see that changing. We choose an concept of “co-browsing” for goal
advanced levels. And this effort expert in every aspect of our life planning and ongoing investment
has brought us closer to – and two areas one should not management. It keeps the
millennials and Generation Z, compromise are health and investment manager at the heart
who access our content online, wealth. In my view, I see this of the proposition. Instead of
learn about mutual funds in an only getting more intense in handing the steering wheel over
edutainment fashion and have India and Bharat. to the client, it enables
investment managers to deliver
live, collaborative, customised
experiences for every client at
“(Due to the rapid transformation), many every step of their investing
journey.
distributors have reinvented themselves We also have mutual fund
and their business models” distributors (MFDs) like Mahesh
Gattani from Pune. He has moved

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 29

completely digital since 2016,
including digital transactions and
e-KYC. We also have Vinita
“Between FY19-23, 1.57 crore new
Kejriwal from Kolkata and Shivraj investors invested in mutual funds, of
Singh from Varanasi, who are now
using social media to create
which over 84 lakh or 54 per cent
awareness and build their client were millennials”
base via social media.
This shows how distributors
are stepping out of their comfort lakh or 54 per cent were security. Also, since most of these
zone to be where the customer is. millennials. Millennial investors platforms are currently owned by
And that, to me, is more have contributed about `96,000 new start-ups, there is a high
important than just going online. crore to the mutual fund industry probability of some of them
AUM between FY19-23. And what closing or being taken over. Also,
What role do you see the is interesting to note is that some robo-advisory
emergent ‘fintech’ sector play? investing via advisors and recommendations may be based
The pandemic has made online distributors is preferred by 95 per on past performances rather than
investing popular among cent of millennial investors to supported by comprehensive
investors. Many investors have begin their mutual fund research. Once these concerns are
been actively managing their investment journey. addressed, I am confident this
investments through apps. The However, B-30 cities need distribution segment of mutual
emergent fintech sector is giving further initiatives to push the funds will play a vital role in the
investors a never-before adoption of digital modes. penetration of mutual funds in
wholesome experience. They Another reason some people India.
provide a comprehensive set of hesitate to invest via these
tools to invest with, regular platforms is financial data Has the ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’
management of money and the campaign worked? What are the
most important feature: being able learnings from it?
to track investments regularly and As part of the investor education
easily. committee, I may be giving a
Many services are offered, biased view on this, but I believe
including goal-based investment, that the industry has come a long
risk profiling, research reports, way from ‘Mutual Funds are
and automated investment subject to market risks’ to ‘Mutual
advisory, popularly known as Fund Sahi Hai’.
robo-advisors. This is what makes In the first three years of the
it the most attractive thing about campaign, the focus was to create
the platform. awareness, bust myths, and
I see this as a changing trend in re-assure against market volatility.
the industry, and, as new as this We have been building on this
may seem to the baby boomers message, introducing concepts like
and Gen X, it is the only way to goal-based investing, cautioning
reach out to millennials and Gen against unregulated, new-age
Zs. Participation of millennial investments, and targeting the
investors (those born between new, the old, women, millennials,
1981 – 1996) has been rising in and now Gen Z.
recent years in India’s mutual Besides the campaign, the
fund industry. Between FY19-23, experience will also be the final
1.57 crore new investors invested decisive test. Easing new
in mutual funds, of which over 84 investors into a long-term

30 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

 While it is currently being used
extensively for service-related
“Almost 20 per cent of the mutual fund transactions, I am bullish on it
industry’s assets have come from B-30 being popularly used for even
locations in 2023” financial transactions. Revenue
reconciliation for distributors and
NFO (new fund offer) portfolio
investment behaviour pattern is z We need to ease out the analyser for investors are
yet to be seen. Also, wider and investing process in mutual attractive features that are being
deeper geographical penetration funds. Doing e-KYC, linking built into the platforms. It will
requires a unified industry-wide Aadhar and PAN, registering for make it attractive for all
intention on service and risk SIP, etc., are processes that people stakeholders in the industry.
standards. They should be made in the metros also struggle with. Furthermore, AMCs will need
aware of risks too, not via ads but z We need more fintech start-ups to re-think their mobile app
surely a medium that is as like ZFunds. They are bringing download targets.
widespread and impactful. mutual funds to small towns and
z Industry AUM growth since the Bharat. They have a network of Is the passive fund revolution
campaign’s launch – From `17.5 3,200 sub-brokers and are targeting real? Hypothetically, how will
lakh crore in 2017 to `44 lakh the bottom 500 districts of India. funds be pitched if comparative
crore in 2023. They believe that people in smaller performance is not in the
z Number of new investors who districts have the appetite for risk picture?
have entered the industry – From and want to invest in mutual funds, There is space for both active and
1.2 crore in 2017 to 3.8 crore in but the issue is accessibility. The passive (funds). There are also
2023. DIY online process does not work innovations in passive with smart
z Number of women investors there. Instead, you need a human beta strategies. Institutional
who have entered the industry - interface. (Due to such constraints), investors prefer passives since
From 46.5 lakh in 2019 to 74.5 the distributors are taking the they are low-cost and have no
lakh in 2023. product to their doorstep. fund manager risk.
z Monthly SIP contribution has z We need to spread investor In the US, passive funds are
increased from around `4,000 awareness through regional large. The total net assets of these
crore a month to `14,000 crore languages and simplify the ETFs are $6.5 trillion and
a month. concepts for Bharat. accounted for 22 per cent of
assets managed by investment
How has the B-30 campaign How do you see the prospects of companies by the end of 2022.
fared? What more can be done unified platforms like MF Utility However, in India, there is still
to expand the geographical and MFCentral? a case for active funds since there
reach of mutual funds to smaller There is no doubt that platforms are market inefficiencies, more so
locations? like MF Utility and MFCentral are in the mid- and small-cap space.
Almost 20 per cent of the mutual improving investor services. It has Similarly, passive funds will
fund industry’s assets came from the potential of doing what UPI need to be pitched by highlighting
B-30 locations in 2023. Of the did to the payments domain, and their expenses (advantage),
1.22 lakh mutual fund Google did to Internet Search. tracking errors, etc.
distributors, more than 60,000 are
from B-30 cities. This is clearly a
reflection of progress.
That said, more can be done. “The number of female mutual fund
The industry needs to come
together to expand its
investors has grown from 46.5 lakh in
geographical reach to smaller 2019 to 74.5 lakh in 2023”
locations.

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 31

KAILASH KULKARNI | Chief Executive Officer
HSBC Asset Management India

‘Pandemic fuelled digitisation

in the mutual fund industry’
HSBC’s CEO also speaks about the elixir effects of the ‘Sahi Hai’ drive
How has online access to mutual funds impacted the
interaction between investors and your business?
Looking ahead over the next decade, how do you
expect this to evolve?
The online access and use of technology intelligently
across all its processes have impacted our business
positively. The pandemic acted as a driver for
innovation and digitisation in the mutual fund
businesses. Investors now get better and quicker access to
information, convenient investing options and an
alternative to invest directly. These advantages help them
save time and various costs related to investments,
switching, and withdrawing funds. The retail
investors remain the most benefited lot.
With online processes, they can also track
their investments in real-time and get a
consolidated view of their investments across
mutual fund companies. Investors can open
their accounts and transact right from their
phones in a matter of a few minutes
seamlessly. This enables them to execute
their investment decisions at their
convenience with just a few clicks. For
example, a person living in tier 1 cities like
Mumbai or Bangalore is almost at par with a
person sitting in Agra or Patna with respect
to ease of implementation.
Going forward, I believe digital
transactions through the stock exchanges
or other online platforms will be
instrumental in making mutual funds a
preferred investment option for crores of
Indian investors.

How have the above changes impacted

distributors of different sizes and types?
Online access and technological
advancement have also impacted

32 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

distributors significantly. With the
help of online access and
digitisation, the entire investment “Passive funds are very good products
process has become entirely for first-time investors. We have noticed
paperless, from the investor KYC,
clients’ investments, checking
that investors who do not want to take
their portfolio, and comparing extra risks are moving to passive funds.”
performance, to withdrawals.
Democratisation is the second
significant impact of these changes. market in the last five years. B-30 investors, more seminars and
Thanks to BSE, NSE and MFU, Learnings from the campaign programs need to be conducted.
even the smallest distributor can z There’s a plethora of products. Besides that, collaboration with
now provide similar services and Hence constant messaging is local banks and financial
the same level of online investment the key. institutions is also required to
facility as the bigger ones. z Vernacular is the other key aspect expand the investor base.
to keep in mind when you are
Has the ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’ addressing a pan-India audience. How do you see the prospects of
campaign worked? What are the Using easy-to-understand language unified platforms like MF Utility
learnings from it? for the common investor is critical. and MFCentral?
The ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’ I think platforms like MF Utilities
campaign has helped the industry How has the B-30 campaign fared? and MFCentral are helping investors
in a big way to create awareness What more can be done to expand conduct smooth and efficient
and demand across India. the geographical reach of mutual transactions. These platforms help in
z The campaign promoted mutual funds to smaller locations? easier and more seamless
funds, educated investors, and Yes, B-30 has worked. It has led to transactions. The MF Utilities is an
dispelled the myths about more participation from investors industry initiative run by AMFI with
investing in mutual funds. in cities beyond T-30. The funding from all the AMCs, while
z It also helped mutual fund regulator’s focus on imparting MFCentral is a centralised platform
distributors to reach out to financial education to investment formed after SEBI came out with a
the masses. awareness programmes has also circular for establishing a centralised
z New investors have started contributed significantly. platform for investors by RTAs.
investing in the industry, and it has Many years ago, the regulators
become one of the most preferred changed the paradigm from B-15 to Is the supposed passive fund
investment options today. B-30, which helped growth beyond revolution real? Hypothetically,
However, there is still potential, the B-30 cities. Similarly, the time how will funds be pitched if
as a large segment of investors has come for the regulator to be comparative performance is not
continue to remain deprived of the sensitive to new industry customers, in the picture?
benefits of the category. Apart irrespective of the location they are Passive funds are gaining
from increasing awareness, the coming from, so that the industry significance with investors. They are
campaign has also led many new can get a big boost. very good products for first-time
industry (unique) investors to the To bring more awareness among investors. We have noticed that
investors who do not want to take
extra risks or are happy with index-
based returns are moving to passive
“Thanks to BSE, NSE and MFU, even funds. Also, the low fee structure,
the smallest distributor can now compared to active funds, is one of
the striking features. We can also
provide the same level of online notice significant growth led by
investment facility as the bigger ones” government initiatives driving the
EPFO money to the passive category.

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 33

ABHIJIT SHAH | Head - Marketing, Digital and Customer Experience
ICICI Prudential AMC

‘Fintechs are driving

mass financial inclusion’
Shah also lauds the pace at which distributors have embraced technology

How has online access to mutual seen a few trends emerge. Firstly, become frictionless to a large
funds impacted the interaction information about various mutual extent, thereby increasing
between investors and your funds, including category, customer convenience.
business? Looking ahead over performance, risk, etc., is easily These trends have helped
the next decade, how do you accessible and discoverable. create more transparency and,
expect this to evolve? Secondly, the path to purchase thus, build the customer’s trust
With the advent of digitisation, these funds, including regulatory in the entire ecosystem. We can
especially post-COVID, we have requirements such as KYC, has see how digitisation is helping

34 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

businesses grow penetration and
increase customer entry into the “A big learning (from the ‘Sahi Hai’
industry.
campaign) is that contextual messaging
How have the above changes and large-scale reach are extremely
impacted distributors of different
sizes and types?
important to drive awareness”
Today’s customer is quite well-
informed, but they are also aware
of the importance of a professional learnings from it? How do you see the prospects of
expert. With a plethora of options The ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’ unified platforms like MF Utility
available, the distributor’s role is campaign has benefited the entire and MFCentral?
even more prominent today in industry. It has created awareness It is a very interesting time for our
order to create customised about mutual funds and promotes industry as more and more savers
solutions for the customer. Our financial literacy amongst the and depositors are becoming
distributors have been quite agile general public. A big learning is investors. Every tech-enabled
in adopting digital technologies, that contextual messaging and platform plays a very important
allowing them to provide large-scale reach are extremely role in this journey by digitising
personalised financial planning, important to drive awareness processes and providing a
remote services, and enhanced among the public. seamless and frictionless
client engagement. onboarding and ongoing customer
How has the B-30 campaign experience. The prospects for
What role do you see the fared? What more can be done to unified platforms that provide
emergent ‘fintech’ sector play? expand the geographical reach of customer delight are limitless.
Simply said, the entire fintech mutual funds to smaller
sector and all our digital partners locations? Is the supposed passive fund
are helping tremendously in The B-30 campaign has fared quite revolution real? Hypothetically,
driving mass financial inclusion. well, with significant participation how will funds be pitched if
Not only in the urban cities but from these cities. The growth for comparative performance is not
also within tier 2 and 3 cities, B-30 cities is also quite fast in the picture?
customers rely on the ease of compared to the rest. The aim The growth of the passive fund
onboarding, transacting, and should be to drive even greater industry is quite real, although
enhanced user experience. awareness at an industry level as it’s still in nascent stages and,
well as remove any barriers to therefore, on a small base. How it
Has the ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’ consideration that customers will pan out in the coming years
campaign worked? What are the might have. remains to be seen. For a
customer evaluating a diversified
portfolio, active and passive funds
both hold importance. A number
“Not only in the urban cities but also in of factors, such as investment
philosophy, strategy and risk
tier-2 and tier-3 cities, customers rely on
management, need to be taken
the ease of onboarding, transacting, into account while designing a
and enhanced user experience” diversified portfolio.

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 35

HARESH L. SADANI | Director, Head – Marketing & Products
Invesco Mutual Fund

‘Over 95 per cent of our

transactions are digital’
Sadani feels AI and blockchain can be a gamechanger for the industry

How has online access to mutual investors has been ‘convenience.’ tiny fraction (less than 1 per cent)
funds impacted the interaction Our digital journey began in of our transactions were conducted
between investors and your 2008 when we launched our digitally. Since then, our country
business? Looking ahead over mutual fund business, and we has made remarkable progress in
the next decade, how do you were among the first Asset adopting internet connectivity and
expect this to evolve? Management Companies (AMCs) embracing innovation and
In simple terms, the most to use a digital transaction technology in various sectors. The
significant influence of online platform to onboard new investors. asset management industry has
access on our business is the Back then, buying mutual funds also witnessed a transformation,
‘customer experience,’ while the online was uncommon due to low with an increasing number of
greatest benefit for mutual fund internet penetration, and only a investor interactions taking place

36 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

through digital channels over the
past decade.
Today, as we speak, more than “Digital tools have transcended
95 per cent of our transactions are geographical boundaries, enabling
digital, allowing us to engage with
investors in real time. This has led
distributors to expand their reach and
to faster and more efficient access a broader customer base”
processes, reduced paperwork, and
quicker turnaround times,
revolutionizing how investors asset managers, with the primary significantly influence the future of
interact with our business. It has goal of better-serving investors. the mutual fund industry.
brought greater accessibility, Distributors, irrespective of their India’s growing affluence
transparency, convenience, and size, are increasingly adopting presents itself as an opportunity for
customization to the investor digital tools to meet the banks, mutual funds, payment
experience. Looking ahead to the expectations of their clients, who aggregators, digital onboarding
next decade, we see immense now demand a seamless user infrastructure companies etc., to
potential for further development experience and real-time access to invest in innovative solutions with
and innovation. their investment information. a primary focus on serving
Businesses will leverage In the present scenario, digital customers more efficiently and
artificial intelligence and data tools have transcended traditional increasing reach.
analytics to offer hyper- geographical boundaries, enabling The ultimate goal is to enhance
personalization by gaining a deep distributors to expand their reach accessibility, streamline operations,
understanding of their customers and access a broader customer base, reduce costs, and elevate the
beyond standard data. This will including those in remote areas. As overall experience for end
enable us to deliver investment a result, this expansion opens up customers. Embracing emerging
solutions more effectively and potential growth opportunities for technologies, like artificial
provide superior customer mutual fund distributors. intelligence and blockchain, will
experiences. Robo-advisors and At Invesco, we have taken the lead to transformative changes in
AI-powered investment tools will initiative to launch the Invesco mutual fund operations, disrupting
likely gain popularity, providing Partner mobile app, designed for all traditional processes.
automated and data-based our distribution partners. This This continuous pursuit of
investment advice. innovative app has empowered them innovation will reshape the
to efficiently cater to more clients, landscape of the mutual fund
How have the above changes manage larger portfolios, and provide industry, ensuring that it remains
impacted distributors of different valuable educational resources and adaptable and responsive to the
sizes and types? investment-related content. evolving needs of investors and
Digital advancements have the market.
significantly improved the What role do you see the
experience and convenience for all emergent ‘fintech’ sector play? Has the ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’
stakeholders involved in the chain, Ongoing advancements in campaign worked? What are the
whether they are distributors or financial technology will learnings from it?
Within the realm of financial
services, the ‘Mutual Fund Sahi
Hai’ campaign stands out as a
“India’s growing affluence presents remarkable success story that has
itself as an opportunity for mutual fund significantly bolstered the entire
category. This campaign has
houses to invest in innovative solutions successfully generated significant
and increase reach” awareness for the mutual fund
industry, as proven by the

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 37

remarkable growth in assets under though the average ticket size is personal comfort, convenience, and
management (AuM) and the relatively small. the overall investing experience
number of investors over the years. There exists a significant offered by the platform.
Moreover, it has played a crucial potential for expansion in small
role in enhancing the general towns, where there is a greater Is the supposed passive fund
public’s understanding of mutual need for the financialization of revolution real? Hypothetically,
funds and expanding their adoption savings. Families in these markets how will funds be pitched if
across various regions, segments, tend to allocate a higher percentage comparative performance is not in
and languages. The responsibility of their wealth towards gold and the picture?
now lies with individual asset real estate, which need to be Passive investments are likely to
management Companies (AMCs) to tapped. By continuously bolstering perform favourably in categories
capitalize on this increased distribution capabilities and where outperforming the
awareness and interest and attract enhancing financial education, the benchmark is increasingly
customers towards their respective campaign can further extend its challenging. However, it’s
products and investment capability. reach and effectively serve these important to note that India is a
smaller locations. growth market. If we anticipate
How has the B-30 campaign GDP growth of 6.5 per cent to
fared? What more can be done to How do you see the prospects of eight per cent over the next
expand the geographical reach of unified platforms like MF Utility decade, there will be ample alpha
mutual funds to smaller locations? and MFCentral? opportunities, making active funds
The B-30 campaign has achieved All these platforms are poised to more attractive.
remarkable success. When we thrive and experience growth. Within the realm of passive
analyze the numbers, it is evident Mutual fund penetration in our investments, asset managers will
that folios for the industry have country remains relatively low, differentiate their offerings based
doubled in the last four years since leaving a vast untapped potential. on costs. However, the brand
June 2019. Currently, around 44 per In terms of platforms, each of them reputation and investment
cent of the total industry folios, has its distinct advantages, and the experience will continue to play
amounting to nearly 6.5 crore user will ultimately make their a vital role in influencing
folios, belong to B-30 markets decision based on factors such as investors’ choices.

Is there anything important that

we may have missed?
Equity markets have done very
well, and over the years, a lot of
“If we
young people have been attracted
anticipate GDP to the equity markets to make a
growth of 6.5 quick buck. It is crucial for young
people to be well-informed and
to 8 per cent educated about the fundamentals
over the next of investing before diving into the
decade, there equity markets.
Young investors must approach
will be alpha investing with caution, discipline,
opportunities and a long-term perspective.
Encouraging responsible investing
for active practices and educating them about
funds” the potential risks and rewards can
help them make informed decisions
and build a solid foundation for
their financial future.
KINJAL SHAH | EVP & Head - Digital Business, Marketing and Analytics
Kotak Mahindra Asset Management

‘MFCentral is the most

impressive of online platforms’
Shah says though passive funds are growing, there’s a long road ahead

How has online access to mutual online investment landscape has effortless as ordering food online.
funds impacted the interaction significantly transformed in the Looking ahead to the next
between investors and your past five years. This can be decade, this sector is poised for
business? Looking ahead over attributed to the growing even more advancements. There
the next decade, how do you awareness of mutual funds is ample room for expanding
expect this to evolve? through the ‘Mutual Funds Sahi advisory services, as many
For quite some time now, online Hai’ industry campaign and the investors still base their decisions
access has been available through overall increase in digital on past returns, often leading to
the AMC website, and a few adoption across various sectors. unfavourable outcomes. This
distributors also have websites Further, the emergence of a few negative experience could be
that allow customers to buy and DIY platforms has streamlined the averted with the guidance of a
redeem investments. However, the investment process, making it as skilled advisor. As a result, the

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 39

digital advisory field is expected
to flourish in the coming years.
“Investors are increasingly inclined
How have the above changes to allocate their savings towards
impacted distributors of different mutual funds”
sizes and types?
The evolution of digital
technology hasn’t caused direct intricate financial concepts, impressively, showcasing the
and significant disruption for the enabling investors to make well- immense potential for substantial
distributors, but it has integrated informed choices easily. growth. Its lack of constraints tied
into their daily operations. As a result of these efforts, the to a singular RTA sets it apart. Due
Nowadays, distributors are mutual fund industry has to the availability of their open
anticipated to digitally deliver experienced substantial growth in APIs, the Stock Exchange platform
services to their investors, recent years, with investors enables corporations to utilize and
encompassing portfolio becoming more knowledgeable construct their individual
assessments, account statements, about mutual funds and platforms, further contributing to
and executing transactions. Those increasingly inclined to allocate the platform’s scalability.
who have embraced these changes their savings towards this
have experienced a seamless financial instrument. Is the supposed passive fund
transition. However, a few are still revolution real? Hypothetically,
in the process of adapting. How has the B-30 campaign how will funds be pitched if
Everyone should adjust sooner fared? What more can be done comparative performance is not
rather than later, considering that to expand the geographical in the picture?
the next generation of investors reach of mutual funds to If we look at AUM growth in
will undoubtedly seek smaller locations? passive funds, the revolution
comprehensive digital services for Overall B-30 campaign helped in looks real. However, there is still
managing their portfolios. going beyond the traditional much ground to cover as
markets where all AMCs have a corporates currently dominate
What role do you see the significant presence. It also helps the passive category.
emergent ‘fintech’ sector play? bring in extra focus required in In a country like India, where
Fintech companies of the modern B-30 cities, get people from these our corporates are still growing
era arrive with a wealth of potential cities covered under the mainline, at a good pace and have strong
due to their technology-driven and give them exposure to the potential, it gives ample
approach. Consequently, they drive concepts of mutual funds. opportunities for fund managers
the entire ecosystem towards Still, there is enough room to to generate alpha over the
enhancing service delivery, cover the B-30 locations, and benchmark. Hence, the story of
ultimately benefiting investors. regulators are also taking active funds will continue.
necessary steps to create adequate But when it comes to pitching
Has the ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’ push in these cities. But rightly passive funds where the room
campaign worked? What are the said and thought through, there is for comparison is going to be
learnings from it? a need for the right impetus for very limited, investors will seek
Indeed, the campaign has proven new investors across the board, insights which are more
effective, achieving the desired more than only the B-30 push. advisory in terms of when and
outcome of enhancing mutual where to invest, AMC,
fund recognition among general How do you see the prospects of distributors or advisors, who
investors and establishing them as unified platforms like MF Utility will be able to give timely and
a widely recognized investment and MFCentral? right unbiased advice, will keep
option. Additionally, it has played Of all the different platforms, winning over others.
a crucial role in simplifying MFCentral stands out

40 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

SHRINIVAS KHANOLKAR | Head - Marketing, Strategy and Communication
Mirae Asset Investment Managers (India)

‘Covid pushed everyone to

become digital-first’
Khanolkar speaks
glowingly of fintech
companies, saying
they will appeal to the
lowest possible
investment ticket

How has online access to forever for the pandemic and UPIs came to life, which
mutual funds impacted the ushering in a new wave of revolutionised payments, the
interaction between investors investors in the mutual fund interest rate was brought down,
and your business? Looking industry. However, 2016 must be which increased spending, and
ahead over the next decade, remembered as a game-changing demonetisation led to the
how do you expect this to year because Jio brought the financialisation of savings. Covid-
evolve? telecom revolution. This ushered 19 was only a catalyst. It pushed
2020-21 will be remembered data streaming across markets. everyone to become digital-first,

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 41

and adopting mutual funds
through apps and marketplaces “Per a survey, over 50 per cent of
was a natural progression.
As per a recent survey, more than investors who have come in the last
50 per cent of the new investors who four years were born between 1991 and
have come in the last four years
were born between 1991-1996, and
1996, and they were just born when
they were just born when private private mutual funds started in India.”
mutual funds started in India.
Speaking to them has been the
biggest challenge for most marketers. platforms that help them do an While there have been celebrity
A healthy mix of anecdotes from ideal persona match, and either campaigns earlier, very few have
their spoken language and product party can approach the other. had an impact like this. The only
features infused in a story is an As we look to tech other campaigns which come to
approach they appreciate and advancements, distributors in all my mind are the Polio eradication
celebrate for a short duration before forms will survive and thrive as drive and eye donation drive,
moving on to the next story. This tech continues to play an enabler. where the message was larger
keeps us on our toes. The real question is, in what than the celebrity, and the
Looking ahead, advancements shape and form this evolution celebrity was merely a medium.
in financial technology (fintech) will play its part? Something similar was
will further enhance the online achieved here when some of the
investment experience. This may What role do you see the biggest sports personalities spoke
include improvements in user emergent ‘fintech’ sector play? about investment behaviours. A
interfaces, better data analytics, Fintechs will continue to remain a sportsman’s professional career
and enhanced security features. central character for the investor lasts 15-20 years, and who better
Voice will supersede text pool expansion; they will employ than them to address investing?
searches, and AI assistance will and deploy technology to appeal This struck a chord among
be used increasingly in handling to the lowest possible investment investors. Mutual funds seemed elite
them. Investors will demand ticket and make it affordable to till then; the campaign took it to the
bespoke services from AMCs. So, service, whereas people-led masses. An industry campaign truly
the real challenge will be to distribution models will fail on to benefit the industry!
balance innovation, consumer cost feasibility. Most AMCs today
needs and regulations. employ some or other fintech play How has the B-30 campaign
to compete. Fintechs operate from fared? What more can be done
How have the above changes a marketplace sensibility and to expand the geographical
impacted distributors of different have user-level data across reach of mutual funds to smaller
sizes and types? financial instruments. Hence, locations?
Pizza generally offers eight inches they are quicker to adapt to People-led distribution models
and 12 inches base options. changing preferences. come with costs, and
Opting for 12 inches means more incentivising them to go to
base size, ingredients, and people Has the ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’ smaller towns and cities should
sharing them. campaign worked? What are the also be remunerative. The intent
Similarly, the entire mutual learnings from it? of the B-30 commissions is noble,
fund ecosystem has been Every other week, a standup and it’s a matter of time before the
impacted positively. The AUM comedian or a social media list will be expanded to cover
base has widened, so has the influencer rakes up a ‘Sahi Hai’ more cities which have shown an
investor pool. A few years back, joke in their act or reel. This is increase in AUM.
distributors were restricted to just one testament to how AMFI, through its investor
managing investors within their significantly the campaign has education initiatives, and its use of
area or city. Today, there are impacted the investor community. media to spread awareness, is

42 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

already going deeper into the
investor base. AMCs have also
adopted some districts under
“In the new age world of technology,
financial inclusion. Programmes shrinking trade settlement times and
are done on an almost daily basis nanosecond speed page delays, the
outside the top 30 cities. However,
despite the industry’s best efforts,
role of marketing has become 25 by 8
investors will come forward only instead of 24 by 7”
when their finances demand
inflation-adjusted returns.
If one walks across a random they graduate from benchmark
How do you see the prospects of person on the street and enquires performance to benchmark
unified platforms like MF Utility about what they know about beating performance, the role of
and MFCentral? capital markets (stock markets in active funds will set in.
Airline tickets can be bought from particular), nine out of ten would So, both active and passive
airline offices, websites, say Sensex or Nifty, and it has a funds will coexist.
marketplace, travel agencies, daily price. ETFs, on the other hand, have
banks, etc. All these places are in Products catering to the most a completely different set of rules,
business, but the nature of common indicator, such as term and serious players understand
business would differ. Personal deposits, will always be well their mechanics. The funds will
travel buys from travel websites received and invested first. Similarly, be differentiated based on
or credit card portals, while passive funds will grow but not at expense ratios, tracking errors,
corporates prefer a travel agency the expense of active funds. tracking differences, track
or the airline directly. Passive funds will play a role records, and, most importantly,
Similarly, in the case of MFU, similar to fintech, attracting liquidity. Fund houses will have
MFCentral or stock exchanges, investors to the industry. But, as to be innovative and creative,
investors are adopting the former, both in product design and
and distributors are adopting the product marketing.
latter or a mix of them. The only
difference is one product sale vs Is there anything else important
diverse options. we may have missed?
For instance, some of these are In the new age world of tech &
industry initiatives to provide innovation, shrinking trade
investors with marketplace settlement times, and nanosecond
opportunities. From an investor’s speed page delays, the role of
point of view, investing in mutual marketing has become 25/8
funds is similar to buying a instead of 24/7.
ticket. It has to be honoured This is that one extra
by the AMC. However, the hour the business needs,
ultimate onus is on the which is unavailable, and
mutual funds to ensure the the one extra day to
investor experience. ideate, which doesn’t
exist. In such an
Is the supposed passive environment, teams
fund revolution real? must think about the
Hypothetically, how will future business
funds be pitched if evolution, plan for
comparative such a day and
performance is not in execute yesterday.
the picture?
RAJKUMAR DHIMAN | Executive Group Vice President, Head of Marketing & Digital Business
Motilal Oswal Asset Management

‘B-30 cities contribute 17 per

cent of industry’s total assets’
Dhiman also gives some fascinating insights into passive funds

How has online access to mutual have truly democratised access to With the digitisation of
funds impacted the interaction mutual funds and their delivery to processes, the industry facilitates
between investors and your investors. Online as a medium has more than 90 per cent of customer
business? Looking ahead over made investing significantly more transactions in paperless mode.
the next decade, how do you convenient and accessible, Over the last few years, we have
expect this to evolve? allowing investors to explore and observed significant growth in
The reach and presence of digital manage investments conveniently. customers visiting the AMC

44 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

website after conducting their
primary research on portals that
provide convenient and unbiased “Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni added
information on mutual funds. immense reach and trust to the ‘Mutual
The digital medium has also
accelerated the participation of
Fund Sahi Hai’ campaign”
self-driven customers. Over the
next decade, this trend will likely
continue evolving, and we can Fintech has played a crucial and mutual funds.
expect further technology transformative role within the
integration, leading to mutual fund industry. They have Has the ‘Mutual Fund Sahi
personalisation based on enriched successfully channelled a large Hai’ campaign worked? What are
data analytics and AI algorithms. pool of first-time customers to the learnings from it?
As the population becomes more mutual funds by focusing on It has been six years since the
digitally literate and informed on simplicity and investment launch of the ‘Mutual Funds Sahi
mutual funds, the industry will experience using digital media. Hai’ campaign in March 2017.
observe much broader They have also demonstrated that Consider how Indian investors
participation in the near future. a very large set of customers can have always invested in physical
be efficiently serviced using an assets (gold and real estate) and
How have the above changes integrated digital ecosystem. traditional avenues (viz. Bank FDs,
impacted distributors of different Fintech has not been limited to PPF, and other small saving
sizes and types? the B2C model. Many B2B2C- schemes). In this light, the Indian
The online access and delivery of focused fintechs are now mutual fund industry has made
mutual funds have prompted collaborating with intermediaries commendable progress supported
distributors/advisors to embrace of all sizes for digital by investors’ confidence in mutual
digital mediums to improve transformation. The majority of funds as a potent investment
service delivery and stay B2C-focused fintech had built a avenue, particularly for long-term
competitive. To scale the business direct plan model for their wealth creation.
growth, intermediaries will have to customers and are now evaluating The mutual fund industry’s
leverage the benefits of online to the EOP framework (Execution AUM has grown from `22.86
serve a growing customer base, Only Platform) as a core business trillion as of June 30, 2018, to
optimising the cost of servicing model. `44.39 trillion as of June 30, 2023,
and, at the same time, aligning Fintechs are undergoing a which is around a two-fold
with their evolving preferences. transitory phase amidst changing increase in five years.
Those who can effectively guidelines. However, they The cross-media campaign (TV,
combine technology with continue to drive a very large digital, print, outdoor, radio, and
personalised services will likely volume of customer acquisition other media) was brought alive in
thrive in this changing landscape. and SIPs for the industry. They a conversational style with
will have a far greater role in familiar real-life narratives to
What role do you see the evolving new investors to long- explain the benefits of investing in
emergent ‘fintech’ sector play? term satisfied investors in mutual funds. It resonated well
across different states through
regional languages.
Brand ambassadors like Mr
“The industry’s AUM has grown from Tendulkar and Mr Dhoni added
`22.86 lakh crore as of June 30, 2018, to immense reach and trust to the
campaign, and it went beyond its
`44.39 lakh crore as of June 30, 2023, reach in our cricket-loving nation.
around a two-fold increase” Moreover, emphasis on investor
education by mutual fund houses,

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 45

distributors and investment
advisers has contributed not just
to the progress the mutual fund
“In FY18, the AUM of all passive funds
industry has made but also to stood at around `83,000 crore. This now
empowering investors.
stands at more than `7 lakh crore
How has the B-30 campaign (March 2023), swelling 8.5 times in just
fared? What more can be done to five years.”
expand the geographical reach of
mutual funds to smaller
locations? times in just five years at a
B-30 cities’ contribution to the unified platforms like MF Utility staggering 54 per cent CAGR.
mutual fund industry’s assets has and MFCentral? We just published our survey on
steadily increased, contributing So far, their dominating role has passive funds that was done on
nearly 16 per cent of the total been in enabling distribution over 2000 participants. We
assets of `27.26 lakh crore. In entities by providing them with a uncovered some interesting
February 2023, the contribution single platform for executing insights, such as 61 per cent of
reached 17 per cent, amounting customers’ financial transactions. investors have at least invested in
to `6.9 trillion. SEBI’s significant We are now observing a greater 1 passive fund, underscoring the
role in promoting engagement focus on enabling non-financial fast-growing adoption of passive
between mutual fund houses and transactions due to customers funds in India. More than half of
B-30 cities has led to more demanding these digital services the respondents said that they had
branches and offices in these on the platform. MF Central has increased their allocation to
cities, directly serving investors. further extended opportunities to passive funds in the last 12
To promote investor awareness, intermediaries and directly to end months.
seminars and programs are customers to engage digitally 1 in four investors said they are
conducted, while collaboration related to mutual fund planning to increase their
with local banks and financial investments. allocation to passive funds in the
institutions is expanding the future. Today, more than 400
investor base. Customised schemes Is the supposed passive fund passive funds are available across
and products catering to the revolution real? Hypothetically, different asset classes (equity, debt,
specific needs of investors are also how will funds be pitched if commodity and international). The
being innovated upon. Similarly, comparative performance is not key drivers for the growth of
technological advancements such in the picture? passive funds are ease, economics
as online platforms and mobile At the end of FY 2018, the AUM of and effectiveness.
apps have enhanced mutual fund all passive funds put together stood Passive funds being index
accessibility. at around `83,000 crore. This now replicators (e.g., Nifty 50 and Nifty
stands at more than `7,00,000 crore 500) are easy to understand. Such
How do you see the prospects of as of March 2023, swelling 8.5 funds usually have very low
expense ratios. Hence they are
economical. At the same time,
passive funds are considered
“SEBI’s role in promoting engagement effective in wealth creation over
the long term. It is important to
between mutual fund houses and note that one should see
B-30 cities has led to more branches something other than active versus
passive but active and passive.
and offices in these cities, directly Both of them has an important role
serving investors.” to play in the investors’ portfolios
for long-term wealth creation.

46 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

SANDEEP WALUNJ | Chief Marketing Officer
Nippon Life India Asset Management

‘Sahi Hai drive

needs to solve
the next level
of problem’
New investors need to know
w
how to use mutual funds,
says the AMC’s CMO
How has online access to mutual
funds impacted the interaction
between investors and your
business? Looking ahead over
the next decade, how do you
expect this to evolve?
While online access is an entirely
positive development and a
welcome step towards faster
adoption, operational convenience
and better control for all
stakeholders, most people still need
the advice/handholding of an
advisor to ‘do it right’. In that sense,
a mutual fund is primarily a
‘prescription product’. And because
online access does not always
factor in this very nature of the
product, it often becomes a solution
worse than the problem itself.
The change in consumer
behaviour post-pandemic has
accelerated this lacuna and
opened up a few interesting
dimensions that we need to take a
tiny pause and reflect on:
Pandemic, in a way, was a ‘jerk
to the future’ for most people, in
terms of the forced, quick and all-
encompassing adoption of a “While there are amazing success
digital way of life.
A wide swing in the market
stories of distributors having
during that time threw up established a large digital business
attractive ‘arbitrage-type’ alongside their physical book, a lot of
opportunities, which people saw
could be leveraged digitally.
work needs to be done here.”
That motivated early adopters to
join the digital rave party in a
tearing hurry and make as much handholding, better storytelling, (MFDs) having established a large
money as fast as possible. The and expert handling of criss-cross social/digital business alongside
unprecedented rush for consumer journeys for a positive their physical book (for example,
cryptocurrencies is a case in point. overall experience. Vasant Kulkarni of Mumbai), a lot
However, this anxiety to ace On the positive side, the of work needs to be done here.
investing and score quickly has adoption of social media for Secondly, a lot of clean-up work
also led to a lot of stress across consuming mutual fund has landed on MFDs’ laps, as most
the value chain, which needs information has helped us at disillusioned fintech investors
careful solving. Nippon India do spirited approach them for guidance.
The need for byte-sized, quick storytelling and drive engagement
understanding, perceived lack of digitally. Even our fund managers What role do you see the
time and the ensuing rush to finish interact with investors using social emergent ‘fintech’ sector play?
buying fast, heightened media, which helped build a strong While some fintech companies
expectations from technology brand after the name change to understand this, most (of them)
(quick claim settlement, quick Nippon India Mutual Fund. need to know that mutual funds
onboarding), the dependence on cannot be or should not be sold
social media for that perfect advice, How have the above changes the way shirts are on e-commerce
and the need to see quick profits impacted distributors of different sites. There is no alternative to
are some dimensions that need to sizes and types? meticulous, involved, time-taking
be addressed here onwards. Smaller distributors largely feel investor awareness prior to sales.
Sensitivity towards privacy is that this online transformation is That said, fintech companies
another dimension that needs work. passing them by, and rightfully can help and are helping
Many investors have opened so. There is a strong demand for immensely in easy onboarding,
their demat account, but if not help to establish a meaningful seamless KYC and transaction
handled properly, they may fall to online presence and build lead- processing, data science capability-
the lure of fly-by-night Instagram sourcing capabilities and building, client servicing, and in
influencers who promise lucrative engagement collaterals. While providing assisted customer and
returns in a matter of weeks. there are some amazing success digi-locker services.
All this calls for patient stories of mutual fund distributors A lot of value can be added on the
fund management side, too, from
research to operations and regulatory
to risk management aspects.
“Most fintechs need to know that Has the ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’
mutual funds cannot be sold the way campaign worked? What are the
shirts are on e-commerce sites. There learnings from it?
The almost three-times growth
is no alternative to time-taking investor since the campaign started clearly
awareness prior to sales.” points towards initial objectives
being met. From ‘mutual funds are

48 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

subject to market risks’, the
potential investor has come to
perceive mutual funds as ‘sahi hai
“MF Utility and MFCentral will improve
(good)’. access, reduce/remove operational
But the campaign needs to challenges and save time for everyone.
evolve now to solve the next level
of challenge. Having broadly
This way, we can focus on proper
accepted that mutual funds are investor education.”
useful products, new investors still
need to know how to use them,
how they work, what to do, and The growth numbers are positive, can further help investors achieve
who are the trusted intermediaries. and traction is enhancing. But to their important life goals.
This becomes even more reap the true potential in B-30, we
critical in today’s en masse digital will need to educate investors, Is the supposed passive fund
onboarding era, where funds are preferably in regional languages. For revolution real? Hypothetically,
often bought (digitally) based on that, we’ll need the requisite number how will funds be pitched if
short to medium-term returns. of trained distributors and agents. comparative performance is not
The sellers are happy since this Speaking of Nippon India in the picture?
drives up transaction numbers, but Mutual Fund, we have formed a Passives are here to stay (and
such cart purchases often end up Rural and Emerging Markets grow) since they embody a
in disappointment, as data shows. Group (REMG) to go deep into significant value proposition. They
Mutual Funds Sahi Hai 2.0, B-30 markets in a meaningful way. solve the distinct need of a few
therefore, needs to have an investors. That said, both active
education helpline that prepares How do you see the prospects of and passive strategies will co-exist.
new investors (and even the ill- unified platforms like MF Utility Passives (even when the
educated current investors) to be and MFCentral? portfolio is the same for all) can
aware and informed investors before These will improve access, reduce/ be very effectively differentiated
they enter the mutual fund universe. remove operational challenges and on parameters like higher traded
save time for everyone. This way, volume. Softer parameters like the
How has the B-30 campaign we can focus on what matters quality and experience of the
fared? What more can be done to most: proper investor education AMC team and overall investing
expand the geographical reach of and ensuring a good overall experience will also make a
mutual funds to smaller locations? experience. Account aggregators significant difference.

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 49

ABHISHEK TIWARI | Executive Director and Chief Business Officer
PGIM India Mutual Fund

‘Hybrid robo-assisted platforms

will aid customer experience’
There will also be a proliferation of goal-based solutions, says Tiwari
How has online access to mutual
funds impacted the interaction
between investors and your
business? Looking ahead over
the next decade, how do you
expect this to evolve?
We are witnessing a digital
revolution of sorts in India.
According to the India Mobile
Broadband Index 2023 report,
there has been a 50 per cent CAGR
growth in the last six years for
mobile data, with 19.5GB average
monthly data usage per subscriber.
According to a PwC India report,
UPI transactions are likely to reach
`1 billion per day by 2026-27,
accounting for 90 per cent of
India’s retail digital payments.
All in all, increased adoption of
UPI, rollout of 5G, and increased
penetration of the internet will pave
the way for faster delivery of mutual
funds across India. (In fact) we are
already witnessing this trend.
An increasing number of
investors are now comfortable
transacting online in mutual
funds. Facilities like app-based
investing, SMS transactions, UPI
payment and NEFT have helped
overcome geographical boundaries.
One flipside of instant access is
that investors could be tempted to
withdraw if markets turn volatile.
But the industry and advisers/
mutual fund distributors have
done a good job in terms of

50 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

educating investors on the
importance of long-term investing.
The prominence of performance
“Equity investing has been
as a parameter has increased, and democratised. Investors today can
so has the ability of an investor to access data and information like never
access investment opportunities.
No longer is an investor solely before. In fact, if you see closely, the
dependent on a proposal of an lines between performing funds and
advisor or the most sold funds by
a distributor. Equity investing has
sold funds have blurred.”
been democratised. Investors today
can access data and information
like never before. In fact, if you see Retail will essentially focus on mid-net worth or bank-oriented
closely, the lines between performance and identification customer channels.
performing funds and sold funds with the brand as the major driver.
have blurred. New-to-market urban and B-30 Has the ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’
In all likelihood, this is one of investors will be driven by campaign worked? What are the
the trends which won’t reverse, simplicity of access and learnings from it?
but investors, fund houses and performance. Overlay all of this The campaign has helped mutual
advisory will continue to evolve. with transparency and simplicity funds become a household name.
Performance has and will of communication, and you could The acceptability of mutual funds
remain hygienic. That said, the have a winner. has increased. The tone of voice
focus would also shift toward adopted by the campaign was
offering goal-based solutions as What role do you see the conversational and this comes
products get commoditised. emergent fintech sector play? from the learning that our
Investors would increasingly look Fintech players will continue to audience does not want to be
for value-additions from their play a key role in bringing new-to- preached or talked down to. First-
advisers. Brand identity will market clients. It will also attract time investors still need the
become a key differentiator or young professional investors. handholding and guidance of an
identifier for clients to transact. Fintech platforms will allow advisor. Along with awareness, the
budding as well as existing industry also needs to focus on
How have the above changes intermediaries to scale up their adding more foot soldiers to take
impacted distributors of different practice by outsourcing backend mutual funds to masses, which
sizes and types? processes and compliance. This should hopefully be the next
Institutionalisation, combined will allow advisors and version of the campaign.
with personalisation, will become distributors to focus on their
the biggest differentiator and, in strength areas, such as business How has the B-30 campaign
turn, the proposition for development and client fared? What more can be done to
distributors dealing with Ultra engagement. Technology will also expand the geographical reach of
High Net-worth (UHNIs) and even be an enabler. So will hybrid robo- mutual funds to smaller
medium net-worth investors. assisted or phygital platforms for locations?
It has definitely worked. Assets
from B-30 locations have increased
from `4.01 lakh crore in June 2020
“Assets from B-30 locations have to `7.58 lakh crore in June 2023.
increased from `4.01 lakh crore in June The B-30 incentive can
continue in some manner, but it
2020 to `7.58 lakh crore in should be encouraged to
three years” penetrate further. In parallel,
thinking along the lines of

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 51

 India, active managers have
abundant opportunities, especially
“MF Utility and MFCentral have made it in the mid- and small-cap space,
comfortable for investors and which is an under-researched area.
distributors. They have helped cut down The biggest advantage active
funds offer over passive funds is
paperwork and made transactions that active funds can protect the
process faster.” downside in volatile markets and
generate alpha in the long run.

incentivising new PAN Platforms like Mutual Fund Utility Is there anything else that is
acquisitions, even in urban and MFCentral have made it important but we may have
locations, will help existing comfortable for investors and missed?
distribution setups and encourage distributors. They have helped cut Regulators around the globe are
new entrants or relatively down paperwork and made working towards bringing more
inactive ones. transactions process faster. transparency and disclosures,
With more distributors and a There has been a hike in especially in the aftermath of the
unified customer onboarding transaction processing costs for global financial crisis.
process, a simplified KYC and UPI AMCs when it comes to This has ushered in a new level
platform can pave the way for transactions routed through the of consumer transparency and
increased penetration in smaller stock exchange platforms, which strengthened compliance. In any
towns. Besides onboarding new may become prohibitive in the business, trust is key to scalability
distributors, the industry needs to medium to longer term. A unified and longevity. So, understanding
support existing KYD-compliant industry platform will always the spirit of the regulation will go
distributors in B50 towns and score over other platforms. a long way in enhancing and
beyond through a stipend. growing your business. While it
The overly pressing need to Is the supposed passive fund may seem overwhelming
focus on restricting representation revolution real? Hypothetically, sometimes, it settles down and
needs to be curbed. Otherwise, the how will funds be pitched if gives more than a fair opportunity
prospects of participating in an comparative performance is not for growth over a cycle.
asset class like equity by new in the picture? The biggest benefit of
investors from non-urban locations At this juncture, the demand for regulations or the spate of changes
will be an even more uphill task. passive funds is largely from has been that mutual funds are
institutional investors rather than now viewed as a trusted saving-
How do you see the prospects of retail. Retail AUM in passive funds cum-investment product for
unified platforms like MF Utility is around `40,000 crore. achieving your life goals.
and MFCentral? In a developing market like

52 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

JAYANT PAI | Chief Marketing Officer
PPFAS Mutual Fund

‘We didn’t want to

hard sell our fund in
the initial days’
The AMC’s CMO also wades
into the ‘active vs passive’
debate
How has online access freedom to remain in
and delivery of mutual cash and cash
funds impacted the equivalents,
interaction between and voluntary
investors and your disclosure of the
business? Looking quantum of units owned
ahead over the next by the employees.
decade, how do you In fact, Mr Parag Parikh
expect this to evolve? often remarked that our
Before we dwell on our scheme would be so
online presence, here’s a compelling that it would
small backdrop: When be among the few
we commenced schemes in the industry
operations in 2013, we which would be bought
decided to refrain from but not sold.
catering to the We, therefore, focused
unreasonable whims and on getting the basics
demands of distributors. right in order to
We also decided to pay enhance the trust of
the same amount of unitholders and
commission to the prospects. This
distributor, whether included developing
large or small. a website which
We were aware that communicated
our flagship scheme - who we were and
initially named Parag what we stood
Parikh Long Term Value for. We also
Fund (PLTVF) - was included a page
unique in many ways, be on who ought not
it the scheme’s to purchase our
investment universe, the flagship scheme). In

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 53

addition, we foster direct contact
with our unitholders via
our Unitholder Meets. Our
“BSE StAR MF has vicariously helped
CIO, Rajeev Thakkar, also speaks to PPFAS Mutual Fund immeasurably. Our
investors whenever needed. distributor count has risen nearly ten
Our logo (ProTo the tortoise)
also made the fund a little more times from early 2020.”
‘human’. Many of our marketing
campaigns over the past ten years
have revolved around ProTo. eMandate, UPI, new payment transact directly and then get
In 2013, we thought that rather gateway partners and RTA empanelled within a certain
than hard selling the scheme, we platforms like MyCAMS have all timeframe. Independent Financial
would patiently wait for the played a role in broadening access Advisors (IFAs) and fintech
performance numbers to speak for to mutual funds. platforms benefited the most.
themselves. This was congruent SEBI regulations for ‘Execution National distributors and banks
with the perspective of those Only Platforms’ (EOPs) will also also participated, but this mode
distributors who acted in their evolve, which is good as it will not usually played second-fiddle to
clients’ interest. That way, they only aid in the development of their existing terrestrial network.
would be able to recommend new business models but also do BSE StAR MF has vicariously
PLTVF with greater self-belief. away with unhealthy trends like helped PPFAS Mutual Fund
It was here that the online certain fintech platforms that immeasurably. Our distributor
option helped us to some extent. offered ‘direct plans’ via the count rose nearly ten times from
For the first two years, we relied Registered Investment Advisor early 2020 onwards, as they could
on a co-branded portal offered by (RIA) route. (In this case), they quickly cater to their clients’
our registrar, CAMS, before rolling attempted to convince mutual demand for investing in our
out our own mobile and web app funds either to underwrite some of flagship scheme without
named PPFAS SelfInvest in mid- the expenses incurred by them undergoing the empanelment
2015. Since then, it has (say, for undertaking ‘KYC’) or to process as a priority.
increasingly served as the ‘option pay for enhancing the ‘discovery’ We will have to wait and see
of choice’ for our individual process on their platform. how the recent AMFI circular --
investors. This trend accelerated We will also have to wait and where AMCs will accept business
during the lockdown. see how the purported entry of the from empanelled distributors only
However, in my view, the Open Network for Digital -- affects us and the industry
biggest ‘online’ development has Commerce (ONDC) will pan out in going ahead.
been the increasing acceptance the world of mutual funds.
of BSE StAR MF as a transaction What role do you see the
platform. Fintech platforms like How have the above changes emerging fintech sector play?
Groww, Kuvera, Zerodha, etc., impacted distributors of different Such platforms -- via their slick
have used this mode to offer sizes and types? interface and widespread
mutual funds to their clients and, Over the years, the mutual fund marketing -- have played a pivotal
in turn, have onboarded mutual industry has found the process of role in attracting hordes of new
funds like ours onto their empanelling distributors to be investors. However, most of them
platforms. This has helped the tedious, given the fact you have to are not yet profitable but aim to
overall growth of the industry, and reach out to each one individually. attain it via cross-selling other
also provided a fillip to smaller Distributors, too, were wary (and products, undertaking lending
mutual funds, who were often weary) of undergoing the activities, among others. In case
overlooked by the traditional empanelment process for each some consolidation occurs in this
mutual fund distributors. fund. (But) the advent of BSE StAR sector over the next few years, the
Other enablers like Video KYC, MF altered the landscape to a large resultant landscape may focus
Aadhar OTP-based KYC, eNACH / extent. Now, distributors can more on profitability rather than

54 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

market share. The impending
Execution Only Platforms (EOPs)
may offer the most elegant route to “The flexibility to remain in cash, if
monetising their offerings.
required, is one such advantage that
Has the ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’ active funds still offer, though new
campaign worked? What are the products like Inverse ETFs may serve
learnings from it?
In my view, this campaign has been
as competition if and when they are
extremely beneficial to the industry. permitted.”
The scheme-agnostic nature of
the communication, celebrities
conveying the message in quotidian
settings and situations and the four- Correspondents (BC) route. But, Yes. It is real, even though this
word emphasis on what is right given the penetration of mobile trend may also be cyclical to some
(Mutual Funds Sahi Hai) to phones, the online route is extent, in the sense that if passives
counter-balance the ubiquitous probably the best option. Perhaps, get excessively popular, the sheer
14-word disclaimer (Mutual Fund transaction apps can be attempted weight of money may drag their
investments are subject to market in local languages. performance. This, in turn, will
risks, read all scheme related Whichever mode is chosen, it result in the media focusing on the
documents carefully) have helped will have to be supplemented with outperformance of a few active
generate a buzz, something continuous education. Mutual funds, thereby diverting flows into
individual fund houses were funds are solutions which offer these schemes.
unable to create earlier. ‘non-guaranteed’ returns, where Going beyond performance, I
the intended payoff is (usually) in think the low expense ratios
How has the B-30 campaign fared? the distant future. Those who can charged by passives may reduce
What more can be done to expand successfully communicate these the latitude available to actively-
the geographical reach of mutual two relatively thorny topics will managed funds. Actively-managed
funds to smaller locations? probably end up as winners. funds will have to offer something
The share of ‘B-30’ in the industry unique. The flexibility to remain
has been rising, but the differential How do you see the prospects of in cash, if required, is one such
commission - which was being unified platforms like MF Utility advantage that they still offer -
offered until recently - was one of and MFCentral? though new products like Inverse
the reasons behind this. So far, for mutual funds, it has been ETFs may serve as competition if
Factors like rising awareness, more the merrier. In other words, and when they are permitted.
easier online fulfilment via fintech they welcomed all mutual fund
platforms as well as stockbrokers distribution platforms. However, Is there anything else that is
offering mutual funds, the efforts given the rising cost of using these important that we may have
of finfluencers and the general platforms -- in the form of missed?
uptrend in the stock market have transaction charges, payment Competition and regulation are two
also played a role. We’d like to gateway levies, etc. -- each fund areas which will be keenly tracked
disclaim that PPFAS Mutual Fund house will have to take a call on over the next few years. Incumbents
has not allied with any finfluencer. whether they should be present on will have to balance innovation
(Regarding what more can be every platform or not. with cost control in order to retain
done) since expanding geographical their footing. I feel that marketing --
reach via the terrestrial route is Is the supposed passive fund in the form of clear and honest
expensive, and locating suitable revolution real? Hypothetically, communication rather than
personnel for those outposts is also how will funds be pitched if excessive advertising -- will play a
difficult, we can perhaps try comparative performance is not key role in helping funds gain and
something similar to the Banking in the picture? retain mindshare.

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 55

D P SINGH | DMD & CBO
SBI Mutual Fund

‘It’s premature to look at

passive fund as a revolution’
The AMC’s deputy MD goes beyond headline numbers to explain his view
How has online access to mutual
funds impacted the interaction
between investors and your
business? Looking ahead over
the next decade, how do you
expect this to evolve?
Digital enablers in the industry
have come a long way for both
distributors and investors. This
has augured well with the rise of
the DIY investor who wants to
search for information, compare
alternatives and make transactions
completely online. I think this
trend will continue with more
investments in the digital
ecosystem taking overall investor
experience to the next level.

How have the above changes

impacted distributors of different
sizes and types?
Distributors of different sizes and
geographies have embraced the
digital revolution differently.
Investors, whether investing
through an intermediary or
directly, have a strong preference
for doing it through digital
convenience. Hence, distributors
have adapted well to this change.
While larger distributors are investor or a repeat investor as Fintechs have definitely had a
almost completely digital, mid and most first-time investors prefer an very successful run. They have
small size distributors are using a in-person approach especially in been able to provide ease of
mix through phygital mode. The matters related to investments. transaction and a transparent
preference for distributors using platform for investors. However,
digital may also vary depending on What role do you see the while the flows have been
whether the investor is a first-time emergent ‘fintech’ sector play? encouraging, the other side of the

56 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

coin is the aging of investors The rationale behind the initiative investors as well as distributors.
coming through the fintech of B-30 incentives was to
platforms. The average tenure of maximise penetration by creating Is the supposed passive fund
investors coming through fintech awareness beyond the Top-30 revolution real? Hypothetically,
platforms is less than ideal and cities. As the benefits of a growing how will funds be pitched if
much lower than that of economy and markets reach comparative performance is not
intermediated investors. Since beyond the metros, more savers in the picture?
these are essentially DIY from the farthest corners of the Passive industry has definitely
platforms, there isn’t any country will take to investing. witnessed a meteoric growth, but
guidance provided to investors on Both AMFI and many fund houses if we look beyond the mist and
the merits of longevity of have been making concerted really decode the numbers, it
investments. The net to gross efforts over the years to create shows a different picture. If you
ratio is extremely low. Hence, if awareness for mutual funds in take out the institutional investors
we can educate such investors to B-30 cities. The AUM of B-30 from the passive pie, there is not
remain invested for the long term, cities has grown faster than that of much left, hence, to call it a
fintechs can play a pivotal role in T-30 cities, and today is at 18 per revolution is quite premature. The
the sustainable growth of the cent of the industry AUM. I think ETFs are being used as a
industry. we are on the right track and convenient proxy to the broader
further improvements in digital market and we are nowhere near
Has the ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’ enablers, innovations in media and the revolution phase that we see in
campaign worked? What are the simplified communication will the developed countries. India is
learnings from it? help this share to grow in the still an imperfect market where
The ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’ years to come. meaningful alpha can be
campaign has indeed helped build generated, especially down the
awareness of mutual funds across How do you see the prospects of market cap curve. Passives are
the country. The combination of unified platforms like MF Utility definitely an option that can be
various media like TV, print, and MFCentral? used well as building blocks in the
digital have reached out to These platforms have created overall portfolios, however,
different audience segments. utmost convenience for investors actively managed funds still have
Today, concepts like SIP have to be able to invest across mutual much to offer.
become widely popular due to the funds. They cater to investors
constant messaging by this across all segments as well as Is there anything important that
campaign and other mutual fund modes. Jointly, they are well- we may have missed?
houses. I think the use of simple equipped to service investors There is a massive looming
analogies, regional language and whether through digital or opportunity for penetration.
use of credible influencers have physical (MFU – through its tie-up Intermediation has a big role to
helped in making this campaign with RTA’s) mode. The demat play in this, hence it is of
effective as well as memorable. mode has also come a long way in immense importance to create
creating ease for investor sustainable economics for them,
How has the B-30 campaign transactions. Overall, these unified so that we are able to attract more
fared? What more can be done to platforms have made life easier for and more quality people to be the
expand the reach? all stakeholders, including brand ambassadors of this
industry. The mantra has to be –
“Choose longevity & not liquidity”
which encourages investors to
“India is still an imperfect market where stay invested for longer periods
meaningful alpha can be generated. So, instead of liquidating within
shorter tenure.
active funds still have much to offer.”

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 57

AJIT NARASIMHAN | Chief Marketing Officer
Sundaram Asset Management

‘Earlier, not many knew of

mutual funds; now SIP is a verb’
The CMO also explains how 4G, fintechs have elevated mutual funds’ reach
How has online access to mutual
funds impacted the interaction
between investors and your
business? Looking ahead over the
next decade, how do you expect
this to evolve?
The mutual fund industry has been
one of the most progressive
industries within financial services
to embrace digital innovation ahead
of the curve. Over the last five years,
the customer journey has become
much easier with the government’s
rollout of the India Stack and
regulatory support.
Two events have been pivotal to
the shift to digital. The first was
the increasing penetration of 4G in
2017-18, and the second, albeit
unfortunate, was the pandemic.
Investors have been consuming
products and services digitally -
eCommerce, food, etc. Hence the
transition to buying mutual funds
and interacting with AMCs
digitally has become seamless. jumping ahead to 4G and 5G. Our Over the next decade, I see the
AMCs welcomed this shift – it has entire ecosystem has benefitted and ecosystem leveraging data and AI
become easier and cost-effective to will continue to benefit from the more meaningfully. This will be
engage and interact with investors digital playbook. key to delivering hyper-
and prospective investors. Looking ahead, with digital personalised products and services
Another significant element is the breaking down geographical across the spectrum.
ability to deliver personalised barriers, the whole world is a
content and services. distributor’s customer base. Plus, How have the above changes
One unique aspect of India is that with all the processes and platforms impacted distributors of different
we have significant leapfrog already in place, email, social, sizes and types?
moments – we skipped the pager WhatsApp, chatbots, etc., servicing The impact has been profound!
revolution and leapfrogged straight investors has become all the easier Distributors have embraced
to the mobile, skipped 2G and 3G, and more efficient. digital across the board, catering to

58 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

more investors, providing faster
service, and engaging with them
more often. Also, geographical
“What the India Stack is for national
barriers no longer exist, giving digital initiatives, MF Utility and
distributors access to investors MFCentral can become the same for
everywhere. Some distributors have
also built a social presence across mutual funds”
channels to engage and interact with
customers and potential customers.
These developments have fund’ itself was a barrier, and now, have the potential to be game
particularly helped them create every house knows of it. It is as changers. In no other industry or
meaningful relationships, which is popular as an FD. part of the world do you have
tough to implement in the physical Look at SIPs – the word SIP is central platforms with access to all
world. Distributors have played an now a verb! your holdings in one place.
important role in the industry’s People know what SIPs are, and What the India Stack is for
growth thus far and will continue to there’s data to back it - the industry’s national digital initiatives, these
play a critical role, especially in SIP book has been growing over the platforms can become the industry’s
tough times. years. We’ve touched a small stack for mutual funds. As AMCs,
fragment of society, and it is rather than individually building
What role do you see the emergent immensely critical to promote digital products, we should leverage
‘fintech’ sector play? financial literacy. For instance, in my these platforms to deliver
Fintech has played a significant role household, every year, we put a part standardised top-class digital
in bringing new technology and a of our help’s increment into a services. Not only will investors
new segment of digital-first investors mutual fund scheme for the long have it all in one place, but this will
into the industry. Digitisation and term, broad basing her savings. also make AMCs more efficient
technology are increasingly available operationally and cost-wise.
to all. We can observe clearly that How has the B-30 campaign fared?
several traditional players have What more can be done to expand Is the supposed passive fund
understood the role these two play. the geographical reach of mutual revolution real? Hypothetically,
So, these players are rapidly shifting funds to smaller locations? how will funds be pitched if
to using tech in financial services. It The B-30 campaign has been comparative performance is not in
has become a core part of their successful, and a significant part of the picture?
organisational DNA. this can be attributed to the ‘Mutual There have been multiple reasons
I firmly believe that traditional Funds Sahi Hai’ campaign. Digital for the growth of passive funds.
business models leveraging has played a pivotal role in While passive inflows have
digitisation and technology are the expanding the distributors’ reach. increased manifold over the last few
more exciting space to look at. There are more mobile users today years, especially in large-cap passive
compared to other devices, products funds, we don’t see a polarised
Has the ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’ are getting simpler, and literacy is scenario in the future. The way
campaign worked? What are the increasing. Because people are India is positioned economically and
learnings from it? becoming more and more structurally, there’s a very strong
The ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’ financially aware, mutual funds case for alpha. We’ve witnessed
campaign has been a path-breaking will continue gaining momentum actively managed mid- and small-
movement. If you look at marketing in smaller locations. cap funds getting a significant chunk
over the last two decades, none of of the inflows over the last few
the other industry bodies have How do you see the prospects of months. Both passive and actively
evangelised products with this unified platforms like MF Utility managed funds will coexist, and in a
level of success. And the credit and MFCentral? competitive industry, this is a
goes to AMFI and the regulator. Unified platforms like MFU, healthy scenario, also from a
Ten years ago, the word ‘mutual MFCentral and the stock exchange product innovation point of view.

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 59

ANAND VARDARAJAN | Business Head – Institutional Clients, Banking, Alternate Investments & Product Strategy
Tata Asset Management

‘Investors need a mix of

both active and passive funds’
The AMC’s business head also suggests a way to deepen B-30 footprint

How has online access and the 6D framework, namely it gets democratised.
delivery of mutual funds Digitisation, Deception, We saw this playing out in the
impacted the interaction Disruption, Demonetise, 90s when physical shares got
between investors and your Dematerialise and finally, dematerialised and subsequently
business? Looking ahead over Democratise. This may not digitised with the proliferation of
the next decade, how do you happen in sequence, but the ‘app’ economy. Digitisation
expect this to evolve? eventually, it shifts the power removed information asymmetry
Peter Diamentes came up with into the hands of the user when and democratised the whole

60 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

ecosystem putting the investor at indistinguishable. I believe that What role do you see the
the forefront. when investors are faced with emergent fintech sector play?
We are seeing something volatility, there is behavioural Fintechs have been able to
similar play out in the mutual asymmetry. I only wish this is challenge the incumbents by
fund industry. Digitisation is addressed by using data and trying to create differentiated
improving speed, reach and investor insight and calling out offerings and delivery platforms.
efficiency. Moving from physical behavioural fallacies as and By leveraging the digital
to digital has helped us reach when they come up. highway, fintechs are taking
Tier-2 markets and beyond faster. mutual funds to every nook and
It is fast replacing the brick- How have the above changes corner of the country. Through
and-mortar models. impacted distributors of their varied offerings,
Digital accessibility is also different sizes and types? convenience and ease of
driving costs lower, (also) aiding While the degree of impact might execution, fintechs are able to
in the improvement of investor differ, the impact across types and cater to investor needs. (For
awareness and experience. With sizes of distributors has largely instance), there are ‘execution-
only a physical presence, the been positive. Leveraging only’ platforms for savvy
mutual fund industry could have technology to increase online investors, while some fintechs
taken much more time to witness presence has helped distributors of have taken the RIA route to
today’s geographical penetration. all sizes reach a broader audience. service their clients.
Over the next decade, the For larger distributors, online Apart from improving efficiency
introduction of algo-based access has helped reduce the and reach, fintech platforms have
investing, machine learning and need for a middle office, (which created a niche of their own when
data analytics could exponentially were previously) required for it comes to algo-based solutions,
enhance the investment process transaction processing. This is an area that remains largely under-
and investor experience. aiding them to increase face time penetrated in our country.
Before we look ahead to what with their clients.
digital could do over the next Distribution in the non-digital Has the ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’
decade or so, it is relevant to world was largely linear. To campaign worked? What are
look at some critical drivers in grow, one had to widen their the learnings from it?
the past. The proliferation of footprint and physical presence. The big shift we have seen here is
smartphones and cheap data (But) digital has made it very from ‘Mutual funds are subject to
costs have helped make non-linear. The post-Covid world market risks’ to ‘Mutual Funds
information available instantly. has moved us to Zoom. sahi hai’. Changing the campaign’s
We have also become data rich Distributors have leveraged video narrative and tonality from a risk-
as a country. conferencing, social media, and first approach to how this is good
Information and/or timing online platforms to for investors has helped.
asymmetry is gone, as there is communicate, distribute and Over the years, several
more power in the hands of the fulfil client needs. Covid campaigns highlighting the
consumer. There is another edge: hastened the process of driving benefits of mutual funds have
behavioural. Being ahead or this behaviour from both the helped debunk misconceptions
being wrong is often distribution and investor end. and reduce fear. These
campaigns have brought positive
reinforcement and allowed
individuals to experience and
“Digitisation is improving speed, reach experiment with mutual funds.
and efficiency. Moving from physical to Investor awareness, coupled
with handholding from advisors
digital has helped us reach Tier-2 and the distribution community,
markets and beyond faster.” has helped retail investors in
volatile market phases like

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 61

during Covid. Retail investors
displayed remarkable maturity
and continued to invest. Panic-
“Given the increase in the tendency for
driven exits were limited, as individuals to save, we have seen
awareness and good advice kept
investors from harm’s way.
conversations around SIPs being a
The impact of campaigns competition for luxury carmakers”
focusing on SIPs as a prudent way
to invest is visible in the book
growth witnessed over the last few How do you see the prospects funds, both the strength of the
years. The monthly SIP book has of unified platforms like MF horse (fund type, i.e., large cap,
moved from nearly `3,000 crore in Utility and MFCentral? small cap or multi cap) and the
April 2016 to nearly `15,000 crore A large proportion of incremental fund manager’s skill would matter.
in July 2023. Given the increase in flows are coming in through these (However,) in the case of passives,
the tendency for individuals to platforms. This can be attributed to there is no skill required, as it will
save, we have seen conversations how these platforms have reduced be driven largely by the category
around SIPs being a competition the transaction processing time. in which one is investing.
for luxury car manufacturers. Add to this, the open architecture As markets become more
makes it convenient for both complex and cycles get shorter,
How has the B-30 campaign fared? advisors and clients to go through one needs to strike a good balance
What more can be done to expand the process without having to between active and passive funds.
the geographical reach of mutual create their own journeys. The Both can co-exist. Because every
funds to smaller locations? distribution community has investment need not aim to beat
B-30 locations have witnessed 16 benefited from lower transaction the market, some investments can
per cent CAGR over the last four time and improved efficiency. be about meeting the market.
years compared to 13 per cent CAGR Further, such unified With passives, there is a
of T-30 locations. The penetration platforms can be leveraged to tendency to think of ‘broad market
levels can be much higher when it improve the efficiency of non- exposures’. But it’s an evolving
comes to smaller locations. The financial transactions. product, and we have been
explosive growth of T-30 can be exploring differentiated and
replicated better and at a higher Is the supposed passive fund nuanced ideas like private banks,
scale for B-30 if the approach is revolution real? Hypothetically, mid-cap momentum and new-age
tailored to their requirement. how will funds be pitched if digital. Passive offerings need not be
(For this) mutual funds need to comparative performance is not limited to broad market indices and
be simplified and explained in a in the picture? can help investors take exposure to
language the investor understands. Since it’s a hypothetical niche categories through a rule-
The 3 Vs - Video, Voice and question, let me also give a based investing approach.
Vernacular - would play a key role. hypothetical example. Imagine Active and passive funds are
The impact and efficiency of Video, being in a Derby horse race here to cater to the diverse needs
the ease and familiarity of Voice where one is not provided with of investors. Based on know-how,
over text and the comfort of any information on the horses. In goals, costs and risk appetite,
Vernacular will help us arm the absence of any information, each investment can be seen
investors to make informed there are only two things to bet through an active or passive
decisions. With the 3 Vs, one can on: a) the strength of the horse lens. So, the active-or-passives
break the thicket of language, and b) skill of the jockey. question is best addressed as
medium and text barrier. In the case of active mutual actives AUR passives.

62 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

SANDEEP SAMSI | Head - Marketing and Corporate Communications
UTI Asset Management

‘Since Sahi
Hai drive
launch,
industry has
grown over
twofold’
The AMC’s marketing
and corporate
communication head
also lauds MFCentral
and MF Utility
How has online access to mutual
funds impacted the interaction
between investors and your
business? Looking ahead over
the next decade, how do you
expect this to evolve?
I firmly believe that innovative
technology creates new
opportunities to accomplish things
that people, and in the world of
business, the customers want
done. The better the access to
products, the better the industry’s
reach to the masses.
Today, when everything is
available at your fingertips on a
screen, every business must have a
digital presence to stay relevant.

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 63

 With rising numbers of
investors and mutual fund
“Fintechs create convenience for products, we will continue to have
investors and reach the masses enough options for everyone. The
traditional channels are here to
through smartphones. They have
co-exist with the newer ones, as
helped us spread the word.” no machinery can recreate the
tightly intertwined face-to-face
human interactions.
Being in the industry for about six everyday life”. From the pure The question for these
decades, we at UTI have seen physical way of working to this distribution channels is not their
numerous changes and embraced new Phygital way, we at UTI have survival but the pace of growth.
them gracefully. This ‘never seen witnessed all the transformations Over these last few years, seeing
before’ move to digital, further in the industry, and we remain the legacy players welcome and
accelerated with the pandemic, committed to being the best adapt to the new-age models has
was inevitable as people have partners in our investors’ been delightful. From the
always preferred smarter and financial journey. investors’ perspective, this move
better ways of doing things. translates into easier access to
Investors today have How have the above changes mutual fund distributors and their
unprecedented access to impacted distributors of different knowledge. With the integration of
information, which has changed sizes and types? digital ease and physical
how the industry is positioned in Like any consumer-driven connection, the customers will
the market. If we compare it with business, distribution is pivotal to regularly receive significantly
the previous decade, the Indian the asset management industry. better delivery, and the
mutual fund industry has grown With all the technological distribution channels will remain
about five times the size, and we evolution, the service paradigm steadfast with their business.
are right on track to expand may have changed, but in its core,
further. The ease of access it remains the same. What role do you see the
through the online medium in With mutual fund products emergent ‘fintech’ sector play?
both urbane India and gaining popularity across investor The fintech sector, like every other
rural Bharat has enabled us to categories, distribution channels technological segment, has
unlock the potential of financial need to be structured keeping in brought to the industry significant
inclusion in the country. mind the dynamic environment. advancement and innovation.
Digital is here to stay and grow. This also requires ample Despite the fear that they might
People always look for ways to get consideration about how the disrupt the traditional distribution
things done more easily. And the investors can obtain maximum channels, fintechs have been
mutual fund industry is all set to benefits, while choosing the absorbed well by the participants
make it easier for the investors – products that fit their across the industry.
the seasoned as well as the new- requirements and is available at These entities create
aged. We want to simplify it for their convenience. convenience for investors and
them to be a part of the wave of The conventional cohorts of the reach the masses through the
financial inclusion in the country, distribution channels prevalent in digital touchpoint of any
which is only reaching newer and the mutual fund industry like the smartphone. They have helped us
deeper pockets. mutual fund distributors, banks, spread the word for financial
The coming decade may bring and national distributors will awareness and will continue to do
more technological advancement, continue to make their presence so in the coming times.
but as Bill Gates said, “The felt. They will remain relevant due With the VUCA (Volatility,
advance of technology is based on to their in-depth market Uncertainty, Complexity, and
making it fit in so that you don’t knowledge and experience, despite Ambiguity) landscape that we
really even notice it, so it’s part of the advent of newer platforms. work in, fintech will continue to

64 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

be leveraged to improve the use change,” which has always been the has grown more than twice its size
and delivery of financial services case for the mutual fund industry. since the campaign was launched
to all consumers. in March 2017. The mutual fund
Though this would likely result Has the ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’ quarterly average assets under
in accompanying changes, campaign worked? What are the management (QAAUM) have risen
quoting Heraclitus here, “the only learnings from it? from `18.3 lakh crore to `43.1 lakh
thing that is constant is The Indian mutual fund industry crore in June 2023 (data as per
AMFI website).
With about fifteen crore
investors today in the industry, it
“UTI has used various formats, from the would not be wrong to say that
age-old town halls and nukkad nataks people have understood the power
of mutual fund investments
to radio and web campaigns, to push through the ‘Mutual Fund Sahi
the financial literacy agenda forward” Hai’ campaign. The campaign has
helped the industry reach a
broader segment of investors and
geography. It has used the right
communication hooks to educate
the investors and boost their
confidence about investing in
mutual funds.
While working on ‘UTI
Swatantra’ - UTI’s investor
education programme in 2009-10,
we devised a way to help investors
plan for their financial goals by
simplifying investment concepts,
demystifying myths relating to it
and increasing financial literacy in
the country.
As a part of the initiative, we had
‘UTI Knowledge Caravans’ travelling
through the length and breadth of
the country to spread investor
education and awareness. This
investor education initiative covered
three hundred cities and brought in
over fifteen lakh people under the
financial literacy movement.
We used various formats, from
the age-old town halls and nukkad
nataks, to radio and web
campaigns, to push the financial
literacy agenda forward. Over the
decade and a half of being
associated with Swatantra, we
understand that a lot is yet to be
done, and persistence is the key to
achieving the goal.

MFI Special Supplement September 2023 65

How has the B-30 campaign fared? However, as with any change, industry needs to turn to
What more can be done to expand this, too, is met with a somewhat innovation, which will further
the geographical reach of mutual justified sense of suspicion on the the cause of financial awareness
funds to smaller locations? part of the new and unaware and ease.
We are a peculiar economy. investors. As an industry that
Though we continue to reach facilitates the growth of these Is the supposed passive fund
newer heights and witness rapid markets and benefits from them, it revolution real? Hypothetically,
urbanization, one cannot ignore is imperative to help the investors how will funds be pitched if
that a good portion of our make informed decisions that lead comparative performance is not
population still inhabits to their wealth-creation journey. in the picture?
rural Bharat. Thus, a lot of Historically, mutual funds have
potential to further enlarge the How do you see the prospects of used the indices as a benchmark
industry remains to be tapped into, unified platforms like MF Utility for performance. Essentially, a
specially in smaller cities and and MFCentral? passive fund replicates its
towns. With the rising investor Ease is the word. People look for benchmark – the underlying index
education and awareness, more ease in doing their tasks, and these and passes on the benefits to its
and more people in the Beyond-30 unified platforms offer them investors. They offer value to the
locations are joining the growing exactly that. With all their investors – they are easy to
mutual fund bandwagon. However, investment details on one understand, have proved to be
a lot remains to be done. platform, it provides an investor effective wealth creators, and are
At UTI, we have always been with a one-stop access to all the economical because they have a
proud of our well-entrenched mutual fund products. As the lower expense ratio. If you were
presence in these locations through industry grows and more players to study the US markets, the
a dense network of our own branch and people participate in the passive funds make up a
offices, district associates, banks, increasing pie, these platforms will significant part of the investment
national distributors, and mutual help all industry stakeholders gain landscape and enjoy the favours
fund distributors. a bigger share. of both their retail and
With over 65 per cent of our This standardization and institutional investors.
total branches being present in uniformity across fund houses Over the past year, the passive
B-30 locations, one can say that will only grow further. It will also funds in the Indian mutual fund
we are well equipped and translate into an array of industry have witnessed about 40
intentioned to expand the reach of innovative products over time, per cent growth in their QAAUM.
mutual fund products in the thus benefitting the investors With our indices reaching newer
smaller towns and cities of Bharat. further. Initiatives like these will heights, the traction towards this
I believe investor education and a enable the mutual fund industry fund is only growing north.
rise in awareness about investing to create a more united front to However, this does not imply in
are the key. With the Indian capital help investors in their financial any way that the active funds are
markets unlocking newer levels journey. The adage goes, “If you out of the race. Active funds are
and soaring high, people are always do what you’ve always still able to generate Alpha for the
keener than ever to be a part of the done, you’ll always get what investors. As long as there are
growth story. you’ve always got”, and the opportunities in the market for the
fund manager, the active funds
will play a significant role in an
investor’s portfolio.
“With rising investor awareness, more With the Indian mutual fund
and more people in the B-30 locations industry and the capital markets
still in their growth phase, both
are joining the mutual fund bandwagon. active and passive funds are here
However, a lot remains to be done.” to cater to the varied investment
needs of the investors.

66 MFI Special Supplement September 2023

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