New Delhi, July 2 (IANS) The government Monday said it would work in association with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to help revive the mutual fund industry that is facing many challenges, including falling retail participation.
Economic Affairs Secretary R.Gopalan gave the assurance during his meeting with the representatives of mutual fund industry and Financial Advisors’ Association.
“The central government would continue to engage with the mutual fund industry and SEBI to make mutual funds more competitive and attract greater retail participation through innovative financial literacy programmes,” according an official statement released after the meeting.
It said special emphasis would be given to improve penetration of mutual fund products in Tier-II and Tier-III cities and to redress the grievance of investors.
“The gross asset mobilisation by the mutual funds has seen a decline since 2009-10 and the need to reverse this trend has been engaging the attention of the government and SEBI,” the statement released by the finance ministry said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday said there were problems facing the mutual fund industry that needed to be resolved.
The objective of the government and SEBI is to specifically align the interests of all stakeholders and streamline the operational procedures and to achieve higher growth in the mutual fund industry, it said.
The Mutual Fund Advisory Committee of SEBI is scheduled to meet on July 17 and would consider the various steps that would need to be taken to give additional boost to the industry.
