At the forefront in investor education, financial inclusion, and deepening of capital market

MUMBAI, AUGUST 24, 2020 (GPN): Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) recently completed 25 glorious years. AMFI, the association of all the Asset Management Companies (AMCs) of SEBI registered mutual funds in India, was incorporated in August 1995 when there were around 15 member AMCs, the industry body now has 44 members.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Nilesh Shah, Chairman of AMFI, said: “It’s a proud occasion for all of us within the Mutual Fund industry. AMFI’s contribution in developing and supporting the industry has been note-worthy.”

The Indian Capital Markets have witnessed a marked shift in the last few years, largely owing to the Mutual Fund industry, which has been instrumental in channelizing retail savings into the capital markets in a big way.

“The steady shift in savings pattern in favour of equities through SIP in Mutual Funds has resulted not only in a significant rise in the Indian equity ownership, but also contributing as a strong counterbalance, to Foreign Institutional Investors.” added Mr. Shah

Over the last 25 years, AMFI has been at the forefront of ensuring spread of investor education, creating financial inclusion, deepening of capital market, bringing global best practices to the industry, improving corporate governance and lowering cost of transactions through economies of scale.

AMFI’s journey neither could have begun nor continued without the guidance and support from SEBI, Ministry of Finance and Reserve Bank of India. We look forward to their continued support and guidance in future

AMFI has facilitated direct employment for over 2.25 lakh people as ARN & EUIN holders and indirectly for lakhs of people working with AMCs, RTAs, custodians, intermediaries and other service providers. 

The Mutual Fund industry is one of the large contributors to the government kitty in the form of GST and through the Securities Transaction Tax, which is applicable on equity market transactions. These contributions, as per back of the envelope calculations, add up to around Rs. 6,500 crores per annum.  As compared to other savings and investments, Mutual Fund Industry, has very few tax advantages resulting in very miniscule revenue loss to the government.

“In the last 25 years, the Mutual Fund industry has helped many companies to raise funds through the capital markets, helping them contribute further to the economy and taking a definitive step towards an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, said Mr. Shah.

Mr N S Venkatesh, Chief Executive, AMFI said: “We are thankful to the millions of unitholders who have reposed their faith in the mutual funds and SEBI’s continuous support and guidance all along. We are also thankful to the member AMCs, the distribution community, service providers like RTAs, Banks, Custodians, intermediaries like stockbrokers, investment advisors and others who have supported AMFI at every step of this 25-year journey. We look forward to their unstinted support in the years to come and will dedicatedly work towards the betterment of the industry while keeping investor interest paramount”

AMFI’s initiatives to increase awareness of the category, right from ground level investor awareness programs organized by AMCs to the successful ‘Mutual Funds Sahi Hai’ media campaign, have helped reach out to larger retail audience and create awareness. From largely an urban and institution focused industry, mutual funds now have over 15% of the assets coming from beyond the top 30 cities and 52% of assets coming from individual investors.

‘However, we at AMFI, are aware of significant potential, which continues to remain untapped by the Mutual Fund Industry, Mr Venkatesh said adding: “With just over 2 crore investors out of a population of 130 crores, the industry has a long way to go in the next 25 years. On this occasion,  we re-dedicate ourselves to work towards further developing the Indian Mutual Fund industry on enhanced professional, healthy and ethical lines and to enhance and maintain standards in all areas with to protect and promote the interests of mutual funds and their unit holders.” ENDS