Ashish Ji kudos to you. Agree with you Sir Ji...

The calm from fund houses is really surprising and disturbing. They don't seem to bother about the issue much as Mr.K.Parameswaran,ARN-2540, points out. In fact, I couldn't resist my feeling that some vested interests and a few fund houses are instrumental in bringing in the direct share class keeping their own business strategies in mind, side stepping the greater good of the industry. I may be wrong, but it feels like there is a systematic cleansing of IFA community right from the entry load ban to direct share class and it seems like some vested interests are trying to clear the decks for corporates by cleansing out IFAs and in the process the regulator is being mis-guided. It is difficult to connect the dots. But with every decision, thousands of IFAs are being thrown out of the industry and so are lakhs of small investors who are dependent on these IFAs. Hope I am wrong in my thinking process, if I am right, God save the industry.

Ashish Ji, excellent observation about the pulse of the situation. If the regulator is not able to maintain or manage the existing talent, how it can think of bringing the new one. It’s now or never situation, if the things are implemented in the present contents, the gap between the manufacturer, distributor and investor will further increase. The delicate balance will certainly get disturbed, in case we give importance to one segment, forget about the distributor, the AMC community seems to be equally annoyed or disturbed about the way things are taking shape, (if the top executives of all AMC’s are to be believed). Ashish Ji, the analysis you made regarding direct not being cheap is wonderful, but AMC may not agree since they also need to manage their own pay packets, in return of the “necessary and not so necessary” activities they are doing with a claim in their mind, being instrumental in bringing large sums of money to the system.

Hope people like Ashish exist on the other side of the fence too. Makes me feel intrigued that somebody is conspiring against the growth of such a transparent, vibrant industry like MF. What could be their interest? I especially liked the part of Ashish's writing which opposes scenarior where we distributors will be forced to sell higher TER product alone. This catch-22 situation could a distributor's nightmare in any industry, leave alone ours. if cost structure is worked out in both models (distr vs direct) scientifically, probably the futility of the whole exercise will come to the fore. Today the % of direct may be very small to raise alarm, but that is no reason to introduce an inequitable system!!

I agree

Mr Ashish, thank you very much for your comments on DIRECT INVESTMENT.i want to know can AMC reduce their own expence/profit and share it with investors.

Again SEBI is going to take such a step, which will be a painful history.

every word in this article is perfetly right. anyhow regulator & amc's are observing this articles regularly. so atleast this comments coming from all places of India will tell the exact expression of IFA.

MF Penetration will be cheaper with the IFA and not with the AMC's direct (offline)selling. Compare each AMCs having their own offices in each and every town and villages in india for selling, with a single IFA in every area offering all these products with Good advice and services! Again compare quality of selling by involving retired people and postal agents with the well advised selling by experienced IFA!

Dear Ashish ji, I totally agree with u, because there is no time to reduce investor list, there is time for add investors through all sources, I personally think dual nav will generate gap between client and advisor and create question mark role of advisor is past time also.

Ashishji ur thoughts rlesson for SEBI & AMC.Common investor needs service,basic product knowledge to achieve his goal & never asks for cost if he gets even average returns from his portfolio.Only sebi is in hurry to make India like USA,before worring about bread butter of IFA & their hard work to grow industry at this level,even after many ups & downs.(CLAP,CLAP,CLAP for SEBI.)SEBI says "gardish mein hai tare na ghabrana pyare".

very well thought out reasoning on the issues and more importantly the solutions. firstly on the issue of distributors bringing in new clients who then want to shift to direct once they have learned the basics and secondly offering the low TER option to us as well.

Ashish, you have thought thru this issue in much depth & thanks to your participation with DFDA, you have actually been able to put things in the right perspective. Extremely well thought out article. Many questions raised but as usual falling on deaf ears. Lack of unity in our industry among all players is being taken advantage of by the Regulator time & again

The Impact of Dual NAV is SLOW POISONING for the distributors. We can say SEBI has shown a door to Distributors to be out.

I wonder why regulators like SEBI and IRDA only worries about the distributors commission income and shedding their crocradile tears and not the charges the fund houses sqoose from the funds in the name of different charges. They want rescue INVESTORS OR FUND HOUSES- without any marketing charges?????

Ashish ji, We totally agree with you.

COMPLETELY AGREE WITH MR ASHISH GOEL.

The writing is a true expression of the entire MF Distributor Freternity. Congratulations Ashish Ji for talking this bravely. Let there be a genuine study on the cost involved via distributor vis-a-vis AMC Direct Chanel and let SEBI know the result. It would be a much better option for AMCs to shut all their plush offices, shun their expensive workforce and work directly with distributors. The expenses saved this way would be massive and could be adjusted to reduce TER.

Mr.Ashish ji, I am agree with you. nither SEBI nor AMC's not love to clarify these circular. But I am sure, they may after your statement made. R.Thirumal, Chandigarh.

Very good.I am think about 'THINK TANK ' of SEBI's.Is this body only for MF? Is direct investor get any extra NAV?Nor AMC charges all ?It just harass IFA.Is not it?

Ashish Ji ,I totally agree with you .Already MF as part of Asset portfolio of most IFA and NDs is reducing.In case of some high profile NDs it has come to as low as 8% of total asset portfolio.Industry has already lost many talents and direct will be last nail in the coffin .We dont want our clients to suffer due to differential pricing.

DIRECT MODE MEANS NOTHING BUT AVOIDING IFA ,IF DIRECT MODE IS AVAILABLE CHEAPLY EVERYBODY WILL CATCH THAT ROUTE,WHERE IFA IS TOTALLY AVOIDED ,NOW IN THIS PRESENT SITUATION WER FUNDS R NOT PERFORMING ,THIS IS NOT AT ALL NEEDED AND ATLEAST NOW AMC'S SHOULD OPPOSE THIS AND ATLEAST NOW THEY HAV TO SUPPORT A IFA ARE ELSE WHAT WILL IFA WILL DO ,THIS IS NOT FAIR AT ALL ,IFA'S WHO DOES ONLY MUTUAL FUND ARE LESS RENUMERATED IF THIS GETS IMPLEMENTED THATS THE END OF THE STORY AND SEBI AND AMFI SHOULD SELL MUTUAL FUNDS DIRECTLY TO THE CUSTOMER. NOBODY BOTHERS ABOUT IFA ,AMFI IS PUPPET AND SEBI IS COPYCAT ,JUST BLINDLY FOLLOWING WESTREN COUNTRIES,PLS SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE TO THIS NEWER RULES ARE ELSE IFA COMMUNITY WILL B WIPED OUT AND MUTUAL FUNDS ARE SOLD NOT BROUGHT,THE PEOPLE WHO WANTS DIRECT LET THEM SUPPORT BUT IFA;S PLS DONT SUPPORT THIS AND AMC;S OPPOSE THIS MODE,SO THAT THIS CONTROLLER SEBI WILL THINK BEFORE ACTING ,ALL IFA;S COME TOGETHER DONT SUPPORT THIS DIRECT,NEGLECT VALUERESEARCH

This is in response to Mr. Dhirendra Kumar's article in today's Economic Times 1) He can say what he likes, there is no incentive for him to say and write what is RIGHT. 2) Will he stop accepting advertisements from AMCs for his website and magazine to make mutual funds even more cost effective and therefore investor friendly. (This money most certainly will never come from the expenses charged by direct only schemes.) 3) We are supposed to disclose our revenue, will SEBI also make it compulsory for people like him to disclose their revenue from mutual funds related services? 4) Let us not confuse a Mutual Funds scorer and statistician as an 'Authority' on mutual funds.

I fully agree. In my opinion, No amc will reply to these facts. If they do so we are happy. In this case of doubty response from AMC's( I will b e glad if you could publish the response from AMC's (If any), are received!) I suggest to send these whole text to SEBI addressed to U. K. Sinha Sir. After he took over SEBI as chairman, he has made a deep impression with mutual fund industry and also I expect him to consider our point of view as well. With our fragmented fraternity, we are not left with our representation as IFA's. There is a strong lobby of AMC's and banks with SEBI, governement etc. Naturally with such situation, our voice is absent.

I completely agree with ashish goel that when we meticulously work for years and suddenly there is a change basically in favour of hni and amc's,this is certainly not done in favour of country as a whole. If you are not able to retain those hard working and sincere people who have been doing the business for last 10 to 15, 20 years then how will you attract newer people? Who can give better and continious advice to retailers better. whether the amc people who paid hefty salaries or the ifa with his team. Please rethink in favour of country as a whole.

Dharinder CEO Value Research has mentioned in the Economics time today that both the AMC's and the investment advisors have welcomed SEBI;s move and also that SEBI should not come under the pressure of the distributors and should start direct at the earliest. He has got one more news Item for his magazine and news chanells.

@ RAKESH KUMAR SINGH, ARN - 57525. Stock Brokers and Insurance Agents lobby is very strong. We are not as strong as them. We are not united and unorganized.

VERY GOOD I agree all of your arguments please send it to SEBI. When SEBI wants to propose direct model in mutual fund why not for share brokers and insurance company where TER is very high as compared to mutual fund.

Mr. Goel has said exactly what I also wanted to convey. SEBI and some of the AMCs do not feel that we are doing any serious business, or that there is enough information that the investors can keep investing directly in mfs. They do not have any vision of inclusive growth of the industry wherein ours is taken as a career option. Most definately we cannot continue in this business with the direct investor class as even without proper education the begginer investor will very soon want to shift to the direct in order to save the cost, irrespective of checking how his investments are doing or wheter he , needs and asset reallocation or wheter his goal is being acheived or not.We as distributors would provide them proper financial planning and guide them in their financial journey , provided the Direct asset class does not come through.We should form federations and stop SEBI from going ahead with the DAC. Otherwise this is really the end...

toThe Sebi is living in a fool's paradise if it thinks that the MF industry can be revived by killing the distributors. No body wants to invest in MFs .We have to put in lots of efforts to explain to investors about the advantages of MF.It takes efforts to bring in a new person to MFs

like most other policies of the powers that be,this discriminatory policy is also without direction.do the regulalors want to nurture or kill the mf industry?

Relevant points raised in the aricle. Investor data of IFAs are with AMCs. They can give the message of direct investment to the investors easily and attract them to do business direct. It amount to AMCs competing with the IFAs. It is not fair in business. Moreover, since direct business does not reduce cost of business, it is not good for investor community.

ITS REALLY HORRIFYING TO EVEN IMAGINE THAT ONE DAY THE AUM BUILT FROM OUR SWEAT AND BLOOD WILL BE EATEN BY BIG FISH i.e AMC's. THERE ARE NO. OF WAYS TO BALANCE THE INTEREST OF INVESTOR AND ADVISORS. DECISION IS BEING TAKEN IN HASTE.

here again one thing left by all i.e theft of client data base of IFA's which is maintained by the AMC, they can approach our client which being creating bias ness among the investor against the distributors.

Mr. Ashish Goel has rightly pointed out the issues in SEBI proposal. Sebi officials need to understand the ground level realities before pass the regulation. Don’t know why AMc’s are not break the silence on the SEBI proposal.

SEBI are you reading this? Please think again before finalizing about reviving the MF industry

After reading many views on DIRECT investments , I feel some lobbying must have been done by big broking firms , because they might be potential beneficiaries , they have platform for DIRECT sales where they can charge brokerage for executing and can also make advertisements . Also one point we are missing is low cost products are available currently in the form of ETF's and they are yet to get any response. So it might be possible that AMC's will launch more ETF's for DIRECT clients, eventually beneficiaries are broking firms who could not make inroads in Mutual Fund business even after AMC's started allotment of Units in demat form. I dont know if this interpretation is right or wrong , but needs to be analyzed more.

Further, AMCs for direct model (DIY) should have a separate team. As how do they allocate the cost. A separate office ( ISC) should be there and all costs should then be billed into that scheme. They should not be allowed to use the existing set-up and this has come up with the hard work of distributors. DIY should be a separate cost centre- profit centre head for the AMC, it should never be clubbed with the existing business.

I am particularly annoyed with the way media handles the finance business, it seem they know how to conduct the distribution business and any business related to finance in a better way. I think we should request them to make similar changes in the pharma business, request them to teach the medical fraternity how to conduct that business. Why do they not write anything about doctors. lawyers etc.. simple logic they do not understand the terms used. Medicine terminology is not understood by journalist, whereas journalist is a super hero on finance and can take potshots. This was only on journalist for now.

In continuation of my earlier post I would like to further add that the need of the hour is that the regulating body (SEBI) should ensure that quality is ensured in selection of Practioners rather than bypassing them. But what they seems trying is merely equating MF products with Predictable Financial Instruments like Fixed Deposites, Reccuring Deposits, etc..

Valid issues raised. I would like to add further thatin any profession where one requires to have a minimum certification before offering services, clients cannot bypass them in procuring or benefitting from the services or product as they are supposed to specialised / complex to be unterstood for common man, e.g, Doctors & Chemists , Advocates, Artitechts, Engineers, Chartered Accountants, Company Secrateries etc. And as we all know that no one can sell MF products without certicication than how come one can buy it directly without going through advice.

I AGREE WITH THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY ASHISH BUT LET ME POINT OUT THAT THERE R INSURANCE COS WHO ALSO GO FOR DIRECT MODE,SINCE THE ABOLITION OF ENTRY LOAD THERE HAS BEEN DIRECT MODE IN EXISTANCE FOR THE INVESTORS, REQUEST SEBI BRAINS TO CALL FOR THE FIGURE FROM ALL AMCS THAT WHAT % HAS BEEN DIRECT, ONE NEEDS ADVISE TO INVEST HIS HARD EARNED MONEY, IN ONE SCENERIO IF AN INVESTOR APPROACHES ANY AMC FOR DIRECT LOW COST INVESTMENT WILL ANY AMC WORTH ITS SALT STANDUP & SAY THAT THERE R SOME GOOD SCHEMES IN RIVAL AMCS ALSO PL PUT SOME MONEY THERE ALSO, TO JUSTIFY THERE SERVICE AMC WILL CORNER ALL THE FUND OF THAT INVESTOR, NOW THIS IS MORE DANGEROUS & AND IS AKIN TO WRONG SELLING WHERE A GULLIBLE INVESTOR ENDSUP PUTTING HIS ENTIRE FUNDS IN THAT AMC WHICH HE APPROACHED 1ST, THEN COMES OUT & MEETS AN IFS WHO ADVISES HIM WHAT OTHER ALTERNATES ARE AND BLUNDER HAS BEEN COMMITED, SEBI PL WAKE NOTHING COULD BE MORE DAMAGING THAN THIS DIRECT LOW COST MODEL OF YOURS

Good points raised.

Agreed!

Excellent article. Keep up the good work.

i agree with yours views. a m c should break silence and speak boldly what they want?

I have two points to make: 1. SEBI seems to be convinced that the Mutual Fund industry consists only of investors. It seems to forget that there are at least 2 more major entities involved - the AMCs, and the Advisors. Therefore, any step taken to benefit the industry should carefully consider the impact on every stake-holder. 2. Even if SEBI has an agenda to rid the industry of distributors/advisors, then any adverse measure for IFAs will automatically harm intermediaries at all levels, including banks. Furthermore, the demise of the intermediaries will eventually lead to the demise of AMCs as well - even for the biggest AMCs, far more business comes from intermediary push, than from AMC pull; with the push business drying up, it is only a matter of time before the remaining pull business, too, dries up - or falls below the minimum critical mass required by them. SEBI needs to, therefore, think about the above aspects each time it ponders new measures for the industry.

The existing structure is better. There was no classification.

I fully agree what you said

A direct channel with Zero cost is a smart idea(very crooked) of some genius from sebi to eliminate all the distributors who are working for mutual fund distribution for years with one stock.

Quantfum Has AUM of less than 1000 cr due to direct business

Ashish very rightly said. Why is the media so interseted in publishing even the smallest piece of news that comes out of SEBI without even going thru the details. They start screaming as if the distributors are thieves and can easily be bypassed. SEBI on its part has confused everyone by making changes which on the one hand appears to be friendly with distributors of tier 2 & 3 cities where as on the other hand by introducing DIRECT investment thier very own existence is in danger.

Freind Chilukuri, i totally agree with you i hope more IFA freinds from Hyderabad express their view about "Direct Share class".

Exellant views, well said Mr. Ashish Goel. I will like to talk to you.

Mr. Goel, your views should be heard properly by SEBI and they should refrain from bringing unnecessary steps for healthy growth of Mutual Fund business.

I TOTALLY AGREE WITH ASHISH. LET US FIGHT AGAINST THEM IN THE SAME WAY AS LIC AGENTS FOUGHT WHEN THE SAME THING WAS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN AGINST THEM. UNITED WE STAND ; DIVIDE WE FALL.

Ashish Goel has put forward the most sensible argument in simple English without any jargon. Sebi does not seem to be interested at all in the welfare of the small investors. It is only interested in introducing populist schemes. With their short sightedness they are not helping the small investors, but are slowly destroying the fabric of capital formation which is necessary for nation building.

Thanks Ashish, the views given by you are perfectly showing the current picture of the industry. SEBI the organisation which runs and controls the stock market, seems to be biased towards the broker community, not IFA's. and Surprisingly AMC are MUM on the whole issue. Its seems that regulators are poisoning the minds of investors against IFAs. We should collectively take some remedial step to save our livelihood.

Exellant views, in the name of simplifying MF,s SEBI making more complex them there should simple rules to followed by distributors and there should only one NAV and a time frame also have to be given that rules not change everyday. We give more time to evaluting regulations than doing business.

Well said,Ashish. SEBI needs to come out clearly on how it wants to push the MF industry forward in the next 5 or 10 yrs.AMCs need to explain their stand on SEBI's current decisions. In the absence of long term clarity,I can assure you,injustice is being metted out to investor & distributor community alike & if they both sink so does the industry. However,if people in power think this is the way to growth in the sector & they are doing justice to investors then they definetely lack CLARITY,VISION & EMPATHY. On the lighter side,have you seen an accused fighiting his own case in a court of law,because he is frequently accused(HNA),SEBI's VERSION OF DIRECT REPRESENTATION.

Excellent & highly appreciable article. I Thanks Mr.Goel for his valuable inputs. The article covers all aspect of our (IFA) community.

Truly honest views on the proposed debacle by SEBI. But unable to understand why AMCs are mum like our beloved PM. Seems like after giving advise of having two child, now Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is defining the process to have them.

Excellent thoughts. It seems Sebi is playing in the hands of few vested interest people.It is not interested in the development of mutual fund industry but interested in development of few vested interest.

I think the regulators are confused and are not reaching any direction. Rather they are puppets in the hands of a few politicians who are running this country.

We should also discuss how to take things forward and see that a long and sustainable modle is ultimately worked out. Let us all see that this adversity is converted to an opportunity.We all should with a comprehensive plan and startegy which is workable for all. One Voice across INDIA.

Well said, Mr Goel.SEBI has been busy playing with the business and lives of IFAs. Every time you think the dust has settled, a new decision changes everything. I do not understand why we cannot challenge SEBI's decisions, as SEBI is continuously micro-managing this business, rather than regulating it.

ashish ji ghabraiye mat amc sebi amfi ko dal bhat ka bhav pata chal jayega.apna pap distributers par dal kar ganga naha kar baba banane chale hai. thanks for support

The views are highly appreciable. 1)Products with Lower TER like Index Funds are already available.Why we need direct share class is not understandable at all?. 2)Industry needs only tighter regulations. 3)Regulator is overstepping by micromanaging our business. 4)Competing on expense ratio for existing AUM is next to impossible as on a portfolio of 1Cr an HNI investor would straightly save approx.70-75K per year. 5)Its highly unlikely that an investor would pay the advisor such amounts in terms of fees. 6) India is not prepared to come to 100% fee based model as of now.It may happen in five years. 7)We need combination of both commission & fee based model.For a reasonable good living if one is working only on fee based model one would have to cater a very large client base which is immediately not possible without Transition time. 8Decision taken by SEBI are impulsive and based on gut feeling.LOGIC of increasing the expense ratio on existing ratio is a wrong step.

Mr.Ashish Goel has explained in the right perspective. Thanks a lot. The illness to the industry is caused due to wishful thinking and actions that followed with banning of entry load. So in my opinion, remedy should not be worse than illness. Regarding new breed of distributors,all concerned should bear in mind "a bird in hand is worth two in the bush" and act acordingly and act fast.

A COMMENDABLE article Thank You.Am absolutely with you on all points.SEBI is doing some really foolish things.AMC's must clarify.

Excellent article by mr goel express anger of an IFA and expose all non sense steps takn by regulator in past and and damge done to industry, .I hope this article will open the eyes of all regulator who dectact the industry from there AC offices without knowing ground reality.

Ashish Thanks this is the right way

Thanks for your valuable inputs. I totally agree with your views & I support that there should not be differential price structure & to compete there should be a same level playing field. We have done all the hard work till date & we should not be deprived of its benefits now & further.

Great comments. What the regulators are trying is just wishful thinking, without thinking of the consequences. A lot of blame for this goes to the media hype created around the mf industry and its effort to cut costs. It would be far better if they offered to connect the expense ratio to the performance linked to its benchmark. Or atleast offer separate schemes dor the Direct Access Class (As in case of online insurance policies)

Well said, Mr Goel.SEBI has been busy playing with the business and lives of IFAs. Every time you think the dust has settled, a new decision changes everything. I do not understand why we cannot challenge SEBI's decisions, as SEBI is continuously micro-managing this business, rather than regulating it.

Very realistic analysis and presentation of arguments.

Ashishji, thanks for wording our concern more aptly.

very well said....

An excellent summation of situation. Very practical and realsitic approach. The story aptly highlights anger and a solution together. SEBI just has to consider the facts in content of this interview and nothing else. If there are rational individuals in the decision making process, they cannot side line above arguments, but the problem is everybody like politicians play to the galleries. There actions if I have to sum it up in one sentence, then it will be " OPERATION SUCCESSFUL, PATIENT DIED ALONG WITH THE DOCTOR " Thank you all decision makers

Bravo well said, hope the same is heard by those who need to hear it.

Even with Direct Share Class decision, it seems more like a decision taken to “appease”/ to look politically correct. I can not blame the bureaucrats on this much, after all they are in close proximity to politicians for decades and it will have its own side affects. Had the decision been taken on hard, unbiased data, then they should be able to answer the questions raised by the above article with ease and that should clear all our doubts. If the regulator says “I am the boss, I order, you follow”, “Jee Hujoor”, we have no further suggestions to make. Let us all die a slow death, what else is the alternative. We can only wish, wish that the deciders of our fate realize that this is no canvass on which they are trying to make a perfect painting but at stake is the lively hood of thousands of families of distributors and quality of lives of crores of investors. If the painting does not turn up good you can simply tear it and start afresh, sadly one can not do it with people’s lives…

The issue with either Entry load ban or with Direct Share Class has been that those are either decisions taken based on impulses/to cover up one’s own failures such poor penetration mutual funds over decades and one’s own inability to take the “big boys” to task. Had it not been the case, had the “entry load ban” decision been taken based on a calibrated approach, taking in to consideration the sudden impact it could have on the revenue models of the people who are associated with the industry for decades and who made it at least grow from “zero” to what it is today, in spite of the Indian negativity towards equity in general, we would not have seen the mass scale exodus of distributors from the industry and its consequent negative effects on it.

One of the best article on MF ,SO TRUE and best rebutal to all silly arguments presented by media,all highly paid Directors of Sebi, Finance Ministry. Sebi and others are doing great dis-service to all class of investors.

definitely a good analysis and these responses should be forwarded to all AMC's, SEBI, and Finance Ministry so that they also understand what can be possible future impacts before implementing the things without consulting the stake holders earlier no entry load decision was also a big failure so at least this time they should learn the lesson

Some thoughts on media's coverage of MF related issues: 1) Mostly the reporters are ignorant, ill-informed & possess half baked knowledge (Is there any qualifying test like NISM for these reporters?) 2) Some may write because they are compensated on the basis of number of words written and they may have a periodic financial obligation to fulfill. 3) Often they are compelled to write 'misleading' headlines to capture readers attention. The damaging consequences of which are not their concern and also there's no accountability in that regards. A sensational copy is all that matters. And if you can make it appear like 'pro-investor' it sells even more. 4. Some columnists also masquerade as an 'activists' and blatantly flout their biases against the IFA / distribution community because it makes for a good copy. and also who knows if there's some underlying agenda of hidden personal benefits that can accrue by pleasing the powers that be. Then, how can truth prevail?

Well written & to the point. I believe SEBI wants to become the "HERO" , they do not want heroes among distributors. The sad part is that AMC's themselves do not support the distributors. Would this happen in the Insurance industry ?. SEBI is conveying the message that distributors are not required & that they can offer direct platform model for "miniscule" number people who transact business in mutual funds. It is a fact that the number of retail investors who directly trade & invest in equity market is low and top of it 75% of the trades are done by small coterie of people. In this scenario SEBI expects that mutual investors will come in droves to invest directly !. They are missing the point that Mutual funds are still "push" products. Probably its time to say "RIP" to AMC & mutual funds.

Clear Thoughts. Bravo! Must agree with the last one. No media entry.

Very good article, i think AMCs doing double role play, if ordinaray load mans association get their rights in India, but AMFI is not in a position? Then why they have a association?

To me this is one of the best article I have come across which is so clear and precise in thoughts. Without doubt, the mess that SEBI new dictate will create is far damaging and the result of it will be disastrous. SEBI want distributors o be feel ashamed in front of their clients stating that are more expensive than what manufacturers charge you. I am a retail oriented distributor as Ashish Goel is and feel that adding retail AUM under such circumstance will be next to impossible. And if a due hard fan of retail believes this, forget new distributors will even think of taking the task further.

Very true with a very good perception .... this article is a true picture from a good analyzer and an experienced person..... hope SEBI get some noble ideas out of this.... hope for something satisfactory...

Without IFA's how SEBI or AMC's can reach Rural Investors, a big community... In last 50+ yrs LIC can't penetrates Insurance in big way with advisors..., Then all these authority (?) thinking on DIRECT sell of MF products...? Thanks dear for Opening this Window for discussion & Hope it will reach to Concern to Open their Eyes... Regards.

I THINK SEBI IS TRYING TO INITIATE THE CFP DESIGNATION ON PURELY PROFFESSIONAL BUSINESS MODEL LIKE DOCTOR,BUT SEBI MUST CONSIDER ABT. 1.THOSE IFA WHO SPENT THEIR LIFE FOR LAST 15-20 YRS. 2.AS PER AAMIRKHAN'S SHOW "SMJ" MOST OF THE DOCTORS GETTING HANDSOME COMMISSIONS FROM 2-500 TIMES FOM LABORATORIES/PHARMA COMPANIES/TESTING REPORTERS/HOSPITALS ETC.... 3.AS SAID ABOVE CAN SEBI ANSWER AND REVEAL WHICH BUSINESS MODEL IS RUNNING WITHOUT REASONABLE REVENUE. HENCE , SEBI DO CONSIDER OUR IFA COMMUNITY VOICE. MR.ASHISH GOEL , KEEP IT UP AND THX FOR RAISING SUCH A WONDERFUL VOICE.HOPE FOR THE BEST. HENCE ,

What Ashish told is right recently three AMC office closed in our town in warangal and karimnagar do to cost cut, i think the PRESENT BIG AMC only need this direct investment since last one year they are opening branches and comunicating investor with financail planning single pagers and direcing visit there offices

VERY TRUE. GREAT THOUGHTS.

good article and covers all aspect of ifa community , hope all we collectively think about the future of mutual fund ind and distributor

Ashish Goel Has hit the nail on the head. This is probably what happens when you try to fix what is noy broken. SEBI is now running around in circles trying to cover up its earlier mistakes and in the bargain is making bigger blunders. God save the investor from the clutches of SEBI

I agre & support with you.

SEBI official should must read and introspection is required from them

I have no problem letting investors go directly to mutual funds to invest.What complicates the issue is in creating a separate direct window to invest at a lower cost viz a viz going through the distributor at a higher.costThis is analogous to Sebi encouraging self medication at the cost of medical profession.No business or service model inimical to distributor interest such as this that too sponsored by the regulator responsible for the growth of the industry itself has no parallel in this world.

Fantastic.This sums up almost everything.

Dear Ashish, This is the best article I've come across in the recent time which sums up all the issues very neatly and precisely. I suggest you to send this as a letter to SEBI Chairman, FM, PM all AMCs, AMFI. Keep it up...

I am in full support to the above article. Ever since enrty load was abolished, I have continued in this business without charging anything to my clients even today, whether they invest Rs 1000 or Rs 10 lacs. I am sure there would be many like me even today. Our regulatory body is filled with a bunch of people who feel that today the reason for low penetration of this product is only the distributor. That could be one reason, but our regulator fails to see that the primary reason is underperformance of this asset class compared to available options in the industry (both debt & equity). Has the regulator done anything till date to address the above problem. They only come out with processes like KRA and many other similar process in the past (to control money laundring) which is a total waste of time for the distributors as they have to deviate from the main focus that is advicing. The regulator should wake up and tacle the problem by using their heads & not random decisions.

Very well said ! Totally agree with this.

Excellent analysis, let the so called rule makers concentrate more on improving the M F industry ratherthan destroying it by irrational acts.

Ashish ji kudos to you. SEBI is really making the industry to die. the slow poisoning was started from 2009.GOD SAVE THIS INDUSTRY & THE ADVISORS

Ashish Ji, Excellent keep it up. You had reflected the mirror image of IFA Community - Ramesh Bhat