There seems to be a serious identity crisis going on in the Indian mutual fundindustry. Unlike banks, fixed deposits which stands for assured returns or for that matter insurance stands for taking care of one's risk, the mutual fund industry has no clue as to what they stand for and for whom do they serve or stand for.
They like to call them money managers but can't be called pure money managers because their peers including insurance sector too perform the same function. There is cat & dog fight between them when it comes to returns and whenever there is a comparison, the insurance sector stands to outscore them but with insurance scheme being closed one can't have apple to apple comparison. Few years back the market regulator was trying hard to give mutual fund industry the exclusive status of money managers, but strong lobby from the insurance sector and their regulator as well as the government sabotaged the entire idea.