The mutual fund industry has added 32 lakh new investors after the launch of ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’ campaign one year ago. AMFI now aims to add 50 lakh new investors by the end of FY 2018-19, said A. Balasubramanian, Chairman AMFI and CEO of Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund at the launch of the second phase of the campaign.
“Concerted efforts taken by the mutual fund industry through the Mutual Funds Sahi Hai campaign, under the guidance of SEBI, supported by favourable market conditions and support from the distribution community, led to overwhelming success in the inaugural year of the campaign. Given the rising household incomes and higher appetite towards financial savings coupled with long term India growth story, we are sure that mutual funds would become the investment option of choice of every household in the years to come,” he added.
He further said that AMFI aims to add 50 lakh new investors in the next one year, riding on the back of industry focus, guided by the collective wisdom of industry players, to reach out additionally to investors present beyond the top 30 cities.
When asked how the second phase is different, Balasubramanian said that the campaign would focus on increasing awareness about hybrid and debt products. “We continue to advocate mutual fund investors to have patience and stay invested, add debt and hybrid funds to their portfolio and allocate more through SIPs, especially in periods of market volatility to benefit over a longer term,” he said.
The first leg of ‘Mutual Funds Sahi Hai’ campaign, aimed at creating awareness and busting myths around mutual funds, was launched in March 2017. The campaign got a very positive response as mutual fund companies saw an overall addition of 32 lakh new investors over the last one year. The industry also witnessed AUM growth of 25% (Rs.4.25 lakh crore) and 38% (Rs.3.25 lakh crore) growth in retail AUM as on February 2018 compared to March 2017. The total number of folios and SIP accounts in the same period saw a growth of 26% (1.05 crore) and 52% (70 lakhs), respectively. Monthly SIP contribution for the industry touched Rs.6,425 crore from 2.05 crore SIP accounts.
