A meeting was organized by All Kerala IFA Association (AKIFAA) in Cochin to discuss the blueprint of forming a national level association of mutual funds distributors. The members deliberated on areas like the role of association, formation of working committee, merging of small and unregistered organizations and enrolling IFAs from states like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, etc.
Many IFA associations across the country including KAMFA, IFA Galaxy, Ask Circle and others were represented at the meeting.
R Lakshmanan, who was unanimously appointed as the President of the federation during the meeting, told Cafemutual that the members have christened the association ‘Federation of Mutual Funds Distributors Association of India (FMFDAI)’. He said “The federation will decide the final byelaws and it will be legally registered with the regulator after our final meeting which will be held on May 25. The association will be headquartered in Chennai and start functioning in the first week of June.” He said that the power will be equally vested in the hands of small as well as big associations, giving equal opportunity to all.
Lakshmanan said that the federation will work towards upgrading the skills of IFAs. The federation will actively focus on enrolling IFAs from smaller towns. The key objective of the association is to empower the IFAs and communicate their views before government and regulators in a unified manner. Besides, the federation also aims to spread financial literacy among the people.
Ramesh Bhat, Former President of IFA Galaxy said that associations from northern and eastern part of the country also participated in the meeting. He said that the draft byelaws have been sent to all the associations across the country for approvals. He urged IFAs to join this federation.“We are waiting to welcome all of them.”
