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Jio Financial Services Limited has announced that it has received final approval from SEBI to launch Jio BlackRock Mutual Fund.
Jio BlackRock Mutual Fund is a joint venture between Jio Financial Services and BlackRock.
With this approval, the company will have to start its operations within six months, as per SEBI norms.
The fund house has received a full-fledged mutual fund license and will launch both active and passive funds, said a source from Jio BlackRock MF, requesting anonymity.
The source also told Cafemutual that the fund house will not work with distributors during the initial years. It will launch only direct plans of actively managed equity funds at a much lower TER. The company will review the possibility of entering the regular plans space a year later, the source added.
In September 2024, AMFI granted an Execution-Only Platform (EOP)–1 license to Jio Payments Bank. The app also enables people without smartphones to operate the app by opening their account through physical outlets.
An EOP is any digital or online platform that facilitates transactions such as subscriptions, redemptions, and switches in direct plans of mutual fund schemes. The new fund house is likely to leverage this route for distribution.
Another source from SEBI told Cafemutual that the fund house plans to reach out to its telecom customers to sell mutual funds. He added that the arrival of Jio BlackRock MF will likely lead to a repricing of TERs across fund houses due to competition.
