The seminar on `product innovations for the financial services sector', organised by the India Index Services & Products Ltd, a joint venture of National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Credit Rating and Information Services of India Ltd (Crisil) was inaugrated by the NSE managing director RH Patil.

"Brokers should now gear up to adopt the latest information technology (IT) and provide efficient services to their clients. Indian capital market too should be ready for the number of immenent changes like derivatives, rolling settlement in both BSE and NSE, internet trading and most important competitions between brokers, mutual funds, financial institutions and foreign institutional investors (FIIs).

"Client relationship will replace brand name as the key value driver and the internet based relationship will prove to be the most direct association a finance intermediary can have with its clients," Simon Holdsworth, managing director, ITC Threadneedle said. "Intermediaries are looking to develop financial products aimed at ethical/social investing, personal portable pensions, and open ended guaranteed capital funds," he added.

"An incremental Rs 30,000 crore can come into the mutual funds market in the near future," Suraj Mishra, VP (marketing), Prudential ICICI said. "However, the most important factors would be the fast, efficient and cost effective product and service delivery systems," he added.

"Internet broking will have to await the cyber laws and laws governing security related issues. However, web-based trading will ensure authentication, password-protect, e-trade confirmation and a fast electronic collection and payment mechanism," UTI Securities managing director, Pushpangadan said. "Some new products a broker can offer include portfolio tracker for caluation, company analysis linked to client transactions, basket trading proprietary trading etc.," he added.

The chief investment officer of Jardine Fleming also mooted the idea of introducing tracking shares, whereby a company could issue shares for a particular division which it wants to hive off. "These tracking shares could also be issued as a debt or quasi debt instruments, which will be an easier step in the light of India regulatory conditions," Crisil managing director R Ravimohan said.