Various fund houses have chalked out detailed plans to reach retail customers in a market characterised by bearish sentiments. Mutual fund houses have directed field managers to launch direct-to-customer campaigns and contact retail customers to invest in various mutual fund (MF) schemes.
This measure is believed to be a response to retail investors? pulling their money out of various schemes during the recent redemption pressure in the Indian MF industry.
UK Sinha, CMD, UTI MF, said, ?In our latest equity and gold scheme, we have mobilised over Rs 300 crore by directly approaching retail investors in Tier II and III cities. We are surprised at the huge response from retail investors, and are making all efforts to explain details of schemes to them.?
UTI MF was one of the few fund houses that registered a growth in their asset under management (AUM) for November. Its AUM stood at Rs 38,358.14 crore, an increase of Rs 74.51 crores, or 0.19%, over October?s figure of Rs 38,283.63 crore.
An official from a leading fund house said, ?We have been asked to explain global and domestic market conditions to customers, and seek their investments in equity and debt schemes through MFs from a long-term perspective. We have also been instructed to point out risky and safe schemes to investors. This will prevent us from losing customers to bank fixed deposits and other schemes.?
ICICI Prudential AMC is also conducting various investors? seminars to increase its market share.
Vikram Kaushal, head, retail sales and distribution, ICICI Prudential AMC, said, ?We are dedicated to help investors make informed decisions. In collaboration with our channel partners, we have been conducting various education series for investors to look at overall financial planning and asset allocation as key factors before making decisions. These have helped us in category development and aided investors in making holistic decisions.?
?In the past 6 months we have increased the frequency of such programs for investors as well as channel partners. Given the current situation, investors? concerns are best answered upfront,? he added. Various other fund houses are also planning to woo retail investors directly to increase their exposure in this market.