10-things you need to know about MF Utility

It's an online transaction aggregation platform which will become fully operational by the first week of March

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The Association of Mutual Funds of India has started a single-window platform — MF Utility — for investment in schemes across fund houses. A web-based transaction aggregator, this is in development stage and will be fully operational by the first week of March. To use the portal, investors will have to obtain a common account number

What is MF Utility?
It's a 'shared services' initiative by Amfi subsidiary MF Utilities India. It's a transaction aggregation portal, which enables MF consumers to transact in multiple schemes across fund houses.

What does it do?

MF Utility (MFU) is a browser-based application that connects investors to registrars and transfer agent (RTA), bank, fund house, payment gateway and know your customer, or KYC registration agencies (KRA).

What charges does the distributor have to pay?
MFU is a free-of-cost facility for the distributors signing up with the utility.

How will the existing folios/investments be migrated/linked to MF Utility?
MFU will not migrate the existing investments of the investors. Upon creation of a common account number (CAN), MFU will map the existing folios of investors across fund houses to the CAN, based on PAN (permanent account number) and the holding pattern.

What would be the brokerage for transactions?
Transactions submitted through MFU are forwarded to the respective asset management company (AMC) or its RTA for processing. There is no change in the applicability of brokerage or its processing.

How does an investor gain access to MF Utility?
An investor will have to get himself a CAN by submitting the CAN registration form at any point of sale of MF Utilities India or a distributor signed up with MF Utilities India or a participating AMC branch. Investors will, then, be provided login access to MF Utility where they can access the information across all MF investments.

Will an investor be able to do the KYC process through this platform?
MFU will not act as a KRA. However, it will facilitate KYC by forwarding customer details along with CAN to a KRA.

Can KYC non-compliant investors get CANs created?
KYC compliance is compulsory for CAN creation. If an investor is not KYC compliant, MFU will facilitate KYC registration.

What if an investor does not create CAN?
CAN provides a lot of benefits/facilities to the investors and distributors. Without a CAN, these benefits will not be available.

Is CAN transferable?
No. In case of eventualities such as the demise of one or more holders in the CAN, the surviving holders have to request for transmission with MF Utilities India.