Amfi Lambasts Vilification Campaign

Association of Mutual Funds of India (Amfi), taking strong exception to the campaign launched against the sector, has come down heavily on the errant funds and recommended that the complaints should be directed to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) against those specific funds.

In a release issued here, the association said, "If any person or organisation has any specific complaint about any mutual fund, they are requested to approach Sebi, which is the regulatory authority for mutual funds."

This recommendation was put forth after a meeting between six mutual funds chiefs and Amfi chairman A P Kurian. Some political parties have been targetting these six MFs and have singled them out for probe by the intelligence agencies. These include SBI Mutual Fund, Alliance Mutual Fund, Birla Mutual Fund, Sun F&C, Pru-ICICI Mutual Fund and IL&FS Mutual Fund.

Calling the allegations baseless, the apex industry organisation has assured investors that the current performance of the schemes should be viewed in the light of the stock market passing through a bearish phase.

The association has also reassured investors that mutual funds function strictly within a regulatory framework with inspection by Sebi each year into their accounts, and as such, any irregularities would be subject to scrutiny.