Declining FD rates not a driving force for retail investors: Sebi official

The falling fixed deposit rates

of banks should not be a driving force for retail investors to put their money in the capital market, and they should revalidate their investment strategies carefully during the current COVID-19 crisis, a Sebi official said on Friday.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India is continuously working to make the capital market safe and protect the interest of retail investors, he said.

Retail investors need to "revalidate their strategies carefully" to invest in the capital market amid the coronavirus crisis and decreasing bank deposit rates, Sebi whole-time member G Mahalingam said at a webinar organised by MCCI.

According to him, the regulator has taken various measures to keep the capital market robust amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Sebi official also indicated that investors need to invest carefully in these troubled times to stay safe and should expect "reasonable return" from mutual funds.

Replying to a question about new margin norms, Mahalingam said the Sebi has to do so to make the market safe for the long term.

He said the Sebi has relaxed norms of fund raising from the market by the companies in the wake of the current coronavirus crisis.

According to him, the market regulator wants the corporate bond market to thrive, and retail and institutional investors should have appetite for it.