Street signs: SAT's new presiding officer, trouble for brokers, and more

After the defaults by IL&FS, investors have become extra cautious of putting even their short-term money in these schemes

SAT to get a presiding officer 

The Securities and Appellate Tribunal (SAT), a quasi-judicial body that hears appeals pertaining to the securities, insurance and pension market, will soon get a presiding officer, said people with the knowledge. The position has been lying vacant since July when J P Devadhar demitted office. Sources say the government has identified a recently retired judge from the Allahabad High Court to join the tribunal. Currently, the tribunal has only one member – C G Nair. The absence of a presiding officer and adequate members have resulted in a huge backlog at the SAT. Sources say more than 500 appeals against orders issued by the market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India, are pending before the tribunal.  - Shrimi Choudhary 

Liquid fund managers under pressure 

Debt fund managers are under pressure to convince investors, especially corporate clients and high net worth individuals, to put money in their liquid funds. After the defaults by Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), investors have become extra cautious of putting even their short-term money in these schemes. Some investors are even seeking details of portfolios before they put money. “Investors want decent returns but with minimum risk, so fund managers are facing tricky questions on how they can deliver both,” says the CEO of a fund house. On an annualised basis, liquid funds have given 6.83 per cent in the past year – the best among all debt funds. - Joydeep Ghosh

Onboarding trouble for brokers

The apex court's Aadhaar verdict has applied brakes on new client additions for the Rs 180-billion domestic broking industry. The Supreme Court's September 26 order had barred private entities from using Aadhaar card for KYC authentication purposes. Market participants say opening new demat and trading accounts took three days against 20 minutes when Aadhaar authentication was allowed. Thanks to quick onboarding using Aadhaar, the industry was able to add one million new accounts

every quarter, said broking officials. - Sundar Sethuraman