Bose panel report has MFs sounding bullish

Following the Sumit Bose committee report recommending to allow mutual fund houses to manage both Ulip funds as well as retirement funds, the industry is bullish to manage more funds.
The committee has also recommended that there can be various regulators for the same product keeping in view the different functions of the product, for instance it wants Sebi to regulate the investments made by Ulip funds, while IRDA to regulate the insurance part of the same fund.
The report also wants MFs to manage the investment part of a Ulip launched life insurers.
Currently, Ulips are regulated by the insurance regulator Irdai, while MFs are controlled by the markets regulator Sebi.

These issues may come up for discussions during the forthcoming meeting of AMFI which is slated for September 16 here, according to the industry.
Franklin Templeton Investments that manages funds worth Rs 74,312 crore as of end June, said it favours the Sumit Bose panel recommendations that seeks to allow fund houses to manage insurance and pension assets.

"Our view is that fund houses should be allowed to manage insurance and pension assets as is the case the world over. The respective regulators can set the rules for various market participants to follow," Franklin Templeton Investments India managing director Vivek Kudva told PTI.

"There is no harm in having separate regulators for asset managers, insurers and pension funds. However, everyone's focus should be on increasing penetration and financial inclusion whilst ensuring adequate oversight and a fair deal to investors," he said.
He further said, "Some of these topics may come up for discussion during the forthcoming meeting of Amfi on September 16.