Give part of unused IPEF money to Amfi: Sebi tells mutual funds

Amfi will use that amount to create more awareness among investors.

Sebi has asked all mutual fund houses to provide part of their unuitilsed money in the Investor Protection and Education Fund (IPEF) to industry body Amfi, which will use that amount to create more awareness among investors.

The capital market regulator has come across instances of mutual fund players using funds meant for investor education purposes in improper ways.

According to sources, Sebi has decided that 50 per cent of the unutilised amount of 2 basis points (0.02 percentage points) of net assets set aside as on March, 2016 for investor education initiatives should be kept with Amfi.

The Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) plans to take up the issue at its board meeting this week, they added.

Under the Sebi rules, mutual funds have to spend an amount equivalent to 2 basis points of their assets under management (AUM) on investor awareness every year. Currently, the mutual fund industry, which has over 40 players, has an a AUM of more than Rs 13 lakh crore.

Sources said that 50 per cent of the unutilised amount set aside each month from April 2016 should be aggregated with Amfi. In turn, the industry body should ensure that these funds are used for "conducting meaningful investor education and awareness initiatives for enhancing financial literacy", they added.

Reliance Mutual Fund CEO Sundeep Sikka said such a move would help the industry educate investors in a more effective and cohesive manner.

Last year, Sebi had said only about Rs 330 crore was used towards investor education by fund houses during the period between October 2012 and April 2015.

The markets regulator had also asked the fund houses to make sincere use of these funds.