Jio-BlackRock to launch regular MF plans through distributors in India

JioBlackRock Asset Management, a venture between India's Jio Financial Services and BlackRock ​said on Monday it will offer ​regular plans for eligible mutual fund schemes, ‌allowing investors to buy them through registered distributors.

The fund house has so far offered only direct plans. Regular plans are sold through mutual fund distributors, whose commissions add to investors' costs.

JioBlackRock and some other digital-focused asset managers had limited sales to direct platforms to keep investor costs lower in India's crowded ‌mutual fund market.

Sid Swaminathan, managing director and chief executive officer of Jio BlackRock Asset Management, had told Reuters in June that the company was adopting distributor-led model, particularly as complex and higher-ticket offerings like special investment funds (SIFs) require ​advisors.

The joint venture between Mukesh Ambani's Jio Financial Services and the world's ‌largest asset manager has amassed about 180 billion rupees in assets under management ​in ‌roughly a year since its launch by building a ‌base in cash, debt-index and active equity funds.

Earlier this month Jio Financial Services and BlackRock ‌launched ​the JioBlackRock Nifty ​50 ETF, marking the joint venture's entry into India's fast-growing exchange-traded fund market.

 

(Reporting ??by ‌Urvi Dugar ​and Vivek Kumar M in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)