Sebi allows incentives for MF distributors to boost women, B30 onboarding

Distributors to receive up to ₹2,000 additional commission

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The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has introduced a new incentive framework for mutual fund (MF) distributors to boost participation of women investors and people from beyond top 30 (B30) locations.

 

Sebi said distributors will now be eligible for up to ₹2,000 additional commissions for bringing new individual investors (new PANs) from B30 cities and new women investors from both T30 and B30 locations, the regulator said in a circular issued on Thursday. For lumpsum investments, the extra commission will be 1 per cent of the first application amount with a caveat that the investor remains invested for at least a year. In case of systematic investment plans (SIPs), it will be 1 per cent of the total investments made during the first year.

 

The additional commission is capped at ₹2,000 for every new eligible investor that the distributor brings. The additional commissions will be paid by fund houses from the investor awareness fund. 

 

The incentive structure will not be applicable for schemes like exchange traded funds (ETFs), domestic fund of funds and short duration debt schemes like overnight, liquid, ultra-short duration and low duration.

 

Fund houses will have to ensure that distributors do not receive the incentive for the same investor twice. “Distributors shall be eligible to receive the additional commission for mobilising investments from new women investors from top 30 cities, and in cases where the commission for new investment from B30 cities has not been claimed for the same woman investor/investment. Dual incentives for the same investor/investment shall not be permitted,” Sebi said. The new incentive structure will come into effect from February 2026.