Cost structure in Rs 23-trillion mutual fund industry comes under Sebi lens

Junkets to distributors, narrow differential between direct and regular plan under spotlight

The cost structure in the Rs 23-trillion mutual fund (MF) industry has come under the radar of market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Sources say the regulator wants to probe the different components of the so-called total expense ratio (TER) charged to investors by fund houses.

Sebi has directed some fund houses to explain the narrow difference between the TER for their direct and regular plans. Direct plans are those where an investor bypasses the distributor by transacting directly with the fund house. According to sources, Sebi is probing whether fund houses are overcharging investors opting for