No registration fees from 1st time MF distributors for 5 months

MUMBAI: Industry body Association of Mutual Funds in India ( AMFI) today decided to waive registration fees, estimated at Rs 3,000, for first time distributors for a period of five months beginning February 1.

The initiative is aimed at enlarging distribution network and attracting new cadre of distributors or Independent Financial Advisors (IFAs) for selling mutual fund products, AMFI said in a release here.

AMFI has "decided to waive registration fees for all registrations of first time distributors for a period of five months from February 1, 2013 to June 30, 2013."

The objective is to create larger number of 'feet-on-street' to distribute mutual fund products, AMFI Chief Executive H N Sinor said.

In November last year, AMFI had slashed registration fees to Rs 3,000 for three years per distributor from Rs 5,000.

The distributors registering under the category of individuals, including senior citizens and new cadre of distributors, need not pay the registration fees during the five-month period, the release said today.

After two years of successive decline, the mutual fund industry managed to register rise in assets base nearing Rs 8 lakh crore with an increase of about Rs 2 lakh crore in 2012.

As per industry data, the total assets under management (AUM) of all the fund houses put together rose by 30 per cent on strong inflows in fixed income, gold schemes and liquid funds.

Market regulator SEBI last year introduced a new cadre of distributors, who have been allowed to sell units of simple and performing schemes to increase the strength of mutual fund distribution network.