Incumbent distributors confident despite talks of Paytm's MF foray

The widely heralded Jio moment of the mutual fund industry is right around the corner. Paytm is set to go live with its mutual fund distribution platform, Paytm Money, anytime this month. However, mutual fund distributors, which at the last count accounted for Rs 1.8 trillion of industry assets, are confident that there is no need for them to reshuffle their business model and reiterated the importance of timely advice for investors.

“Those just looking for transaction convenience and parking surplus funds on a temporary basis would get drawn to platforms like Paytm Money. However, serious investors with long-term horizons would continue to prefer platforms like ours where they can get timely and customized advice. We are going to stick to our business model despite what the competition is doing,” said Srikanth Meenakshi, co-founder and chief operating officer of online FundsIndia.

The Chennai-based firm has among the highest assets under management (AUM) of Rs 43 billion when it comes to digital-only platforms, earning Rs 496 million in distribution commissions in 2017-18.The widely heralded Jio moment of the mutual fund industry is right around the corner. Paytm is set to go live with its mutual fund distribution platform, Paytm Money, anytime this month. However, mutual fund distributors, which at the last count accounted for Rs 1.8 trillion of industry assets, are confident that there is no need for them to reshuffle their business model and reiterated the importance of timely advice for investors.