Investing Mutual Funds SEBI AMFI asset management Indian capital markets personal finance mergers and acquisitions

Mutual funds in India: complete guide

From WebNotes, a public knowledge base. Last updated . Reading time ~32 min.

A mutual fund in India is a pooled-investment vehicle operated by a SEBI-registered Asset Management Company (AMC) that issues units to investors against money received and invests the pooled corpus in securities according to a published scheme objective. The Indian mutual fund industry has grown from a single state-controlled trust in 1963 to over 44 SEBI-registered AMCs managing more than Rs 65 lakh crore in assets under management (AUM) by 2025, with industry folios crossing 200 million and unique investor count approaching 50 million. The industry is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India under the SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations 1996 and self-regulated through the industry codes published by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) .

For a retail investor in 2026, mutual funds are the most accessible route to participate in Indian equity, debt, hybrid and overseas asset classes through a professionally-managed structure. The defining features of the Indian mutual fund regime are the SEBI October 2017 scheme categorisation framework that imposed 36 standardised categories across all AMCs, the direct-plan regime introduced in January 2013 that gives investors a lower expense ratio when they bypass distributors, the AMFI Risk-O-Meter standardised six-level risk labelling, and the SEBI capped total expense ratios (TER) that constrain AMC charges.

This article serves as a cornerstone editorial hub on the Indian mutual fund industry. It is structured around the questions a serious investor needs answered: who regulates the system, who runs the funds, how the AMC roster has evolved through mergers and new licences, what fund categories exist, how distribution works, what charges apply and how mutual fund returns are taxed. Per-AMC details, per-scheme analyses and operational how-to guides live on the linked spoke articles.

Regulatory framework

The Indian mutual fund regulatory framework rests on four pillars: SEBI as statutory regulator, the trustee structure of each mutual fund, AMFI as the industry self-regulator, and the depositories and registrars that operate the back-office infrastructure.

SEBI as the statutory regulator

SEBI , established under the SEBI Act 1992, is the apex regulator for all Indian securities markets including mutual funds. The SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations 1996 codify the registration, governance, investment-restriction, valuation, disclosure and termination rules for every Indian mutual fund. Major regulatory milestones include the October 2017 scheme-categorisation circular that defined 36 standardised categories, the September 2020 multi-cap reclassification , the April 2023 amendment that removed indexation benefit on debt mutual funds covered under debt mutual fund taxation 2023 , and the July 2024 capital-gains rate increases under Sections 111A and 112A .

SEBI’s mutual fund function is housed in the SEBI Investment Management Department which handles AMC registrations, scheme approvals, and enforcement actions. The SEBI SCORES portal is the public complaints-handling channel for mutual fund grievances. SEBI also operates the B30/T30 incentive framework that subsidises distribution into smaller cities, and the SEBI advertisement code for mutual funds governing marketing content.

The trustee structure

Every Indian mutual fund is structured as a trust under the Indian Trusts Act 1882. The mutual fund is sponsored by a sponsor entity (typically a bank, financial-services group, foreign asset manager or founder-led firm), which constitutes a trustee company that holds the assets on behalf of unitholders, and appoints an AMC that does the investment management for a fee. The trustee company is independent of the AMC and has fiduciary obligations to unitholders, including approving new schemes, reviewing AMC performance and ratifying investments that exceed prescribed limits.

This three-tier structure (sponsor, trustee, AMC) is designed to prevent the conflict of interest that would arise if the sponsor or AMC directly held investor money. The trustee role on Indian mutual funds is examined in detail under the PPFAS example. The custodian, registrar and auditor relationships are covered under PPFAS custodian, RTA and auditor relationships and the broader mutual fund custodian function. SEBI’s sponsor eligibility regulations prescribe net-worth, track-record and integrity requirements for new sponsors.

AMFI as industry self-regulator

AMFI is the not-for-profit industry body to which all SEBI-registered AMCs are members. AMFI publishes industry data (the monthly AUM disclosures , the AAUM data , industry composition ), administers the AMFI Registration Number (ARN) system that licenses mutual fund distributors, sets best-practice standards through the AMFI Best Practice Guidelines and the AMFI Code of Ethics , and runs investor-education and grievance-handling support through the AMFI Investor Grievance Matrix .

AMFI is not a statutory body. Its rules are binding on members through industry-association obligations rather than law, but SEBI typically endorses or mandates AMFI standards through subsequent circulars, making them effectively binding across the industry.

Depositories, registrars and transaction platforms

Mutual fund operations rely on two depositories (CDSL and NSDL ) for dematerialised unit-holding, and on Registrar and Transfer Agents (RTAs) for folio-level recordkeeping. The two principal RTAs are CAMS (Computer Age Management Services), serving roughly two-thirds of industry AUM, and KFin Technologies (formerly Karvy Computershare) serving the remainder. The Karvy Stock Broking pledge-misuse case of 2019 prompted the broader RTA-governance reforms documented in the SEBI margin pledge rules of September 2020 .

The exchange-operated mutual fund platforms (BSE StAR MF and NSE NMF II ) and the AMFI-promoted Mutual Fund Utility (MFU) act as transaction-processing infrastructure, routing orders from distributors and direct investors to AMCs and RTAs. The 2022-launched MF Central is the AMFI-promoted consolidated investor-services platform, and the MITRA initiative covers forgotten-folio retrieval across CAMS and KFin.

Industry structure and the AMC landscape

As of 2025, the Indian mutual fund industry is composed of more than 44 SEBI-registered AMCs across active, newly-licensed and historical-legacy entities. The top 10 AMCs by AUM concentrate approximately 75 per cent of industry assets, with the long tail of smaller AMCs serving niche, specialist or institutional segments. The industry’s structural diversity (bank-sponsored, insurance-affiliated, foreign-partnered, founder-led, broker-aligned) means investors have meaningful choice across scheme philosophies and pricing tiers.

Top tier: ten largest AMCs by AUM

The largest AMCs by AUM as of 2025, in approximate order, are:

  1. SBI Mutual Fund (the industry leader since 2020).
  2. HDFC Mutual Fund .
  3. ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund .
  4. Nippon India Mutual Fund (formerly Reliance Mutual Fund).
  5. Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund .
  6. Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund .
  7. Axis Mutual Fund .
  8. UTI Mutual Fund (the historical industry pioneer).
  9. Mirae Asset Mutual Fund .
  10. DSP Mutual Fund (post-2018 BlackRock exit).

These ten AMCs collectively manage approximately 75 per cent of industry AUM. Their scale advantages include distribution reach (especially the bank-sponsored quartet of SBI, HDFC, ICICI and Axis), brand recognition, sponsor-balance-sheet support, and the ability to maintain larger investment and operational teams.

Mid-tier: eleventh to twenty-fifth ranked AMCs

The mid-tier of Indian AMCs includes long-established houses with substantial but not market-leading AUM:

Long-tail and specialist AMCs

The long tail includes smaller-AUM AMCs that operate in niche, specialist or recently-licenced positions:

Indian AMC sponsors fall into seven recognisable categories:

  • Public-sector bank-sponsored: SBI Mutual Fund, Canara Robeco, Union, Bank of India, Baroda BNP Paribas, LIC Mutual Fund.
  • Private-sector bank-sponsored: HDFC, ICICI Prudential, Axis, Kotak, IDFC First (legacy in Bandhan).
  • Insurance-affiliated: HDFC Life and SBI Life cross-link with their group AMCs; the LIC Mutual Fund is the direct LIC-sponsored vehicle.
  • Foreign joint venture: Mirae Asset (Korean Mirae), HSBC, Franklin Templeton, Mahindra Manulife (Canadian Manulife), Baroda BNP Paribas, PGIM India, Invesco, Canara Robeco (Dutch Robeco), Jio BlackRock (US BlackRock).
  • Founder-led independent: PPFAS, Quantum, Quant, Old Bridge, Unifi, Capitalmind, Helios, Abakkus.
  • Broker- or fintech-aligned: Zerodha Fund House, Angel One, Samco, Groww, Bajaj Finserv, Navi.
  • Distributor-sponsored: NJ Mutual Fund (sponsored by India’s largest mutual fund distributor NJ India Invest).

The bank-sponsored category dominates AUM because of the distribution muscle that affiliated bank branches provide. The founder-led and broker-aligned categories have grown rapidly in the 2020s, reflecting the broader Indian retail shift toward digital direct-plan distribution.

Mergers, acquisitions and new licences

The Indian mutual fund industry has undergone substantial structural change since 2018, with multiple major M&A events alongside a wave of new licences issued from 2020 onward. The combination has reshaped the AMC roster materially: of the 44+ AMCs operating as of 2025, roughly one third either entered through a new licence or operate under a different name and ownership than they did in 2018. The historical perspective here covers the principal M&As, the new-licence wave, and the broader pattern.

Major mergers and acquisitions since 2018

Nippon Life acquisition of Reliance Mutual Fund (2019)

In 2019, Japan’s Nippon Life Insurance acquired the entire shareholding of Reliance Mutual Fund from the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), in what remains the largest single ownership transition in the industry’s history. The AMC was rebranded as Nippon India Mutual Fund. The transaction followed material credit stress at the ADAG holding entity Reliance Capital and was approved by SEBI under conflict-of-interest provisions. The post-acquisition Nippon India Mutual Fund has remained in the industry top-5 by AUM. Coverage: Nippon Reliance MF acquisition 2019 .

Bandhan acquisition of IDFC Mutual Fund (2023)

In 2022-2023, IDFC Limited sold IDFC Mutual Fund to a Bandhan Financial Holdings-led consortium (including private-equity co-investors) for approximately Rs 4,500 crore. The transaction transferred a top-10 AMC by AUM (approximately Rs 1.15 lakh crore at the time of the sale) under the Bandhan Mutual Fund brand. The pre-acquisition history of IDFC Mutual Fund (which itself originated as Standard Chartered Mutual Fund from 2000-2008) is covered under IDFC Mutual Fund historical . The IDFC era featured the notable Kenneth Andrade investment leadership phase (2005-2015) before Andrade subsequently founded Old Bridge Mutual Fund .

HSBC acquisition of L&T Mutual Fund (2022)

In December 2021, L&T Finance Holdings announced the sale of its mutual fund AMC subsidiary to HSBC Asset Management India for approximately USD 425 million. The transaction was completed in 2022. The pre-acquisition L&T MF had been built from the 2010 L&T Finance acquisition of the DBS Cholamandalam Mutual Fund AMC, itself a Murugappa Group + DBS Bank JV. Coverage: L&T Mutual Fund historical , with the post-merger operation under HSBC Mutual Fund .

Groww acquisition of Indiabulls Mutual Fund (2023)

In 2023, the Indiabulls Group sold Indiabulls Mutual Fund to Groww Asset Management, the asset management arm of Groww , India’s largest retail mutual fund distribution platform by user count. The acquisition allowed Groww to enter the AMC business through an existing SEBI-licenced entity rather than the multi-year approval process for a new AMC. Coverage: Indiabulls Mutual Fund historical , with the post-acquisition operation under Groww Mutual Fund .

Baroda + BNP Paribas Mutual Fund merger (2021)

In 2020-2021, Bank of Baroda and BNP Paribas Asset Management merged their separate Indian mutual fund operations into the combined Baroda BNP Paribas Mutual Fund. The transaction combined Baroda Mutual Fund (Rs 12,000 crore AUM, est. 1994) and BNP Paribas Mutual Fund India (Rs 6,000 crore AUM, est. 2004) into a single entity with approximately Rs 18,000-20,000 crore AUM. Coverage: Baroda Mutual Fund historical , BNP Paribas Mutual Fund historical , with the post-merger operation under Baroda BNP Paribas Mutual Fund .

Sundaram acquisition of Principal Mutual Fund (2021)

In 2020-2021, Principal Financial Group sold its Indian mutual fund AMC subsidiary to Sundaram Asset Management, a subsidiary of the Sundaram Finance group. Principal Mutual Fund had been operationalised in 1994 as one of the early foreign-asset-manager Indian market entries. Coverage: Principal Mutual Fund historical , with the post-acquisition operation under Sundaram Mutual Fund .

PGIM India transition (2019)

In 2019, Prudential Financial Inc. bought out DHFL’s stake in the DHFL Pramerica Mutual Fund joint venture (operational from 2015-2019), amid the broader DHFL insolvency proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. The AMC was rebranded as PGIM India Mutual Fund, aligning with Prudential Financial’s global asset management brand. Coverage: Pramerica Mutual Fund historical , with the current operation under PGIM India Mutual Fund .

DSP BlackRock joint-venture dissolution (2018)

In 2018, BlackRock Inc. exited the DSP BlackRock Mutual Fund joint venture, with the DSP Group repurchasing BlackRock’s stake. The AMC was rebranded as DSP Mutual Fund under DSP Group sole ownership. The pre-2018 history of the AMC included the original DSP Merrill Lynch JV (1996-2008) before BlackRock’s global acquisition of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers brought the Indian operation under the DSP BlackRock banner. Coverage: DSP BlackRock historical . BlackRock subsequently returned to the Indian market in 2024-2025 through the Jio BlackRock Mutual Fund joint venture with Jio Financial Services.

Bank of India AXA exit (2022)

In 2022, AXA Investment Managers exited the Bank of India AXA Mutual Fund joint venture (operational 2008-2022). Bank of India repurchased AXA’s 49 per cent stake, restoring full ownership, and rebranded the AMC as Bank of India Mutual Fund .

IIFL to 360 ONE rebrand (2024)

In 2024, IIFL Wealth and Asset Management rebranded itself to 360 ONE WAM, with the mutual fund subsidiary consequently renamed from IIFL Mutual Fund to 360 ONE Mutual Fund . The pre-rebrand history is covered under IIFL Mutual Fund historical .

New AMC licences since 2020

The 2020-2025 period has been the most active for new AMC operationalisation in Indian mutual fund history, with at least a dozen new entrants receiving SEBI approval and beginning operations. The new entrants span broker-aligned, founder-led, distributor-sponsored and digital-native categories:

The new-licence wave reflects four converging trends: the maturation of India’s retail mutual fund investor base (creating commercial space for new entrants), the rise of digital direct-plan distribution (lowering customer-acquisition barriers), the success precedent of PPFAS Mutual Fund and similar founder-led houses (proving that smaller specialist AMCs could build sustainable franchises), and the broader Indian fintech and broking expansion that has produced large captive customer bases ripe for cross-sell into mutual funds.

Significant exits and wind-ups

Alongside the new entrants, the industry has seen meaningful exits:

  • Franklin Templeton six debt schemes wind-up (April 2020): under Franklin Templeton winding-up 2020 , the AMC suspended redemptions on six debt schemes citing pandemic-era liquidity stress, ultimately winding them up over a multi-year payout process. The episode triggered substantial SEBI regulatory reforms on debt-fund liquidity, side-pocketing and disclosure.
  • Escorts Mutual Fund: wound up in the 2000s/2010s after sub-scale operations under the Escorts Group financial services arm. Coverage: Escorts Mutual Fund historical .
  • Daiwa Mutual Fund: Daiwa Securities exited the Indian retail mutual fund market in the early 2010s after a brief operational period. Coverage: Daiwa Mutual Fund historical .
  • Various 1990s-2000s small AMCs: that wound up or were absorbed into other AMCs as part of the broader first-wave private AMC attrition.

Pattern: industry consolidation alongside fragmentation

The Indian mutual fund industry of 2025 illustrates an unusual pattern: simultaneous consolidation at the top (top-10 AMCs concentrate ~75 per cent AUM) and fragmentation at the entry layer (a dozen new licences since 2020). The reconciliation is that incumbents grow through scale economics and distribution moats, while new entrants serve differentiated niches (passive index, value investing, factor investing, broker-aligned, digital-native) that incumbents cannot easily capture. The pattern is likely to continue: BlackRock’s return through Jio BlackRock, the founder-led wave (Andrade, Reddy, Shenoy, Arora, Singhania), and the broker-aligned subset (Zerodha, Angel One, Samco, Groww) all illustrate distinct strategic positioning that does not directly compete with the top-10 incumbents.

Scheme categorisation

The October 2017 SEBI circular standardised mutual fund categories across all AMCs. Before 2017, every AMC had used its own naming, making cross-AMC comparison difficult. The framework now defines four broad classes with detailed sub-categories.

Equity-oriented schemes

The equity bucket includes large-cap mutual funds (invest in the top 100 listed companies by market capitalisation), mid-cap mutual funds (101st to 250th), small-cap mutual funds (251st onwards), multi-cap mutual funds (mandatorily 25 per cent each in large, mid and small caps after the 2020 reclassification), flexi-cap mutual funds (managers have full freedom across market caps), sectoral and thematic mutual funds , value mutual funds , contra mutual funds , dividend yield mutual funds , focused equity mutual funds (concentrated portfolios of at most 30 stocks), and ELSS mutual funds (equity-linked savings schemes with a three-year lock-in offering tax deduction under Section 80C of the old tax regime).

Debt-oriented schemes

Debt fund sub-categories track duration and credit-quality profiles: liquid mutual funds (instruments up to 91 days), ultra short duration mutual funds , low duration mutual funds , money market mutual funds , short duration mutual funds , medium duration mutual funds , medium to long duration mutual funds , long duration mutual funds , dynamic bond mutual funds , corporate bond mutual funds , credit risk mutual funds , banking and PSU debt mutual funds , gilt mutual funds , and floater mutual funds .

Hybrid schemes

Hybrid schemes combine equity and debt: aggressive hybrid mutual funds (65-80 per cent equity), balanced hybrid mutual funds , conservative hybrid mutual funds (10-25 per cent equity), arbitrage mutual funds (cash-futures arbitrage, taxed as equity), equity savings mutual funds , multi-asset allocation mutual funds , and balanced advantage mutual funds (dynamic allocation managed against valuation signals).

Solution-oriented and other schemes

Retirement mutual funds and children’s mutual funds carry a five-year lock-in or until retirement / age of majority. Index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) replicate published benchmarks at typically lower expense ratios than active funds. Fund of funds invest in other mutual funds, and the SEBI categorisation framework treats their taxation by the predominant underlying. Specialised investment funds (under the SIF framework ), smallcase-style thematic packs, and PMS-adjacent structures sit outside the standard 36 categories.

Distribution channels

Indian mutual fund distribution is bifurcated between regular plans (sold through SEBI-registered distributors and brokers, embedding a commission in the expense ratio) and direct plans (sold without distributor intermediation, at a lower expense ratio). The SEBI direct-plan regime introduced on 1 January 2013 mandated that every AMC offer a direct variant of every scheme.

Direct-plan platforms

Zerodha Coin is the broker-aligned direct-plan platform that holds units in the investor’s demat account through Zerodha as the depository participant. Groww operates as a SEBI-registered investment platform with both direct mutual funds and equity broking. Kuvera is a fee-free direct-plan platform owned by CRED. ET Money is the discovery-and-tracking direct-plan app published by Times Internet. INDmoney and Paytm Money extend the direct-plan ecosystem. The Mutual Fund Utility (MFU) is the AMFI-promoted shared transaction platform. The direct mutual fund portals comparison article covers these in detail.

AMC-direct routes through the CAMS Online portal and the KFinKart portal allow investors to transact across AMCs served by each RTA, accessing a single statement and unified KYC.

Regular-plan distribution

Regular-plan distribution runs through banks (whose branch networks remain the largest single-channel route), Independent Financial Advisors (IFAs) , wealth-management arms of brokers, the historical national distributors including the NJ Wealth network and Prudent network, and increasingly open-architecture digital distributors . The commission embedded in regular-plan TER is paid by the AMC to the distributor as trail commission, typically ranging from 0.5 to 1.0 per cent annualised depending on AMC, scheme category, and distributor tier. The Execution-Only Platforms (EOP) regulation 2023 introduced a separate regulatory category for digital execution-only platforms.

Direct vs regular

The direct-vs-regular TER differential is the structural advantage of direct plans for a self-directed investor. The annualised difference is roughly 0.5 to 1.0 per cent across major equity categories, which compounds materially over multi-year holding periods. The direct-to-regular and regular-to-direct switch implications cover the operational consequences of converting between plan variants.

KYC, onboarding and folio mechanics

Indian mutual fund investing requires KYC compliance under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002. The KYC process is centralised through the KRA (KYC Registration Agency) ecosystem so the same KYC document set serves transactions across AMCs.

KYC infrastructure

The KRA ecosystem for MF KYC defines the centralised KYC repository accessed by AMCs and distributors. Aadhaar-based e-KYC is the dominant onboarding route, requiring an Aadhaar OTP, PAN linkage and a bank-account verification. Video KYC provides an alternative for cases where Aadhaar e-KYC is unavailable. The CKYC (Central KYC) framework operates as a parallel repository administered by CERSAI.

Folio mechanics

Each mutual fund investment creates a folio at the AMC, identified by a folio number. The folio holds units across schemes within the same AMC. The Statement of Account (SOA) is the canonical confirmation of any transaction. The Statement of Additional Information (SAI) and Scheme Information Document are the AMC’s structured disclosures about each scheme. The Consolidated Account Statement (CAS) consolidates units across AMCs into a single statement for an investor.

Nomination and transmission

Every folio carries nomination details that govern unit transmission on the death of a holder. The mutual fund transmission process and the nomination opt-out option under the SEBI 2024 amendments are the operative reference points. The MITRA Initiative is AMFI’s framework for tracing forgotten or unclaimed folios.

Investment routes and charges

Lump sum, SIP, STP, SWP

A mutual fund investment can be made as a lump sum or as a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) with recurring contributions on a fixed schedule. The SIP growth story in India documents the industry’s shift toward SIP-led retail participation. A Systematic Transfer Plan (STP) moves units from one scheme to another at a regular cadence, while a Systematic Withdrawal Plan (SWP) redeems units on a fixed schedule to generate cash flow. The step-up SIP variant increases the contribution amount annually, useful for income-following investors. The SIP pause and cancellation process covers operational continuity. The SIP discontinuation persistence data tracks how durable retail SIP commitments are in practice.

Charges

The principal charge on a mutual fund is the Total Expense Ratio (TER) , capped by SEBI by scheme category: equity funds at 2.25 per cent for the first Rs 500 crore AUM and stepping down for larger AUMs, debt funds at 2.00 per cent, index funds and ETFs at 1.00 per cent. Direct plans carry a lower TER reflecting the absent distribution commission.

The exit load applies on redemptions within a specified period (commonly 1 per cent within the first year on equity funds, zero on liquid funds). The stamp duty on mutual fund units is 0.005 per cent on purchases. Transaction charges of Rs 100 to Rs 150 apply on first-time investments above Rs 10,000 routed through distributors registered under the AMFI ARN system.

Taxation

Mutual fund taxation in India varies by scheme category, holding period and the investor’s tax-residency status.

Equity-oriented schemes

A scheme is treated as equity-oriented for tax purposes when at least 65 per cent of its corpus is invested in listed Indian equity. Such schemes attract short-term capital gains tax under Section 111A at 20 per cent for holdings up to one year (raised from 15 per cent in the July 2024 Budget) and long-term capital gains tax under Section 112A at 12.5 per cent (raised from 10 per cent in the July 2024 Budget) on gains above Rs 1.25 lakh per financial year. The grandfathering of LTCG on equity MFs of 31 January 2018 preserves NAV-based cost-basis for pre-Budget holdings.

Debt-oriented schemes

Following the debt mutual fund taxation reform of April 2023 , all gains on debt mutual funds purchased on or after 1 April 2023 are taxed at the investor’s slab rate as short-term capital gains, regardless of holding period. Indexation benefit was removed. Units purchased before that date continue to enjoy the pre-2023 LTCG treatment with the four-per-cent annual indexation benefit.

Hybrid schemes

Hybrid mutual fund taxation follows the equity-oriented rules where the scheme maintains the 65 per cent equity threshold, and the debt-oriented post-2023 rules otherwise. Specific sub-categories carry nuances: arbitrage mutual funds are equity-oriented (taxed favourably) despite their cash-futures arbitrage strategy.

TDS and reporting

TDS on mutual fund dividends (IDCW ) applies under Section 194K. The TDS on MF dividend for residents and the parallel rules for NRI mutual fund investing cover the reporting framework. The Annual Information Statement (AIS) for mutual funds and AIS-TIS reconciliation are the income-tax reporting channels.

Investor protections

Risk-O-Meter and disclosures

Every mutual fund scheme carries a SEBI-mandated AMFI Risk-O-Meter labelling on a six-level scale from low to very high risk. The SEBI advertisement code for mutual funds regulates marketing content, particularly performance representations. The AMFI Investor Education programme is funded by a notional set-aside within the TER and runs sectoral campaigns on mutual fund literacy.

Grievance redressal

Investor grievances are routed through SEBI SCORES and the AMFI investor grievance matrix , with further escalation through SEBI SMART ODR for arbitration. The SEBI Investor Protection Fund for mutual funds compensates defrauded investors in specific cases.

Insider-trading and fund-manager governance

Recent SEBI reforms have tightened insider-trading rules applicable to AMC employees , fund-manager qualification and scheme limits , and the SEBI MF skin-in-the-game rule that requires AMC officers to invest a portion of their compensation in the schemes they manage. The SEBI MF designated employee rule extends pre-clearance requirements to a broader staff cohort. The SEBI MF stress testing framework introduced in 2024 requires AMCs to publish monthly liquidity stress-test results for mid-cap and small-cap equity schemes.

See also

External references

Statutory and self-regulatory bodies

Registrar and Transfer Agents

Active SEBI-registered AMCs (alphabetical, official websites)

Depositories

Exchanges (MF distribution platforms)

Other relevant authorities

References

  1. Securities and Exchange Board of India, SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations 1996 and subsequent amending circulars, sebi.gov.in, accessed May 2026.
  2. Association of Mutual Funds in India, industry data, best-practice guidelines, and Code of Ethics, amfiindia.com, accessed May 2026.
  3. SEBI October 2017 scheme-categorisation circular and subsequent clarifications, sebi.gov.in.
  4. SEBI debt-mutual-fund taxation circulars following the April 2023 Finance Act amendment.
  5. Finance Act 2024 (July 2024) amendments to Section 111A and Section 112A capital-gains tax rates on equity-oriented schemes.
  6. AMFI Risk-O-Meter framework circulars, amfiindia.com.
  7. AMFI Investor Grievance Matrix and ARN distributor framework, amfiindia.com.
  8. SEBI orders approving major Indian mutual fund ownership changes since 2018, including the Nippon-Reliance acquisition (2019), DSP-BlackRock dissolution (2018), L&T-HSBC acquisition (2022), IDFC-Bandhan acquisition (2023), Indiabulls-Groww acquisition (2023), Baroda-BNP Paribas merger (2021), Sundaram-Principal acquisition (2021), Pramerica-PGIM rebrand (2019), Bank of India-AXA exit (2022), and IIFL-360 ONE rebrand (2024).
  9. SEBI new AMC registration orders covering the 2020-2025 wave of operationalisations: Mahindra Manulife (2020), Trust (2020), NJ (2021), Samco (2022), Zerodha Fund House (2023), Bajaj Finserv (2023), Helios (2023-24), Groww (2023, via acquisition), Old Bridge (2024), Unifi (2024-25), Capitalmind (2024-25), Angel One (2024-25), Abakkus (2024-25), and Jio BlackRock (2024-25).
  10. SEBI Franklin Templeton orders relating to the April 2020 winding-up of six debt schemes, sebi.gov.in.
  11. AMFI monthly AUM disclosures and industry composition data, amfiindia.com.
  12. SEBI margin-pledge framework circulars of September 2020 following the Karvy Stock Broking pledge-misuse case.
  13. SEBI Investor Protection Fund (Mutual Funds) Regulations, sebi.gov.in.
  14. Reserve Bank of India circulars on KYC and PMLA compliance applicable to mutual fund onboarding.
  15. Income Tax Act 1961, Sections 111A, 112A, 94(7), 194K and related provisions on mutual fund taxation.

Related articles

  • Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI)

    AMFI is the industry body and self-regulatory organisation for mutual funds in India, established in 1995 to develop the industry, enforce …

  • Mutual fund industry in India

    History, structure, regulation, and growth of the mutual fund industry in India from 1963 UTI origins to the 45-AMC landscape of 2024.

  • History of Mutual Funds in India (1963 to 2026)

    A comprehensive history of mutual funds in India from the establishment of UTI in 1963 through liberalisation, private-sector entry, the …

  • Mutual fund

    Encyclopedic landing reference on mutual funds in India: definition, legal structure, scheme categories, NAV mechanics, plan and option …

  • Scheme Information Document for Indian mutual funds

    Encyclopedic reference on the Scheme Information Document (SID): regulatory basis, mandatory content, NFO filing process, SID-SAI-KIM …

  • AMFI Best Practice Guidelines (BPG)

    The AMFI Best Practice Guidelines are a comprehensive set of conduct and disclosure standards issued by AMFI to govern the behaviour of …

Reviewed and published by

WebNotes Editorial Team

The WebNotes Editorial Team covers Indian capital markets, payments infrastructure and retail investor procedures. Every article is fact-checked against primary sources, principally SEBI circulars and master directions, NPCI specifications and the official support documentation published by the intermediary in question. Drafts go through a second-pair-of-eyes review and a separate compliance read before publication, and revisions are tracked against the SEBI and NPCI rule changes referenced in the methodology section.

Last reviewed
Conflicts of interest
WebNotes is independent. No relationship with any broker, registrar or bank named in this article.