A study on the mutual fund market in India provides some insight over the mutual fund companies in India. The mutual fund business was started in India in the year 1963. Unit Trust of India was the only mutual fund company in India from 1963 to 1987. It was by the end of 1980s when the Indian mutual fund market started to experience the existence of other mutual fund companies.
A number of financial companies in India started to enter into the market of mutual funds. Some of the major mutual fund companies that started their new operations in the Indian mutual fund market at the end of 1980s were - SBI Mutual Fund, Punjab National Bank Mutual Fund, Canbank Mutual Fund, Bank of India Mutual Fund, Indian Bank Mutual Fund, and many others.
It was by the end of 1993 when private sector financial companies started to enter into the Indian mutual fund market. By that time, the mutual fund industry in India had grown substantially and the penetration of private sector made the industry more competitive. The mutual fund firms in India came up with innovative products and services in order to attract the customers. Total assets under the management of the mutual fund industry by the end of 1993 climbed to Rs. 470.04 billion. The various mutual fund companies in India then started to offer mutual fund products catering to the special needs of the investors.
The first mutual fund regulations were introduced in the year 1993. This made all the mutual fund firms except UTI to re-register. This regulation went for further revision in the year 1996.
SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) regulates the operations of all the mutual fund firms in India. Under the Indian Trusts Act, all the mutual funds in the country need to be established as trusts. All the mutual funds in India are allowed to apply for firm allotment in public issues. The mutual funds can even be penalized for defaults such as non-registration or failure to observe rules set by their asset management companies. The mutual funds that are dealing exclusively with money market instruments need to be registered with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
For more information on mutual fund companies in India, please refer to the following links:
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