DECLARATION We Amit Agrawal and Tarun Agrawal , student of MBA 3 rd Sem.

hereby declarethat the research project titled: A STUDY OF MARKETING MIX ELEMENTS OF RELIANCE MUTUALFUND is our co-ordinate work which is written and undertaken by us and is our o r i g i n a l wo r k . Th e e mp i r i c a l f i n d i n g i n t h e p r o j e c t wa s u n d e r t a k e n a s a p a r t o f curriculum of MBA program at SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS, INDORE. Amit AgrawalTarun Agrawal

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The Project on A STUDY OF MARKETING MIX ELEMENTSR ELIANCE MUTUAL FUND is the outcome of not only our diligent endeavor, b u t a l s o t h e c o n d u c i v e e f f o r t s , c o o p e r a t i o n a n d s u p p o r t e x t e n d e d b y v a r i o u s individuals.We wish to express our sincere sense of gratitude to all those who generouslyhelped us in our successful completion of the project work by sharing their valuabletime and knowledge.We are proud and privileged to express our heartfelt regards to Reliance Mutualfund AMC (Asset Management Company) for giving us opportunity to prepare APROJECT ON A STUDY OF MARKETING MIX ELEMENTS RELIANCEMUTUAL FUND We are proud to express our sincere gratitude to Respected Guide Ms. BhumikaSingh for her constant encouragement; guidance and her valuable suggestions as sherendered us all possible help and guidance while reviewing the manual script andfinalizing the report. For providing us guidelines of the Project, we are thankful toRespected Sir Mr. RAJNISH JAIN for providing us all possible guidance in makingus understand the whole process.We a r e r e a l l y g r a t e f u l t o Reliance Mutual fund AMC (Asset ManagementCompany)

for providing us a comfortable environment by putting us at ease to geteasily adjusted with it. THANK YOU ALL

PREFACE The project report of a A S T U D Y O F M A R K E T I N G M I X E L E M E N T S RE L I A N CE M U T U A L F U ND i s t h e e f f o r t o f s t u d e n t s o f S C H O O L O F ECONOMICS, D.A.V.V ,INDORE have collectively prepared the following report which is a genuine effort & a true work.The project report consists of six chapters which are chapterised in a manner sot h a t t h e r e a d e r o f t h e p r o je c t ma y g e t t h e b r i e f k n ow l e d g e a b o u t t h e wo r k i n g a t RELIANCE MUTUAL FUND.The language used is simple & easily understood.Chapter 1 deals with introduction of Reliance Mutual fund AMC in which meaning of mutual find, history of industry and overview is discussedChapter 2 discusses about the objectives of the study at Reliance Mutual Fund AMC.Chapter 3 gives a small introduction to Reliance Mutual Fund company.C h a p t e r 4 i s c o n s i s t i n g o f f i n d i n g s . I t i n c l u d e s ma r k e t s t r u c t u r e , s e g me n t a t i o n , marketing mix elements and SWOT analysis.And lastly in Chapter 5 conclusion and summary of finding is given.

Introduction A mutual fund is a collective investment vehicle formed with the specific objective of raisingmoney from a large number of individuals and investing it according to a pre specified objective.The word mutual in a mutual fund signifies a vehicle wherein the benefits of investment accrued prorata to all the investors in proportion to there investments.Mutual Fund is a trust that pools the savings of a number of investors who share a commonfinancial goal. Anyone with an invisible surplus of as little as few thousand rupees can invest inmu t u a l f u n d s . Th e s e i n v e s to r s b u y u n i t s o f a p a r t i c u l a r mu t u a l f u n d s c h e me t h a t h a s a d e f i n e d investment objective and strategy.The fund manager in different types of securities then invests the money thus collected. Thesecould range from shares to debentures to money market instruments, depending on the schemess t a t e d o b j e c t i v e s . Th e i n c o me e a r n e d t h r o ug h t h e s e i n v e s t

me n t s a n d t h e c a p i t a l a p p r e c i a t i on s realized by the scheme are shared by its unit holders in proportion of the number of units owned byt h e m. Th u s a mu t u a l f u n d i s t h e mo s t s u i t a b l e i n v e s t me n t f o r t h e c o m mo n ma n a s i t o f f e r s a n opportunity to investing a diversified, professionally managed basket of securities at a relatively lowcost.A mutual fund is the ideal investment vehicle for todays complex modern world. It appoints professionally qualified and experienced staff that manages each of these functions on full time basis. The large pool of money collected in the fund allows it to hire such staff at a very low cost toeach investor. In effect, the mutual fund vehicle exploits economies of scale in all three areas research, investing and transaction processing.While the concept of individuals coming together to invest money collectively is not new, themu t u a l f u n d i n i t s p r e s e n t f o r m i s a 2 0 t h c e n t u r y p he n o me n o n . I n f a c t , mu t u a l f u n d s g a i n e d popularity only after the Second World War. Globally, there are thousand of firms offerings tens of thousand of mutual funds with different investment objectives. Today mutual funds collectivelymanage almost as much money as banks.Along with the success of mutual funds, inevitably there arose a need to regulate the industry.Thus regulation and regulatory bodies came into being so that small investors were not misled or putto loss by some unscrupulous people representing themselves as mutual funds .

History of the Indian Mutual Fund Industry: The origin of mutual fund industry in India is with the introduction of the concept of mutualfund by UTI in the year 1963. Though the growth was slow, but it accelerated from the year 1987when non-UTI players entered the industry.I n t h e p a s t d e c a d e , I n d i a n mu t u a l f u n d i n d u s t r y h a d s e e n a d r a ma t i c i mp r o v e me n t s , b o t h quality wise as well as quantity wise. Before, the monopoly of the market had seen an ending phase,the Assets Under Management (AUM) was Rs. 67bn. The private sector entry to the fund familyrose the AUM to Rs. 470 bn in March 1993 and till April 2004, it reached the height of 1,540 bn.Putting the AUM of the Indian Mutual Funds Industry into comparison, the total of it is lessthan the deposits of SBI alone, constitute less than 11% of the total deposits held by the Indian banking industry.T h e ma i n r e a s o n o f i t s p o o r g r o wt h i s t h a t t h e mu t u a l f u n d i n d u s t r y i n I n d i a i s ne w i n t h e country. Large sections of Indian investors are yet to be intellectuated with the concept. Hence, it isthe prime responsibility of all mutual fund companies, to market the product

correctly abreast of selling.The mutual fund industry can be broadly put into four phases according to the development of the sector which can b understand on the basis of following diagram:

First Phase 1964-87(UTI was the Only Player)Second Phase 1987-1993 (Entry of Public Sector Funds):Third Phase 1993-2003 (Entry of Private Sector Funds):Fourth Phase since February 2003. Overview of mutual fund Industry: Over the past decades mutual funds have grown intensely in popularity and have experienced aconsiderable growth rate. The graph indicates the growth of assets over the years .GROWTH IN ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT Erstwhile UTI was bifurcated into UTI Mutual Fund and the Specified Undertaking of the UnitT r u s t o f I n d i a e f f e c t i v e f r o m F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 3 . Th e As s e t s u n d e r ma n a g e me n t o f t h e S p e c i f i e d

Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India has therefore been excluded fr om the total assets of theindustry as a whole from February 2003 onwards

Objective of the study To study the Marketing mix elements followed at Reliance Mutual fund. To study in the working environment of Reliance Mutual fund. To study the reasons for slow growth rate of industry.

The Company Reliance Mutual Fund (RMF) is one of Indias leading Mutual Funds, with Assets Under Management (AUM) of Rs. 79,974 crores (AUM as on 31st Oct 07) and an investor base of over 40.28 LakhsReliance Mutual Fund, a part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, is one of the fastestgrowing mutual funds in the country. RMF offers investors a well-rounded portfolio of products tomeet varying investor requirements and has presence in 115 cities across the country.Reliance Mutual Fund constantly endeavors to launch innovative products and customer serviceinitiatives to increase value to investors. Reliance Mutual Fund schemes are managed by RelianceCapital Asset Management Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Capital Ltd.Reliance Capital Ltd. is one of Indias leading and fastest growing private sector financial servicescompanies, and ranks among the top 3 private sector financial services and banking companies, interms of net worth.Reliance Capital Ltd. has interests in asset management, life and general insurance, private equityand proprietary investments, stock broking and other financial services.

FINDINGS Market Segmentation: The mutual fund market can be segmented based on the investment objective of theinvestor. Say for example, one investor wants his investments to provide him with regular fixed returns and another wants his investment to grow and provide high returns and in themedium to long term. The investment objectives of these two investors are different andtherefore the same fund cannot cator to the needs of both. Since customer needs aredifferent, the market can be segmented into the following funds based on these differences. Growth funds : Growth funds provide capital appreciation over the medium to longterm. These funds invest in equities, which generally offer high returns over a period of time. Therefore, they are ideal for investors looking for high returns on capital over the longterm Income funds: Income funds provide regular income to investors. Such fundsgenerally invest in fixed income securities such as bonds, cor porate debentures andgovernment securities. They are ideal for

investors who desire the minimum risk and aregular income on their investments. Balanced funds: Balanced funds, as the name suggests, strike a balance betweengrowth and regular income. These funds invest in a combination of equities and fixedincome securities, in a predetermined proportion. they are ideal for investors who want bothcapital appreciation and a steady income. Market Structure: Mutual Fund Companies in India: The concept of mutual funds in India dates back to the year 1963. The era between 1963 and1987 marked the existence of only one mutual fund company in India with Rs. 67bn assets under management (AUM), by the end of its monopoly era, the Unit Trust of India (UTI). By the end of the 80s decade, few other mutual fund companies in India took their position in mutual fund market.The new entries of mutual fund companies in India were SBI Mutual Fund, Canbank MutualFund, Punjab National Bank Mutual Fund, Indian Bank Mutual Fund, Bank of India Mutual Fund.

The succeeding decade showed a new horizon in Indian mutual fund industry. By the end of 1993, the total AUM of the industry was Rs. 470.04 bn. The private sector funds started penetratingthe fund families. In the same year the first Mutual Fund Regulations came into existence with re -registering all mutual funds except UTI. The regulations were further given a revised shape in 1996.Kothari Pioneer was the first private sector mutual fund company in India which has nowmerged with Franklin Templeton. Just after ten years with private sector players penetration, thetotal assets rose up to Rs. 1218.05 bn. Today there are 33 mutual fund companies in India. Top 10 Mutual Fund Companies in India: Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund is the joint venture of Aditya Birla Group and Sun Life Financial. SunLife Financial is a global organisation evolved in 1871 and is being represented in Canada, the US,the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia and Bermuda apart from India. Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund followsa conservative long-term approach to investment. Recently it crossed AUM of Rs. 10,000 crores. HDFC Mutual Fund

HDFC Mutual Fund was setup on June 30, 2000 with two sponsors namely Housing DevelopmentFinance Corporation Limited and Standard Life Investments Limited. HSBC Mutual Fund HSBC Mutual Fund was setup on May 27, 2002 with HSBC Securities and Capital Markets (India)Private Limited as the sponsor. Prudential ICICI Mutual Fund Board of Trustees, HSBC Mutual Fund acts as the Trustee Company of HSBC Mutual Fund. Themu t u a l f u n d of I C I C I i s a jo i n t v e n t u r e wi t h P r ud e n t i a l P l c . o f A me r i c a , o n e o f t h e l a r g e s t l i f e insurance companies in the US of A. Prudential ICICI Mutual Fund was setup on 13th of October,1993 with two sponsor, Prudential Plc. and ICICI Ltd. The Trustee Company formed is PrudentialI C I C I T r u s t L t d . a n d t h e A M C i s P r u d e n t i a l I C I C I A s s e t M a n a g e m e n t C o m p a n y L i m i t e d incorporated on 22nd of June, 1993. State Bank of India Mutual Fund State Bank of India Mutual Fund is the first Bank sponsored Mutual Fund to launch offshor fund, theI n d i a M a g n um F u n d wi t h a c o r p u s o f R s . 2 2 5 c r . a p p r o x i ma t e l y. T o d a y i t i s t h e l a r g e s t B a n k sponsored Mutual Fund in India. They have already launched 35 Schemes out of which 15 have already yielded handsome returns to investors. State Bank of India Mutual Fund has more than Rs.5,500 Crores as AUM. Now it has an investor base of over 8 Lakhs spread over 18 schemes. Tata Mutual Fund T a t a M u t u a l F u n d ( TM F ) i s a Tr u s t u n d e r t h e I n d i a n Tr u s t Ac t , 1 8 8 2 . Th e s p o n s o r e r s f o r T a t a Mutual Fund are Tata Sons Ltd., and Tata Investment Corporation Ltd. The investment manager isT a t a A s s e t M a n a g e m e n t L i m i t e d a n d i t s T a t a T r u s t e e C o m p a n y P v t . L i m i t e d . T a t a A s s e t Management Limited's is one of the

fastest in the country with more than Rs. 7,703 cr ores (as onApril 30, 2005) of AUM. Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company (KMAMC) is a subsidiary of KMBL. It is presentlyh a v i n g mo r e t h a n 1 ,9 9 ,8 1 8 i n v e s to r s i n i t s v a r i o u s s c h e me s . K M A M C s t a r t e d i t s o p e r a t i o n s i n December 1998. Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund offers schemes catering to investors with varyingrisk - return profiles. It was the first company to launch dedicated gilt scheme investing only ingovernment securities. Unit Trust of India Mutual Fund UTI Asset Management Company Private Limited, established in Jan 14, 2003, manages the UTIMutual Fund with the support of UTI Trustee Company Privete Limited. UTI Asset ManagementCompany presently manages a corpus of over Rs.20000 Crore. The sponsorers of UTI Mutual Funda r e B a n k o f B a r o d a ( B OB ) , P u n ja b Na t i o n a l B a n k ( P NB ) , S t a t e B a n k o f I n d i a ( S B I ) , a n d Li f e Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). The schemes of UTI Mutual Fund are Liquid Funds, IncomeFunds, Asset Management Funds, Index Funds, Equity Funds and Balance Funds. Reliance Mutual Fund Reliance Mutual Fund (RMF) was established as trust under Indian Trusts Act, 1882. The sponsor of RMF is Reliance Capital Limited and Reliance Capital Trustee Co. Limited is the Trustee. It was r e g i s te r e d o n J u n e 3 0 , 1 9 9 5 a s R e l i a n c e C a p i t a l M u t u a l F u n d wh i c h wa s c h a n g e d o n M a r c h 1 1 , 2004. Reliance Mutual Fund was formed for launching of various schemes under which units areissued to the Public with a view to contribute to the capital market and to provide investors the opportunities to make investments in diversified securities. Franklin Templeton India Mutual Fund The group, Frnaklin Templeton Investments is a California (USA) based company with a globalAUM of US$ 409.2 bn. (as of April 30, 2005). It is one of the largest financial services groups in theworld. Investors can buy or sell the Mutual Fund through their financial advisor or through mail or

through their website. They have Open end Diversified Equity schemes, Open end Sector Equityschemes, Open end Hybrid schemes, Open end Tax Saving schemes, Open end Income and Liquidschemes, Closed end Income schemes and Open end Fund of Funds schemes to offer. Other companies operating in the market are: ABN AMRO Mutual Fund Bank of Baroda Mutual Fund (BOB Mutual Fund) ING Vysya Mutual Fund Sahara Mutual Fund Escorts Mutual Fund Alliance Capital Mutual Fund Canbank Mutual Fund Standard Chartered Mutual Fund Benchmark Mutual Fund Chola Mutual Fund Morgan Stanley Mutual Fund India LIC Mutual Fund GIC Mutual Fund

The 7 Ps of Service Marketing Product: Customers invest in mutual funds with capital appreciation, liquidity and safety as their objectives.So, marketers need to design the products keeping these objectives in mind. In addition, the marketer has to take care of the government

regulations that govern the industry. As a result, he needs to be very judicious in designing the product and planning the investment portfolio of the customer. Onlythen he can maximize the returns while minimizing the risk.In the case of Reliance Mutual fund they also have products based on the same segmentation. Price: Before we try to understand the pricing of mutual funds, let us first understand the concept of NAV(Net Asset Value). The net asset value of the fund is the cumulative market value of the assets fundnet of its liabilities. In other words, if the funds is dissolved or liquidated, by selling of all the assetsin the fund, this is the amount that the share holders would collectively own . They give rise to theconcept of the net asset value per unit, which is the value, expressed by the owner ship of one unit inthe fund, It is calculated simply by dividing the net asset value of the fund by the number of units.However, most people refers usually to the NAV per unit as NAV, ignoring the per unit. We alsoabide by the same convention. Calculation of NAV: The most important part of thecalculation is thevaluation ofthe assets owned bythe funds .Once it is calculated the NAV is simplythenet valueofassets dividebythenumberofunits out standing . The detail methodologyfor thecalculation ofthenet asset value is given below:

Promotion:

With more and more private and global players entering the mutual market, the market has becomequite competitive in the recent past. Mutual funds, as an investment option, are now competing withcommercial banks and other financial institutions for the investors savings. Mutual fund companiesneed to differentiate themselves from the other investment avenues in the market and position their services exclusively in the customers mind. They need to adopt innovative promotional strategieslike strategic tie-ups.Reliance uses electronic media, print media and hoardings for promotion. Place: T h e v a r i o u s d i s t r i b u t i o n c h a n n e l s e mp l o ye d b y mu t u a l f u n d c o mp a n i e s i n c l u d e t h e i r o wn e mp l o ye e s , a g e n t s , t h i r d p a r t y d i s t r i b u t i o n c o mp a n i e s , b a n ks a n d p o s t o f f i c e s . Th e t h i r d p a r t y distribution companies started flourishing with the entry of private players into the industry in 1993.UTI and the government players relied completely on their agents for distributing the funds.Reliance has more than 500 distributors in the state. In addition to it 50 brokerage houses and 2AMCs (Asset Management company) People: The process of investment decision-making in a mutual fund company determines the importance of the individuals in the company. If the fund manager has a free hand to decide the fate of savings of thousands of unit holders, he needs to be very competent and judicious in his decision -making. Insuch companies, people become the most important element of the marketing mix. In fact companies publicize the success of their fund manager who has delivered consistent results, to promote their services.If we talk about Reliance AMC, it has not a big staff. The reason behind that is the expenses madeon these people is adjusted from the return which they earn from the investment of their customer. InReliance AMC there is 1 Relationship manager, 2 Office Coordinator executives (customer), 1 coordinator (Karvy), 1 Sales manager, and 1 assistant sales manager, and 1 coordinater. Process: The process of investment by one mutual fund company can be quite different from that of another.In some companies, the fund manager given a free hand and he decides where to invest and howmuch to invest. On the other hand, the investment decision in some companies is strictly governed by the company itself. Any fund manager can operate within the defined parameters of the company.Difference in investment processes defines the style of functioning of a fund and determines itssuccess

. Physical Evidence: Providing physical evidence to the customer is one of the most difficult aspects of the mutual fund business. As there are very few instances of the customer entering the company premises, buildingsand infrastructure can rarely be used as physical evidence. Therefore, companies use their channelsof distribution like banks and post offices to attach an element of credibility to their services. Theyalso try to use their service personnel to reduce the perceived risk of customers. One of the mostimportant ways is to promote the earlier successes of the company in a big way. SWOT Analysis Strengths: Professional Management The basic advantage of funds is that, they are professionalmanaged, by well qualified professional. Investors purchase funds because they do not have the time or the expertise to manage their own portfolio. A mutual fund is consideredto be relatively less expensive way to make and monitor their investments. Diversification - Purchasing units in a mutual fund instead of buying individual stocksor bonds, the investors risk is spread out and minimized up to certain extent. The idea b e h i n d d i v e r s i f i c a t i o n i s t o i n v e s t i n a l a r g e n u mb e r o f a s s e t s s o t h a t a l o s s i n a n y particular investment is minimized by gains in others . Economies of Scale Mutual fund buy and sell large amounts of securities at a time,thus help to reducing transaction costs, and help to bring down the average cost of theunit for their investors. Liquidity -

Just like an individual stock, mutual fund also allows investors to liquidate

their holdings as and when they want. Simplicity I n v e s t me n t s i n m u t u a l f u n d i s c o ns i d e r e d t o b e e a s y, c o mp a r e t o o t h e r available instruments in the market, and the minimum investment is small. Most AMCalso have automatic purchase plans whereby as little as Rs. 2000, where SIP start with just Rs.50 per month basis. Weakness: Professional ManagementSome funds doesn't perform in neither the market, as their management is not dynamic enough to explore the available opportunity in the market, thusmany investors debate over whether or not the so-called professionals are any better thanmutual fund or investor him self, for picking up stocks. Costs The biggest source of AMC income is generally from the entry & exit load whichthey charge from investors, at the time of purchase. The mutual fund industries are thuscharging extra cost under layers of jargon. D t nii lo u Because funds have small holdings across different companies, high returns from afew investments often don't make much difference on the overall return. Dilution is also theresult of a successful fund getting too big. When money pours into funds that have had strongsuccess, the manager often has trouble finding a good investment for all the new money. Txs ae-

w h e n ma k i n g d e c i s i o n s a b o u t yo u r mo n e y, f u n d ma n a g e r s d o n ' t c o n s i d e r yo u r personal tax situation. For example, when a fund manager sells a security, a capital-gain taxis triggered, which affects how profitable the individual is from the sale. It might have beenmore advantageous for the individual to defer the capital gains liability. Threats: Lack of Investor Awareness Retail investors had a wrong notion about mutual funds asan investment avenue. The benefits of risk diversification, professional management and ease of administration involved while investing in mutual funds are not clearly understood.Knowledge of financial products is ingrained in school and college curriculum in countrieslike UK, US and France. Investor Risk Appetite -Equity funds account for 30% of the total AUM in India. This figure is more than 50% in most developed countries. Frequent stock market scams and the bust of tech sector specific MFs have contributed to this apprehension. The growth in mutual

funds has come through the growth in investments in short term instrument like MoneyMarket Mutual Funds which account for 40% of AUM. Higher Returns of Alternative Debt Instruments -Government guaranteed schemes provide risk free returns at competitive rates of returns. This is why mutual funds havedifficulty competing retail business . Concentration of Corporate Investors Mutual funds have become overly attractive tocorporate investors because of higher returns than bank deposits and ability to distributecapital gains tax. Corporate investors account for 57% of the AUM (by value). Though theturnover rates have increased the average fund in management has grown by only 25% in the p a s t 4 ye a r s . I t i s c l e a r t h a t t h e l a c k o f g r o wt h i n f u n d s u n d e r ma n a g e me n t i n I n d i a i s because

of the absence of long term investors. Corporate investors take profits frequentlyresulting in destruction in the compound growth in funds under management. Distributorsare forced to pass on more commissions to companies, while fund companies are compelledt o o f f e r f u nd s wi t h w a f e r t h i n ma r g i n s . R e ta i l i n v e s t o r s l o s e o u t i n t h e s e n s e t h a t t h e y continue to pay higher expenses. DistributionOne of the major factors impacting the growth of mutual fund industry is thea b s e n c e o f a n y r e g u l a t i o n i n d i st r i b u t i o n o f mu t u a l f u n d s . M u t u a l f u n d i n v e s t o r s n e e d distributors who are able to inform them about the efficacy of distribution product for a particular risk profile and stage in life cycle. Lack of distributor awareness and the absenceo f a n y d i s c l o s u r e s f r o m d i s t r i b u t o r s ma k e s e l l i n g o f M F p r o d u c t s c o mmo n p l a c e . Al s o penetration in rural areas is a problem. Only 3% of rural households own mutual funds. For mutual funds to set up a distribution network in these centres can be very expensive. Opportunities: AUM as a Percentage of GDP In most of the developed countries the total assets under management ranges from 30% -60% of the GDP. Total assets under management are only8% of the GDP in case of India. Penetration of Mutual funds In India it is estimated that 6.7% of the households holdmutual funds. This figure is close to 50% in case of the US and 17% in case of UK. Mutualfunds account for only 0.73% of total financial assets in India (11% of bank deposits). AUM

for Mutual funds had exceeded the bank deposits in US in as early as 1998 . Growing Economy -

I n d i a n e c o n o my i n a r e s i l i e n t mo d e i n t e r ms o f G DP g r o wt h i s positioned as the fourth largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity and has the benefit of low inflation along with rising forex rate and reserves Opening up of sectors for investment in India service sector is also growing at a fast rate because government has opened up investment in the sector. Promising consumer markets Significant investment in infrastructure creation for industry

Conclusion C u r r e n t l y t h e r e a r e 3 4 M u t u a l F u nd o r g a n i z a t i o n s i n I n d i a wh i c h a r e ma n a g i n g o v e r R s . 1,02,000/crores.The asset base is expected to continue growing at an annual rate of about 30 to 35% over thenext few years as investors shift their assets from banks and other traditional avenues. Some of theolder public and private sector players will either close shop or be taken over.Out of ten public sector players five will sell out, close down or merge with stronger players inthree to four years. In the private sector this trend has already started with two mergers and onetakeover. Here too some of them will shut down their shutters in the near future to come.But this doesnt mean that there is no room for others players. The market will witness a flurry of n e w p l a y e r s e n t e r i n g t h e a r e n a . T h e r e w i l l b e a l a r g e n u m b e r o f o f f e r s f r o m v a r i o u s a s s e t s management companies in the time to come. Some big names like Fidelity, Principal, Old Mutualetc. are looking at Indian market seriously. One important reason for it is that most major playersalready have presence here and hence these big names would hardly like to get left behind.The mutual fund industry is awaiting the introduction of derivatives in India as this would enableit to hedge its risk and this in turn would be reflected in its Net Asset Value.S EB I i s wo r k i n g o u t t h e n o r ms f o r e n a b l i n g t h e e x i s t i n g mu t u a l f u n d s c h e me s t o t r a d e i n derivatives. Importantly, many market players have called on the regulator to initiate the processi m me d i a t e l y, s o t h a t t h e mu t u a l f u n d s c a n i mp l e me n t t h e c h a n g e s t h a t a r e r e q u i r e d t o t r a d e i n Derivatives.Many

nationalized banks got into the mutual fund business in the early nineties and got of to agood start due to the stock market boom prevailing then. These banks did not really understand themutual fund business and they just viewed it as just another kind of banking activity. Few hairedspecialized staff and generally chose to transfer staff from the parent organizations. The performanceof most of the scheme floated by these funds, were not good enough. Some scheme had offeredguaranteed returns and there parent organization had to bail out theses AMCs by paying largeamount of money as the difference between the guarantees and actual returns. The service levelswere also very bad. Most of these AMCs have not been able to retain staff, float new scheme etc andit is doubtful whether, barring a few exceptions, they have serious plans of continuing the activity inthe major way.

The foreign owned companies have deep pockets and have come in here with the expectation of a l o n g h a u l . Th e y c a n b e c r e d i t e d wi t h i n t r o d u c i n g ma n y n e w p r a c t i c e s s u c h a s n e w p r o d u c t innovation, sharp improvement in service standards and disclosure, usage of technology, broker education and support etc. In fact, they have forced the industry to upgrade itself and service levelso f o r g a n i z a t i o n s l i k e U TI h a v e i mp r o v e d d r a ma t i c a l l y i n t h e l a s t f e w ye a r s i n r e s p o n s e t o t h e competition provided by these.Indian Mutual fund industry is now no longer in its nascent stage. It is growing by indulging incontinuous tapping of increasing needs & changing perceptions of investors. The concept of mutualf u n d g o t i g n i t e d b y U T I & h a s g o n e f u r t h e r wi t h ma n y P r i v a t e & F o r e i g n AM C s s h a r i n g t h e industry. They have now been appreciated for increasing the savings attitude among Indians, thushelping in capital formation & economic development of the country.

The foreign owned companies have deep pockets and have come in here with the expectation of a l o n g h a u l . Th e y c a n b e c r e d i t e d wi t h i n t r o d u c i n g ma n y n e w p r a c t i c e s s u c h a s n e w p r o d u c t innovation, sharp improvement in service standards and disclosure, usage of technology, broker education and support etc. In fact, they have forced the industry to upgrade itself and service levelso f o r g a n i z a t i o n s l i k e U TI h a v e i mp r o v e d d r a ma t i c a l l y i n t h e l a s t f e w ye a r s i n r e s p o n s e t o t h e competition

provided by these.Indian Mutual fund industry is now no longer in its nascent stage. It is growing by indulging incontinuous tapping of increasing needs & changing perceptions of investors. The concept of mutualf u n d g o t i g n i t e d b y U T I & h a s g o n e f u r t h e r wi t h ma n y P r i v a t e & F o r e i g n AM C s s h a r i n g t h e industry. They have now been appreciated for increasing the savings attitude among Indians, thushelping in capital formation & economic development of the country. Rerences 1. Reliance AMC.2. Kotak Mahindra AMC.3. DSP Merrill Lynch AMC.4. Website of Association of Mutual Funds in India. (www.amfiindia.com)5. Official website of reliance mutual fund. ( www.reliancemutualfund.com