MF industry can achieve USD 1-tr AUM in 5 years: SEBI

Mumbai, Feb 2 (PTI) Capital markets regulator Sebi''sExecutive Director K N Vaidyanathan has said the mutual fundindustry can comfortably achieve the USD 1-trillion assetsunder management levels in the next five years if the assetmanagement companies (AMCs) get customer-centric.

"The industry needs to reinvent the wheel and offersimple solutions to him (the customer) - bank deposit-like andbank deposit plus. If you do that over the next three to fiveyears, you can make him feel comfortable," he said at the ICRAMF awards last evening.

Taking a critical line, Vaidyanathan said it "amazes"him how one of the safest products, the liquid funds, is theleast sold.

"It amazes me the least risk product in the country,which is liquid funds, is not sold to retail investors," hesaid.

Currently, the total AUM of the industry stands ataround Rs 6,75,377 crore.

AMCs should seriously invest in investor connect, ajob they had been delegating to the distributors till now.

"You cannot delegate it to someone else, you have to establishthat connect with investors," he said.

It is noteworthy that in the past as well, Sebi hasmade moves like lifting the entry load which have not gonedown well with the distributors. Asked if there would be anyrevocation of the stand, Vaidyanathan said, entry load is a"closed chapter" and "there isn''t an economic case out there."

In the last few years, Sebi''s policy vis-a-vis themutual funds industry has focused on ensuring greaterinvestor focus, addressing systemic risks, tighten regulatoryframework and development of the market, he said.