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New Sebi guidelines irk MFs
Asset management companies are piqued about Sebi raising its annual fees and also dismayed at a new circular, they say, is rather strange. An amendment to the Sebi mutual fund regulations has hiked the annual fees, that asset managers pay Sebi, by at least four times. A separate circular has put different standards for funds that invest in securities as opposed to ETFs, abroad.
The circular listing guidelines for mutual funds investing abroad says that a fund has to have experience of at least 10 years as on December 31, 2006, to be eligible to invest in exchange traded funds (ETFs), which require a relatively passive investment strategy. The mutual fund or its sponsors have to be experienced in foreign securities and they have to disclose the nature of experience in the offer document. The trustees of the fund have to certify the experience.
However, the eligibility criteria does not apply to funds investing in ADRs, GDRs or other securities such as equity or debt of foreign companies. It is ridiculous. It takes several times more experience and analytical abilities to pick good equity or debt. ETFs are comparatively less risky instruments and require a relatively more passive approach, said a top official of a leading mutual fund.
AMFI (Association of Mutual Funds in India) chief AP Kurien, however, saw no anomaly in this development. Kurien said Sebi was following what the government had said earlier. ETFs are highly specialised instruments. That is why the government, in its wisdom, said that only experienced and well qualified mutual funds should be allowed to invest in them.
Kurien added that even though other securities require experience and qualification, they are a much wider
universe of opportunities.
Also, in the disclosure requirements, the circular states, Intention to invest in foreign securities/ETFs shall be disclosed in the offer documents of the schemes. The attendant risk factors and returns ensuing from such investments shall be explained clearly in offer documents. This could end up with mutual funds speculating on likely returns in the offer document, which is potentially a misleading situation.
Asset managers are also miffed about Sebi hiking its annual fees (called service fees until now) from Rs 25,000 to 0.3% of the money collected in new fund offers or a minimum of Rs 1 lakh. It essentially means that when an asset manager files its draft offer document for a new fund offer with Sebi, it will have to pay Rs 1 lakh. Later, if it collects, say Rs 1,000 crore from investors in the offer, it will have to pay a total of Rs 30 lakh to Sebi.
Hitting hard
• Sebi is hiking its annual service fee from Rs 25,000 to 0.3% of the money collected in new fund offers or a minimum of Rs 1 lakh.
• Now, when an asset manager files its draft offer document for a new fund offer with Sebi, it will have to pay Rs 1 lakh at a minimum.
• If the fund collects, say
Rs 1,000 crore from investors in offer, it will have to pay a total of Rs 30 lakh to Sebi.