SEBI's Tuhin Kanta Pandey says mutual fund reach still shallow despite record AUM; inclusion, trust twin priorities

India’s mutual fund industry has crossed a new milestone, with assets under management (AUM) now exceeding Rs 75 trillion and monthly SIP flows of over Rs 25,000 crore, SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey said in his address on Friday at Global Leadership Summit 2025. Yet, he cautioned that household participation in mutual funds remains limited, highlighting the need to expand inclusion while preserving investor trust.

Citing SEBI’s latest investor survey, Pandey said that although 53 percent of Indian households are aware of mutual fund products, actual participation remains at just 6.7 percent. He added that the total AUM of mutual funds is still less than 25 percent of India’s GDP -- well below the 80 percent typical of advanced economies -- highlighting a vast opportunity to deepen retail participation in capital markets.

To broaden access, SEBI and the industry association AMFI have revised distributor incentives to encourage onboarding of first-time women investors and those from beyond the top 30 cities. “Financial inclusion will remain incomplete unless women are equally represented,” Pandey said, adding that the regulator had strengthened mechanisms to monitor and curb mis-selling and distributor misconduct.

Pandey also drew attention to the proliferation of unregistered advisers, fake apps, and fraudulent schemes misleading investors online. He said SEBI had intensified surveillance under its “SEBI versus Scam” campaign, with over one lakh misleading social-media items flagged for takedown. Exchanges have been instructed to maintain verified lists of broker apps, while SEBI’s “Valid UPI” and “SEBI Check” tools now allow users to confirm intermediary credentials and payment details before investing.