Moneycontrol MF Summit 2025: SEBI's Amarjeet Singh pitches for self regulation in mutual funds industry

SEBI's whole time member Amarjeet Singh at Moneycontrol Mutual Fund Summit 2025

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi's) whole time member Amarjeet Singh, called for more effective and self regulation for mutual fund industry. Singh was speaking exclusively at Moneycontrol Mutual Fund Summit 2025 on the theme of Mutual Funds Growing the 'Right and Responsible' way.

Amarjeet Singh said, "There is need for more effective and self regulation. Regulations can do upto a point, beyond that self regulation is important". He also emphasized on the trust and transparency for responsible growth.

He also pointed out that outcome-based collaborative regulation is important and only rule-based compliance often leads to box-ticking. "What truly matters is investor outcomes and market integrity, built on a foundation of mutual trust and respect," he added.

The Sebi whole time member also talked about the collaboration between industry and regulator to facilitates common purposes and outcomes. He opined that collaboration between industry provides opportunities for simplification.

He further added that collaboration between industry builds ownership of the achievement of outcomes and accountability for observance of the principles and rules. He gave an example of institutional mechanism to check front running and other fraudulent practices in mutual fund industry.

Amarjeet Singh detailed the growth in mutual fund industry in a decade. He said, "MF industry grew exponentially in last 10-11 years. Like AUM of MF grew from Rs 8.25 lakh crore in 2014 to Rs 72 lakh crore now. Number of mutual fund schemes grew from 810 to 1760 from in a decade."

"Similarly, monthly SIPs grew from nearly Rs 3000 crore to Rs 26688 crore in a decade. Share of B-30 in total AUM of MFs gone up from 9% to 18.4% in a decade. Share of retail investors in AUM gone up from 23% to 28%. The size of distributors grew from around 70,000 to over 2 lakh in a decade. Number of folios has gone up from 4.2 crore to 23.4 crore," he added.

He said the key driver for this exponential growth is use of technology, buoyancy in market. Regulatory reforms and investor awareness played a big role in growth. He summarised that "growing the right and responsible way is the key for industry."