Amfi appoints Reliance MF's Sundeep Sikka as its chairman

Reliance MF President and Chief Executive Sundeep Sikka has been appointed Chairman of the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi).

The association has also named Sandesh Kirkire, CEO of Kotak Asset Management Company, as its vice-chairman.

The decisions were taken at the annual general body meeting of Amfi and were communicated to fund houses by the association CEO H N Sinor.

Sikka and Kirkire have been elected by the Amfi members and would hold their positions till the next AGM in 2014, the association said in a statement issued here today.

Sikka, who was earlier the vice-chairman of Amfi, succeeds Milind Barve, Managing Director of HDFC MF.

Commenting on his appointment Sikka said: "Look forward to working with the industry and the regulators towards deeper penetration of MF, especially amongst retail investors."

By convention, Amfi vice-chairman takes over as the Chairman of the organisation though Barve was re-elected as Chairman last year.

Before that, U K Sinha, who was heading UTI MF at that time, prior to his appointment as the head of markets regulator Sebi, was appointed Amfi Chairman in 2010.

Amfi interacts with market regulator Sebi and also represents Mutual Fund industry issues to the government, RBI and other authorities concerned. It serves as self-regulatory body for mutual funds.