Mutual fund (MF) assets touched record highs of Rs 32.42 trillion in April, but MF investments in smaller cities don't account for much. According to AMFI data, MF assets from smaller cities—those beyond the top-30 cities, or B30 in industry parlance—stood at 16.8 percent in April. Lack of awareness along with a limited pool of MF distributors have come in the way of MF penetration in B30. Bank-sponsored fund houses with access to large branch networks or those with strong agent networks have a good presence in B30. Technology is helping MFs to widen their reach and entry of fintech firms is also expected to help. Sebi has told MF industry to expand its reach beyond top-30 cities.