The Mutual Fund Industry
The genesis of the mutual fund industry in India can be traced back to 1964 with the setting up of the Unit Trust of India (UTI) by the Government of India. Since then UTI has grown to be a dominant player in the industry. UTI is governed by a special legislation, the Unit Trust of India Act, 1963.The industry was opened up for wider participation in 1987 when public sector banks and insurance companies were permitted to set up mutual funds. Since then, 6 public sector banks have set up mutual funds. Also the two Insurance companies LIC and GIC have established mutual funds. Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) formulated the Mutual Fund (Regulation) 1993, which for the first time established a comprehensive regulatory framework for the mutual fund industry. Since then several mutual funds have been set up by the private and joint sectors.
Growth of Mutual Funds
The Indian Mutual fund industry has passed through three phases.The first phase was between 1964 and 1987 when Unit Trust of India was the only player.By the end of 1988,UTI had total asset of Rs 6,700 crores. The second phase was between 1987 and 1993 during which period 8 funds were established (6 by banks and one each by LIC and GIC).This resulted in the total assets under management to grow to Rs 61,028 crores at the end of 1994 and the number of schemes were 167.
The third phase began with the entry of private and foreign sectors in the Mutual fund industry in 1993. Several private sectors Mutual Funds were launched in 1993 and 1994. The share of the private players has risen rapidly since then. Currently there are 34 Mutual Fund organisations in India. Kothari Pioneer Mutual fund was the first fund to be established by the private sector in association with a foreign fund.
This signaled a growth phase in the industry and at the end of financial year 2000, 32 funds were functioning with Rs. 1,13,005 crores as total assets under management. As on August end 2000, there were 33 funds with 391 schemes and assets under management with Rs. 1,02,849 crores. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) came out with comprehensive regulation in 1993 which defined the structure of Mutual Fund and Asset Management Companies for the first time.
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