How come a banker such as you is suddenly heading Amfi?
I have been a banker all my life—for about the past 45 years. But it’s not that I did not have much idea about asset management companies (AMC) because I have—till I became Amfi’s CEO—been on the board of ICICI Prudential AMC. Banks use AMCs essentially to offer customers an alternative avenue of investments. It is also a part of their wealth management product. So, there is alignment between banks and the MF industry. I was invited to take over since A.P. Kurian (present Amfi chairman) is due for retirement soon. There is a lot of work ahead for Amfi. There is scope of adding on to some of the best practices that are already followed in the MF industry. The Indian MF industry is well-regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, or Sebi, but it is not as tightly regulated as the banks are. To that extent, I think Amfi has a role to play in terms of bringing about some kind of self regulation. What are your immediate tasks as Amfi’s CEO? Investor education is still very litt
