Why has Indias mutual fund industry been unable to clock outstanding growth numbers?
The industry has not grown exponentially. Essentially, Indians have been brought up on government-sponsored savings products, which provided high, relatively risk-free returns. These have occupied the investors wallet share and are an important reason why our risk appetite is low. Surprisingly, even our awareness levels are low. With the banking industry becoming the largest distributor of mutual funds, awareness and knowledge is slowly spreading. We are also penetrating larger geographies, going beyond the metropolises. For example, the Tata Dividend Yield Fund received applications from 50 cities across India. However, the mutual fund industry will not thrive if alternative instruments with high, risk-free returns continue to exist. What is on the anvil as far as Tata Mutual Fund is concerned? The recent trends have been heartening. We have more than 5 lakh investors now and the numbers are growing rapidly. We have positioned ourselves as a risk-managed fund house. Our product perfor
