Re-introduction
of entry fees on investments in mutual funds seems to be far from
providing any relief to thousands of independent financial advisers
(IFAs), as nearly 72 per cent of them are still finding their going
tough.
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A
survey among 1,505 IFAs across 30 cities carried out by Cafemutual in
August-September revealed that the sweep and force of regulatory changes
made over the last two years has deeply impacted their business.
The study reveals that 72 per cent of IFAs have found the going tough. They have also been hit by unfavourable market conditions over the last two years, Cafemutual's founder and chief executive Prem Khatri said, while releasing the survey findings. However, 28 per cent of the IFAs says that despite the ban, their income went up by 15 per cent. The decision of SEBI to ban entry fees came as a shocker to Rs 7-trillion domestic mutual fund industry in September, 2007. However, the Sebi chairman, UK Sinha, who was heading UTI before his appointment at Sebi, had in July this year allowed an entry fee of up to Rs 150 per client. Maintaining that income level is the key concern of IFAs at this point of time and this can be done if they build up their marketing capability, says the survey. |