PhonePe applies for mutual fund license with SEBI

According to the market regulator website, Flipkart-backed PhonePe Pvt Ltd applied for the license on December 31, with six other companies awaiting approval.

Applications of Deepak Shenoy’s WiseMarkets Analytics Pvt. Ltd (CapitalMind), Sameer Arora’s Helios Capital, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s Alchemy Capital and Kenneth Andrade-led Old Bridge Capital Management Pvt Ltd are in the process. Apart from this, Angel One Limited and Unifi Capital Private Limited have also applied for the license.

Notably, Bajaj Finserv Ltd., Zerodha Broking Ltd. and Frontline Capital Services Ltd. have already received in-principle approval from SEBI.

Sachin Bansal, who is the co-founder of Flipkart, is also the founder of Navi Mutual Fund, which had Average Assets Under Management (AAUM). 92,959.98 crore for the period October-December 2021.

The Indian Mutual Fund industry is one of the most competitive sectors with the entry of 45 players and more players present in the country.

The region has also seen some consolidation in recent times. In December, the Indian asset management arm of HSBC Holdings Plc agreed to buy out the mutual fund unit of L&T Finance Holdings Ltd for approx. 3,191 crore to promote his wealth management business.

Also, in 2020, global financial services conglomerate Manulife acquired a 49% stake in Mahindra Asset Management Company 265 crores.

The Indian Mutual Fund industry has witnessed a rapid pace of growth over the years. As per the data available with Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi), the assets under management (AUM) of the MF industry have grown from From 30 November 2016. up to 16.50 trillion 37.34 trillion as of 30 November 2021, showing a more than two-fold increase over a period of five years.

Moreover, in a crucial year for the domestic mutual fund industry, the AUM of fund houses, excluding domestic fund of funds (FOF), closed at a record high 37.73 trillion, as per a report by global analytics company, Crisil Ltd.

industry couple 6.70 lakh crore, a record absolute wealth gain for any calendar year on record. According to Crisil, the previous peak was 4.80 lakh crore in 2017, after that 4.5 lakh crore in 2020. In percentage terms, the industry grew by 22% in 2021 as compared to 17% in 2020.