BSE StAR Mutual Fund starts common empanelment for MF distributors

BSE StAR MF, an online platform for mutual fund distributors, has started Common Empanelment service whereby a distributor registered with the platform will be able to sell all the schemes of 34 fund houses and need not register with each MF separately.

The online platform currently has 55,000 individual financial advisors registered and is targeting to touch 75,000 by March.

Ganesh Ram, Business Head — Mutual Funds, BSE StAR MF, told BusinessLine that 34 MFs have agreed to avail the common empanelment service and another five will be added soon as the platform is in the process of incorporating the additional terms and conditions laid out by them.

The online platform has also tied up with 44 insurance companies to enable insurance distributors transact online. BSE StAR MF will also facilitate online settlement of claims, he said.

It is also in talks with LIC for registration and assisting its 3.34 lakh agents in the western region to do transactions on the platform, said Ram.

StAR MF has launched brokerage service providing distributors with details on commission to be received from different MFs on a weekly basis. Initially, the service has been launched with LIC Mutual Fund and the platform is in the process of getting brokerage structure of each MF, he said.

Of the ₹1,88,953-crore net inflow into mutual funds in November, the platform has managed to route ₹49,947 crore inflows through its distributors. The share of StAR MF in the overall inflow into MFs has increased to 26 per cent last month from 22 per cent in August.

While registration and transaction for distributors on the platform is free, it charges a transaction fee of ₹5-12 on AMCs.

Through BSE Institute, StAR MF will soon launch certification courses to train individuals become a mutual fund investment advisor. The five-day training programme comes with a fee of ₹10,000 and will help students crack the NISM exam for MF distributor.