The commission earned by mutual fund distributors was up 36 per cent last fiscal to ₹4,987 crore compared to ₹3,658 crore logged in financial year 2015-16, according to the data released by Association of Mutual Funds in India.

The increase in commission paid by 41 MFs was in line with the 42 per cent growth in their assets under management (AUM) at ₹17.54 lakh crore (₹12.32 lakh crore) last fiscal.

In the last three years, the gross commission earned by mutual fund distributors almost doubled to ₹4,987 crore in FY17 from ₹2,603 crore in FY14.

The top 10 distributors, who collectively earned ₹2,379 crore last fiscal, accounted for almost half of the total commission paid. In the last three financial years, average AUM of the top 10 distributors increased to ₹2.74 lakh crore from ₹1.43 lakh crore.

With a wide branch reach, banks have topped the list of commission earned from mutual funds. Commission earned by SBI has more than doubled to ₹179 crore last fiscal from ₹62 crore recorded in the preceding year.

According to SEBI guidelines, mutual fund houses have to disclose the commission they pay to distributors on their website. On its part AMFI collates this data and publishes the details for the benefit of investors.

“Though the commission paid are in line with the rise in AUM of MFs, it hardly matches the increasing cost of reaching out to customers and spends on technology,” said Sanjay Mehta, an individual financial advisor.

In the backdrop of the bullish trend in the equity market, the mutual fund industry has added 11 lakh folios in June alone taking the total folio count of the industry to an all-time high of 5.82 crore.

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