SBI Mutual Fund and L&T Mutual Fund have decided to discontinue 19 schemes cumulatively for fresh SIP investments to comply with the market regulator SEBI’s ‘one-plan, one scheme’ guidelines.
The two fund houses have informed the BSE, where these schemes were listed, that 10 schemes of SBI MF and nine of L&T MF would be discontinued for fresh SIP (Systematic Investment Plan) registration and subscription.
Earlier this month, five fund houses, including Reliance and ICICI Prudential MF, had listed a total of 190 schemes that have been discontinued for fresh SIP investments to comply with the Securities and Exchange Board of India guidelines.
The move follows new SEBI regulations which require fund houses to launch only one plan per scheme with effect from this month. The SEBI direction has affected hundreds of schemes across found houses.
Reliance MF, ICICI Pru, HSBC, Morgan Stanley and IDFC Mutual Funds have already communicated the required changes in their schemes to the BSE, where many of their schemes are listed for trading.
SIP offers mutual fund investors the option to invest as low as Rs 100 per month and have gained popularity in the market in the recent past.
However, many fund houses have launched multiple SIP plans under one scheme, prompting the market regulator SEBI to ask them to move to a ‘single plan per scheme’ model in a move to make the investment process simpler for investors.
The five fund houses had also communicated to the BSE a list of 22 schemes where the Minimum Purchase Amount and Additional Purchase Amount have been lowered as line with SEBI guidelines.
All the changes are effective immediately and are part of wide-ranging reforms notified by SEBI recently.