Reliance Capital Asset Management Company on Sunday outlined plans to expand its retail investor base (counted by folios) from the current 70 lakh to 100 lakh over the next five years. To achieve this, the mutual fund house plans to double its current branch network of 200 and add 5,000 new distributors to its current strength of 40,000. The retail push will be focussed on Tier 3 and Tier 4 cities and towns, so that the fund house will be present in every district in five years.

“First-time investors feel more comfortable when a fund house is physically present in their town to meet their servicing needs. By pushing through the recent regulatory changes, SEBI has done what it can to encourage retail investments. Now, it is up to the industry to make products more accessible to investors”, said Sundip Sikka, President and Chief Executive Officer of the asset management company. Sikka was addressing a gathering of journalists who were in Dubai at a Reliance Mutual Fund- sponsored event.

Portfolio SIP

Sikka said 90 per cent of investors in Reliance funds put in less than Rs 1 lakh. Nearly 55 per cent of its investors come from beyond the top 15 locations and 60 per cent with public sector banks, he said.

To simplify investing for retail investors, Reliance has recently rolled out a portfolio SIP (systematic investment plan), an improvement over the current fund-specific SIPs that popular with investors. Portfolio SIPs allow investors to combine different equity, debt and gold funds from the Reliance stable into one portfolio.

The fund house claims to have one of the largest buy-side research teams in the business with six fund managers, three assistant fund managers and eight analysts. The senior team had also stayed with the fund house for a long period, contributing to the consistent performance of its equity schemes, said Sunil Singhania, Head, Equities.

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