Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, Sep. 21: As part of its effort to educate and help investors in Nagaland have better understanding of capital markets – more so, to educate public about the benefits of investing in mutual funds – the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) conducted a regional seminar on ‘Investor Awareness’ at Hotel Acacia in Dimapur on September 21.
“The main objective of Sebi is to protect investors, regulate markets, and develop markets,” the regional director of Sebi, S Madhusudhanan said while adding that Sebi is the apex regulatory body for finance and capital markets and its intermediaries in India.
Sebi is a regulatory body that makes the policies for mutual funds and also regulates the industry. It lays guidelines for the mutual funds to safeguard the investors’ interest.
Madhusudhanan was speaking about the roles and responsibilities of Sebi at the seminar during which he stated that schemes provided by mutual funds are genuine, which operate under the regulation of Sebi.
“For the last 20 years we have been doing this every day. Mutual funds are regulated and if anything happens, you can lodge a complaint with Sebi,” he maintained.
Madhusudhanan further explained that mutual funds would not accept cash, in which all transactions in the securities market are carried out only through bank accounts. He asserted that in the next four to five years, mutual funds will only get bigger and better.
Balkrishna Kini, deputy chief executive of AMFI, enlightened investors about mutual funds and mentioned that mutual funds operate in a scientific manner in which it tracks the records of companies, do research, and invest in selected stocks only.
Stating that savings and investments are different things, Kini mentioned that savings do not grow with the rate of inflation whereas investments fight inflation and provide income whenever needed.
“Always invest in assets with your goals in mind. Your 30,000 will become 40,000 in the next five years,” Kini said, adding that investing in mutual funds gives investors a democratise access to capital markets in the country.
“Good sales team, liquidity, good regulation, background verification, and professional management among others are the reasons why you should consider while investing in mutual funds,” Kini said.
However, Kini advised the investors to read all scheme related documents carefully before investing in mutual funds. “Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully,” he asserted.
