Paytm Money Limited, the wealth management arm of One97 Communications, has received Registered Investment Adviser, or, RIA license, from Securities and Exchange Board of India, or, SEBI.
It is currently in the process of integrating with leading fund houses to offer direct plans. Going ahead, it plans to expand its product offerings by providing equities.
Paytm currently has 25 crore registered users on its app. The company will also have a separate Paytm Money app available on both Android & iOS and is allowing users to sign up for early access by logging on to its website. The app will be available for downloading in a few weeks.
As on January 2018, direct investments amount to 14% of individual assets in mutual funds. Individual assets including retail and high net worth individuals, or, HNI. While retail investors are yet to take a shine to direct plans, HNIs have a higher affinity for direct share class.
As on January 2018, direct retail assets across all scheme categories stood at Rs 51,870 crore while direct HNI assets were at Rs 1.14 lakh crore, shows Association of Mutual Funds in India, or, AMFI data. The total direct assets (including all investor types) stands at Rs 9.38 lakh crore, which is 42% of total industry assets at Rs 22.41 lakh crore.
With e-wallets and e-commerce firms entering the mutual fund distribution fray, fund houses expect direct share class to gain momentum in the days to come.