In an email communication to distributors, industry body Association of Mutual Funds in India, or AMFI, has advised distributors to refrain from using any celebrities/cinema characters in any format of promotional material relating to mutual funds, unless they have received Securities and Exchange Board of India, or SEBI’s, specific written approval.
AMFI said that it has come across numerous instances of violation of SEBI guidelines by some mutual fund distributors. Some of the discrepancies found by it are incorrect usage of Mutual Funds Sahi Hai or MFSH logo, use of movie posters in promotional materials, modification of standard mutual fund disclaimer, using the distributor’s own brand name along with the ‘Sahi Hai’ tag line, adding a new tag line, etc. Lately, messages carrying ‘Advisor Zaroori Hai’ tag line were being circulated in social media. Fund officials say that AMFI has not created this tag line and they have advised distributors to refrain from using it.
AMFI has directed fund distributors to use the MFSH logo available on its website. While using the MFSH logo and tag line in their promotional collaterals, the industry body has asked distributors to refrain from breaking the logo, using any part of the logo with their own logo and not to use the MFSH logo as their social media page profile picture.
Fund houses and mutual fund distributors are allowed to carry the message of 'Mutual Funds Sahi Hai' in their marketing material/collaterals and leverage on the media visibility. However, they are required to adhere to AMFI and SEBI’s regulatory guidelines while publishing any advertisement or marketing material on any media.
In 2017, SEBI had allowed AMFI to use celebrity endorsements at industry level for the purpose of increasing financial awareness.
