UTI plans web-based transactions

Asked how UTI had progressed since the problems faced by flagship scheme US-64 last year, he said these efforts were a part of the company’s business plan that envisaged gross sales of Rs 17,000 crore this fiscal and doubling the corpus from Rs 61,000 crore in the next four years.

"We are aware of competitors who provide easy entry and exit options to their schemes and once web-based transactions begin, we too will be able to provide this," Subramanyam said while exuding confidence that UTI would continue to hold 80 per cent market share among mutual funds in the country.

In fact, the UTI chief feels that entry of new players in this industry would enhance the pie as mutual funds would lure away investors from the banking system through better returns. It is for improving efficiency that we have gone for the development of software, hardware, connectivity and networking measures, he asserted.

Subramanyam said TCS was working in tandem with global consultants McKinsey on UTI’s business re-engineering plans that would be put in place by next year. "Apart from the two outside agencies, UTI has also set up an effective internal team led by executive trustee P J Nayak to assist in the technology upgradation efforts," he said.

The aim of the exercise is to reduce the number of forms required to be filled by investors when they opt out of one scheme and enter another.

"By networking all offices and all schemes, UTI will have basic details like name, address and other personal details on its computer," the UTI chief said.

The country’s largest mutual fund has also taken steps to empower more people to take decisions at the senior level in a bid to reduce delays and UTI is also in the process of opening more branches in metropolitan cities for reaching out to more and more small investors, Subramanyam said.

The business plan submitted to the UTI board envisages an increased focus on US-64, monthly market fund and all the open-ended funds besides introducing two gilt funds, a corporate restructuring fund and some monthly income plans, he said.

He said the company had already approached the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for clearance of its latest monthly income scheme that would have an assured yearly income starting from the first year.