Moneycontrol Mutual Fund Summit 2025 Bengaluru spotlights India’s investment growth

New Delhi: Moneycontrol hosted the Bengaluru edition of the HDFC Mutual Fund presents Moneycontrol Mutual Fund Summit 2025, powered by Axis Mutual Fund, following its debut in Mumbai earlier this year. 

Centred on the theme “Decoding Purpose, Product, and Tech,” the event discussed the evolution of India’s mutual fund industry, focusing on innovation, investor participation, and digital transformation.

As India pursues the target of reaching $1 trillion in Assets Under Management (AUM) by 2030, the Bengaluru edition built on the momentum of the Mumbai leg, which examined ways to expand mutual fund penetration and enhance investor engagement. The latest discussions reflected optimism around the industry’s potential to evolve from a savings-focused ecosystem to one that drives long-term wealth creation.

The event brought together leading figures from the asset management sector to discuss the next phase of industry development, connecting themes of product design, investor trust, and technology adoption.

Among the speakers were D. P. Singh, DMD and Joint CEO of SBI Mutual Fund; Sandeep Tandon, Founder and CIO of Quant Mutual Fund; Navneet Munot, MD and CEO of HDFC Asset Management; and Vaibhav Shah, Head of Products, Business Strategy & International Business at Mirae Asset Investment Managers (India). Other panellists included Neil Parikh, CEO of PPFAS Mutual Fund; Abhishek Tiwari, CEO of PGIM India Mutual Fund; Deepak Shenoy, CEO of Capitalmind AMC; Anish Tawakley, Co-CIO (Equity) at ICICI Prudential AMC; and Harsha Upadhyaya, CIO of Kotak Mahindra AMC. The summit also featured Vishal Jain, CEO of Zerodha Fund House; Sandeep Jethwani, Co-Founder of Dezerv; Akhil Chaturvedi, Executive Director and CBO of Motilal Oswal AMC; and Senthil Gunasekaran, Chief Business Development Officer – India & Global Business at KFin Technologies Limited.

Discussing the potential of the newly launched SIF category in a panel on purpose-driven investing, D. P. Singh, DMD and Joint CEO, SBI Mutual Fund, said, “SIF bridges the gap between mutual funds and AIFs/PMS, offering evolved investors a space that combines flexibility with oversight. It’s not sold like a mutual fund; there are guardrails to ensure investor safety.”

“It’s only a matter of time before SIF becomes a very large category. As industry leaders, we felt it was our responsibility to take the first step instead of waiting for others. Though we’ve started conservatively with hybrid products, our internal studies suggest that within a year, SIFs could grow into a Rs 1 lakh crore category,” he added.

Reflecting on the changing investment mindset in India, Navneet Munot, MD & CEO of HDFC Asset Management, said, “This nation is transforming from a nation of savers to a nation of investors. People are a lot more optimistic, aspirational and ambitious. The people want to create wealth, and they are exploring many things today.”

Munot added, “India is a compounding story. Other than the United States, there are very few places in the world that can truly be called a compounding story.”

Highlighting the need for a more progressive financial framework, Vaibhav Shah, Head – Products, Business Strategy & International Business, Mirae Asset Investment Managers (India), noted, “Challenges remain as all investments currently fall under the LRS (Liberalised Remittance Scheme) window. Significant investor education will be needed to help retail participants understand the LRS process and navigate global investment options through GIFT City.”

Akhil Chaturvedi, Executive Director and Chief Business Officer, Motilal Oswal AMC, observed that investors in India are now showing greater maturity in responding to market volatility. “There was a phase when markets used to fall, we would see domination of SIPs, redemption from MFs. But in the last five years, what we have seen is that incrementally, that is not what is happening,” he said.

As India advances towards its Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, speakers noted that the mutual fund industry will continue to play a central role in wealth creation and financial inclusion. The Bengaluru edition of the Moneycontrol Mutual Fund Summit 2025 examined pathways for scaling the sector in an increasingly technology-led environment, with discussions underscoring the need for innovation, transparency, and digital adoption across the ecosystem.

The event was supported by KFintech as Knowledge Partner, Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund and Mirae Asset Mutual Fund as Event Partners, and Reliance Industries Limited as Associate Partner.