Celebrity Endorsement – The mutual fund industry’s wrong priorities

CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT BY MUTUAL FUNDS

“Hey, great news! AMFI, the industry lobby of mutual funds, has been able to seek a big concession from SEBI.”

When a colleague broke this news to me, I instantly asked:

“Will it make it easier to invest in mutual funds?”

“NO”, he said.

“Will it make mutual funds simpler to understand?”

“NO”, he said again.

“Will I finally be relieved of the post sale trauma and get better service?”

“NO, NO, NO!” By now he was irritated.

“Oh! Then what is this big thing for?”

“It is not about the investor. It is about the fund industry. They finally got SEBI to relent and allow celebrity endorsement.

Soon, you will see an Amitabh Bachchan, Saina Nehwal, Virat Kohli, Vijender Kumar, Geeta Kumari Phogat talk about mutual funds and their benefits.”

“Ah!” I felt disappointed with this revelation.

The conversation ended but my thoughts didn’t.

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