A very comprehencive article with logical arguments. Thanks for the great effort.

SEBI should come with greater clarity that what exactly will be the outcome of this move .If there is already a cap on higher commission then what new will be revealed by this disclosure, do SEBI believe that our clients are not aware of that we receive some remuneration from AMCs.

Excellent article Thanks Mr. Dhruv Mehta

Very Good Thought Sir.May SEBI think Correction in new circular.

Thank you Mr. Dhruv for articulation your thoughts so nicely. I am sure that these are the thoughts of the entire distributor fraternity. We appreciate the Regulator’s concern for investors, but the regulator also needs to understand and believe that investors are our prime focus and concern too.

Thanks Dhruv sir...we all have seen many regulatory changes in this industry in last few years 1st withdrawl of entry load 2nd launching of direct plan then Capping of upfront Commission and now Commission disclosure in SoA.There are so many industries & Commissioning business in our country but why such regulation only in this industry.We believe transparency is good for any industry but this industry is already very transparent in compare to others.however regulator(sharpener) sharpen the MF industry(pencil) more & more i afraid that impact will not go adverse. Regulator forgotten the role of IFAs who has contribute day night effort to established this industry.Regulator should understand that we dont get salary we get a small amount of Commission to run our livelihood. Further,Small investors of our country is not so educated to fee a IFA like other countries.Disclosure of Commission will tend to pass back practise also. I request plz dont destroy IFA comunity

Very well thought out and equally well put in words by Dhruv. I hope his words reach the right people who could take up these issues with the regulator for a constructive change.

Very well written Dhruv. You have raised valid points with focus on trust and growth. I hope regulator shows some maturity and use medicine which can treat the malice without killing good distributors.

Thanks--FIFA for all your support for us..I hope things go right for us.Its our bread and butter ..If SEBI dont want IFA than what will i do for surviving..I have always dedicated my proffesson in behalf of my investor

It is important that the industry gets a long term road map - at least for five years with firmly laid out policies and rules with minimum intermediate tinkering. All stake holders could sit together and decide on the rules of the game considering every ones interest and concern. As far as disclosure of income is concerned IFAs are on weak wicket as every year we give a declaration that we have disclosed commission to investor and explained risks and our earnings. Legal recourse will back fire. Some pithamahas of financial services should come forward to guide the industry and engage the regulator and government tolay out long term road map.

Is there any scope to stop business likewise Indian Jeweler

Very well articulated Dhruvbhai. Each point is completely relevant and its a mystery why we in India continue to follow failed models. SEBI is pushing this model even though its a documented failure. We have an abysmally low equity penetration in India. I, as well as many of my distributor friends and we fifa members are not only passionate about increasing this, but also about growing the wealth of our clients through effective equity investing. We will go backwards if an illogical witch hunt continues and we are all forced to service large clients as we cannot run our show profitability.

This well argued article needs to reach a larger audience,covering all stake holders in the industry, including investors. It could be achieved by having it published in major financial newspapers. Perhaps, IFA associations can also consider jointly publishing an "open letter" to Ministry of Finance / SEBI drawing from the arguments put forth by Mr. Mehta.

Mr. Dhruv, Excellent Article with Clear Thoughts.. Regulations should increase penetration. Is it possible in absence of IFAs? Majority of retail Investors & Common Men investing in Mutual Funds are investing through IFAs. Whereas Majority of RIAs have Client base of HNIs. Direct Plans are beneficial only to Corporates & Informed Clients. But very costly for the Country as it limits reach of our products. We IFAs if in required numbers, can play a very major role in improving standard of living of our Citizens in the long run. In any of the push product we can not expect penetration in absence of strong distribution channel.

Dhruv well written. All the key points have been well articulated. Regulator should definitely take note of the fact that many small IFAs have closed shop in England. That is a mature market. In India it is imperative that steps are taken to facilitate increase in number of distributors particularly in smaller towns. Increasing distribution, reach & financial inclusion is a National necessity !! The regulator is protecting investor interest by regulating costs / charges of schemes. And rightly so. Schemes have been colour coded, statements are emailed etc. Now SEBI needs to channelise its resources, work with industry to bring about transformationAl change in India - leverage Aadhar, mobile banking etc to channelise the savings of a billion Indians into productive use.

The regulator is very happy when the FM congratulated them for bringing in big money into equity which matched the FII outflow. Dont we the IFA have a important role in it. Dont we deserve better appreciation? As Dhruv has articulated it beautifully we the community of IFAs have been hand holding our clients to achieve his financial goals. So we form the base of the growth of the MF industry so dont we have the choice of being heard or being discussed before implementing any new change?

Druv Sir, Thanks for analyzing all aspects prudently. It is our misfortune that such a great industry could not keep trust of the Regulators. Now seems the ball is in our court if the stake holder of the industry could restore the trust in their minset. You please guide all of us what our roll should be as a distributor.

HAhaha... Completely Agree with Mayank Srivastava, that this type of Gandhigiri wouldnt do with these regulators. We cant be SharmaG of "Bhabhi Ji.." everytime. Guys the best way to stop working for this industry for time being. Lets show some resistance to these people. Lets go on a strike against these regulator as MALOO ji (Jaipur) also written last week. Lets redeem the fund & deploy somewhere else..or atleast not to source/work on a new client acquisition... Best way to stop working..

Dear regulator , as told above " we do well by doing Good" is the tag line of we distributors. Dear regulator, take us on board and trust deficit will automatically vanish, if interested to do so , other wise you will do more harm than good to this industry.

Constructive, Balanced and well articulated thoughts. 3Bs: Belief (Trust) is most important.Your answer will reflect your Belief. Behaviour is depend on your Belief. And Business is depend on your Behaviour. Thank you Wealthforum and FIFA for sharing with all stake holders.

This reminds me about the character named "SHARMAJI" of a TV Serial named "BHABHI JI Ghar... " Everytime some one slaps him, he says " I liked it". We are exactly doing the same. Everytime we say, we will manage it by doing more business eg Entry Load ban/ Service Tax/ Commission Upfront Cap. Guys what I personally belief, after this commission disclosure...we already being nude to the society. We should not live more into "fools paradise" that some magician will come & do good for us. Inspite of doing this, Lets come together & show some resistance this time. We may go on strike for a month are so....demand for ourselves.

Very well articulated, Dhruv Mehta ji. But, some how I get a feeling that the Regulator has a more considerate view towards AMCs and that too big AMCs as two of their regulations regarding allowing of fungability of expenses and increase in TER for procuring incremental business from B15 cities was largely meant to favour them only with no concern for investors.

The regulator kept on warning to kill up fronts, They will have come to down harshly,some amcs did not listen. When elephants fight, ants get crushed. IFAs have to walk their own path, steering clear of controversial products, keeping the client in the centre of their sights, else there is an epitaph coming up ahead for the IFA community. Private equity is disruptive, till amcs list we will be vulnerable to a never ending slew of regulatory changes in their quest for market share. We help clients with their lifetime savings, we have made money move into financial assets over real estate and gold , country and clients enjoying the advantage, which have been wonderfully run by amcs. I applaud amcs for outstanding performance. We have mouths to feed in our teams, they have young girls and boys , dependent parents who have to be taken care off. This has to be sensibly resolved like Dhruvji has pointed out so well.

NOBODY could have articulated the points better Dhruv Mehta kudos, very very well said and to the point. Lets all put aside our differences and get together under one banner/forum and place our issue to the regulator/FM anybody who wants to listen and can take action otherwise like EVERY previous decision taken by the regulator this also will get implemented.

Really clear and open sharing about IFA feeling

I am sure whilst writing the article Mr. Dhruv Mehta and for that matter other writers like Dhirendra Kumar, Uma Shashikant & Monika Halan,distributor voices all are aware that it is going to SEBI trash bin. Lets recall when SEBI has heard us, considered us, given consideration, have shown modesty in decisions? In my opinion some brainwave erupts and circular drafted and without reading it second time, issued. Not even Judiciary behaves this way. This is going on ever since Mr. Damodaran was Chairman as I recall. It has spoiled total atmosphere in MF space. There is minimum wages act in every country which is revised upward with time. That too is not applicable here. Fundamental right to earn and livelihood and to live is denied. Either SEBI does not want IFAs, distributors fraternity or wants them to work free. Its behaviour is funny and beyond rational understanding. I hope non one finds this harsh compared to what is going on in our country.

I have only one suggestion that in any practice or business, no on know how much one earn from you? You dont know how much doctor earn from you, chemist earn from you or even vegetable vendor earn from you. Then why only we are behind the bar. We earn after to much consumption of time and many other expenditure that light bill, salary of staff and much more to serve our client. I very much impressed from Shri Dhruv Mehta what he said. only distributor made their roll in last financial year to stable the market. SEBI pl. hear us we are not donner, we have family and resposibilities.

Very well articulated. One pleasant surprise in this is the media coverage. Independent industry experts like Dhirendra Kumar, Uma Shashikant & Monika Halan have all written very balanced articles showing pitfalls in the SEBIs course of action. Let us hope (against hope???) that better senses prevail and IFA community is not driven to extinction.

Excellent article, clear thoughts put across very well.

Excellent one Mr. Dhruv. Hope it is understood and implemented by concerned authorities with complete TRUST.

Super. Lets hope somebody is reading.

Well articulated article. Need to bridge the trust deficit.

The regulator has decided to drive out the IFA community out of business.We worked very hard to generate steady and reliable income for our livelihood but every new circular is against IFA. This is against natural law.Nobody can be allowed to use his power and position to curb a section of people.I THINK WE SHOULD MOVE TO COURT OF LAW AND FILE A PETITION UNITEDLY.

Very well put Mr Mehta however key issue is will somebody in SEBI will go through the article. Why SEBI chief present and earlier has not interacted with the largest community in promoting MF is that they all are ex bureaucrats - who do not trust dialogue process It is just my way or high way syndrome and we are the most bright people who know best for fellow country men whereas all problem country faces today is due to our bureaucrats only.

this is the most appreciable initiative . SEBI is shifting the goal post very frequently and the trust deficit is getting widened. first commission structure got disturbed without understanding the efforts put in,secondly service tax issue unresolved in spite of clear clarification from govt side and CBDT. instead commending the IFA fraternity in pooling and improving the DIIS financial capability in thwarting the FIIS ruling the poor IFAS are battered demoralised and penalised without any human face by the regulator as reward