How Bajaj Finserv plans to sell MFs to its 100 mn clients

Bajaj Finserv AMC, India’s 41st mutual fund house, is gearing up to launch inaugural new fund offers (NFOs). With 87 funds filed across equity, debt and hybrid categories, Bajaj Finserv seeks to capitalize on its existing 100 million customers, leveraging its clientele for the new fund house.

- Neil Borate

To lead this initiative, Nimesh Chandan, a former fund manager at Canara Robeco AMC, has been appointed as the chief investment officer, while the group’s head of strategy and a former BCG Partner Ganesh Mohan takes on the role of chief executive. In an exclusive interview, Sanjiv Bajaj, chairman and managing director, Bajaj Finserv, and Mohan, share insights into their vision and strategy. Edited excerpts:

Why are you launching Bajaj Finserv AMC?

Bajaj: Our journey began in 2007. We decided to focus on India’s middle class because they knew us well. They already bought scooters, motorcycles and electrical appliances from us. We started with the early part of a person’s life cycle—getting a loan. So, we started expanding Bajaj Finance. We then said, okay, as a person makes a lot of money, they will buy a house, or a two-wheeler and a four-wheeler. So, asset protection and life protection came in the form of general and life insurance. And accordingly, we started setting up each business. We applied for the mutual fund licence in 2011. That was around the time when the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) dramatically changed its first set of regulations for MFs and cut its commissions. We decided we would wait for those things to settle down.