Democratising market is all about digitisation: Madhabi Puri Buch
Sebi chief bats for easy entry and exit for small investors
OUR BACK-OF-THEENVELOPE CALCULATION TELLS US THAT OVER THE NEXT 10 TO 15 YEARS, THE REIT, INVIT AND MUNI BOND MARKET WILL BE AS LARGE AS OUR EQUITY
MARKET TODAY
Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch on Wednesday said that democratising the equity market is all about digitisation and enabling easy entry and exit for small investors.
Delivering her address at The Rising Bharat Summit 2024, Buch said that in a large part of any industry, product or service, there are many people who encourage someone to enter. However, the question one needs to ask is whether they have equal access and as much service when they wish to exit. “To me, democracy needs to encompass not just the ease to come in but the ease of being served right through the life cycle of being an investor. And indeed, the ease of going out,” said Buch.
The Sebi chief said real estate investment trusts (Reits) are the products of the future and to democratise them, we need higher levels of disclosure and compliance. Buch said Sebi enabled small and medium REITS so that a larger section of the population could benefit
Sebi chief
from demand in the real estate sector. “Our back-of-the-envelope calculation tells us that over the next 10-15 years, Reits, Invits and muni (municipal) bonds will be as large as our equity market today,” said Buch.
Speaking about how MF Central, a unified platform for all mutual fund-related needs, has made mutual fund investing hassle-free, Buch said, “It's not just about buying through a single window that everybody
does because of their own commercial interest. It’s about the fact that there is a single window to be served during your entire life cycle of holding mutual funds, which is truly phenomenal. It’s about the fact that the entire industry came together and offered this and said this is not a space where we need to compete. This is a space where we need to collaborate. And that’s what creates democratisation.”
She said Sebi is working to make financial products accessible to everyone by making ~100 systematic investment plans profitable for the mutual fund players. “We as regulators know that unless it is viable, it will not be pushed. So, we are working very closely with the industry to identify all the costs, including some of the regulation-driven costs, that are making this unviable,” said Buch.