WF: How you see the life of advisors changing with the introduction of mutual funds trading on BSE/NSE? Will you use these new platforms for transaction execution for your clients or would you prefer to do transactions in the current paper based mode.

Ramesh Bhat: I do agree with the new platform, because it is going to be really useful and investor friendly for almost all the clients across the country, because of its easiness and paperless work. We would like BSE and NSE to provide this platform also to AMFI certified advisors like us. Now we are supposed to depend on some broker or who is attached directly to NSE or BSE to take up the terminal. We being the mutual fund advisors qualified by AMFI, if we can produce the certificate across and we can have the terminal in our name directly instead of having be a sub-broker to somebody, that will be fantastic.

WF: Are your apprehensions about becoming a sub-broker more to do with your clients data confidentiality?

Ramesh Bhat : Not only that, not only data confidentiality, we will have to share revenues with the main broker - as much as 30% of our revenue will go to them. Even if the distributor gets a peanut amount of 50 paisa or 60 paisa even on that, out of the 50 paisa 20 paisa goes to the other broker and he has having only 30 paisa in his hand. If brokers are ready to come out and say that we are ready to take up the agents of the mutual funds and will take only 5 paisa or 10 paisa and handover the balance whatever we get, like that any transparency comes any data comes I think most of the advisors will definitely sell the mutual fund units through the terminal. Because the advantage here is the paperless work, the speed, the accuracy and everything is clear.

WF: Will your clients be apprehensive about issuing a cheque in the name of the main broker rather than the fund directly, in the new scheme of things?

Ramesh Bhat: Yes, clients do have concerns. Take my case - I have taken up a terminal and am a SEBI registered sub broker through Vertex Securities Limited, I have applied and I have taken up the terminal. I was told by my main broker to collect the cheque in his name i.e Vertex Securities Ltd.,. But the clients are telling me - if it is Reliance Mutual Fund fine. Why should I give the cheque in the name of Vertex Securities Ltd.? Who is this person in between?

WF: Now that we have these stock exchange MF platforms, what in your view will be the future growth potential for the pure mutual fund platforms that have come up recently?

Ramesh Bhat: Initially maybe there are lot of hiccups there. I don't think people, even the advisors are ready to take up these platforms and go ahead and even there are lot of people in Chennai itself. I know 2-3 people they have started their own platform and started empanelling the IFA's for their platform but the IFA's even though they are empanelled, they are not using the services of the platform as most of the IFA's feel that their records will be taken away.

WF: Client confidentiality is a big issue?

Ramesh Bhat: Yes it is a issue. One more thing : some IFA's are telling see if Mr.X is my client and Mr. X is no.2 IFA's client, the clash how it will be covered, if it is going through the same platform? So there is a hindrance there.

WF: Do you think the proposed AMFI platform is a good solution to these issues or do you think that may not materialize now that stock exchanges have set up their own platforms?

Ramesh Bhat: AMFI platform will definitely come. AMFI platform is closely watching what is happening with NSE/BSE before it comes out with their platform. I hope that AMFI will come up with a very good platform and whatever the problems with NSE/BSE will all be sorted out. We are looking in that way.

WF: How do you react to the SEBI circular banning the NOC practice?

Ramesh Bhat: I welcome that, I really welcome that NOC is not required because most of the cases, even my cases I have faced the problem you might have read my mails also earlier I have written. One of my client, he is a new client of mine - his advisor passed away he is no more, now when we went to the fund houses they are telling they can't change they need a NOC from the ex-broker who passed away. So that's really a difficult thing - this is a good move in those cases. And one more thing - many advisors are now moving out of the industry saying that there is no revenue here - they are going for employment. Their investors have some complaints that IFA's are taking the data's, not getting proper service etc. Investors are always the most important because without investors, no advisor is going to survive here. So investors needs should be taken care of. If IFA is going to leave the industry, some other person should take the data's and service the investor. That is the reason I really welcome this move.