All You Need to Know About the Newly Launched MF Central Platform
September 27, 2021 Mutual Fund
Mutual fund Registrar and Transfer Agents (RTAs), KFintech and CAMS, have collectively launched MFCentral – a common industry-wide mutual fund platform. The platform aims to deliver an integrated, harmonized, and elevated experience to investors across the industry.
In July, market regulator SEBI had asked RTAs to develop a user-friendly platform that will make transacting in mutual funds and availing services a convenient experience. Accordingly, the first phase of the common mutual fund platform — MFCentral — went live on September 23, 2021.
Investors can avail of the services by visiting the official website of MFCentral at www.mfcentral.com. You do not have to complete any KYC process to register on the website, just enter your PAN and mobile number to login and get started.
In the first phase of the implementation, you can avail of the following non-financial services on the MFCentral platform:
- View consolidated portfolio across all mutual fund houses and RTAs
- View holdings across asset class, fund house, and schemes along with scheme returns
- Change e-mail ID, mobile number and update address
- Add nominee details
- Get a consolidated view of pending service requests and complaints lodged across AMCs in one place
- Change of IDCW option
- Correction of erroneous data captured in folio
- Change of bank account details
- Update bank IFSC
- Status modification from minor to major
- Update form 15G/H
- FATCA/CRS declaration
- Check unclaimed dividends and unclaimed redemptions
In the near future, you will also be able to change your tax status (resident or non-resident), check capital gains statement, as well as place the transmission request for transfer of units to the nominee/legal heir of a deceased mutual fund investor.
In the 2nd phase, MFCentral will launch the mobile app; and in the 3rd phase, you will be able to purchase and sell mutual fund units. The mutual fund platform will be fully operational by December 31, 2021.
To ensure the safety of transactions, the RTAs will be responsible for complying with the Cyber Security and Cyber Resilience framework specified by SEBI.
What does SEBI wish to achieve with the launch of a common mutual fund platform?
Investors often face inconvenience when making non-financial transactions related to mutual funds. For instance, say you have invested in five mutual fund schemes. Now if you wish to change bank account details for purchase and sale transactions, you will have to submit the relevant documents along with cancelled cheque to each of the fund house individually.
Similarly, if you want to update your registered mobile number and/or e-mail ID, you will have to send separate requests to CAMS and KFintech because there are different mutual fund houses that these two RTAs service.
The common mutual fund platform will facilitate all transactions and service requests through a single process which will significantly reduce the turnaround time. It would significantly reduce the investors’ time, effort, and paperwork.
And once the platform allows transaction in mutual funds, as an investor, you will be able to make all your transactions (financial and non-financial) from one place. Further, you will have access to all reports of your holding, transaction history, funds’ performance, statement of capital gains, etc. across fund houses at a single window platform.
SEBI expects that this enhanced user experience can help in better penetration and growth of mutual fund industry.
Selecting the right mutual fund still remains the most challenging task for mutual fund investors
The most of important aspect of mutual fund investment is selecting the right scheme/s that will help you to achieve your envisioned financial goals. So while the MFCentral platform aims to provide a seamless transaction experience, the crucial task of selecting a worthy scheme from the plethora of options available still rests on you.
We at PersonalFN have an exclusive mutual fund investment platform — PersonalFN Direct, uniquely built in such a way that it can guide you to select the best funds and invest in low-cost direct plans offered by mutual fund houses. It is made with the sole intention of making mutual fund investment as seamless and simple as possible.
Once you subscribe to PersonalFN Direct, you will get instant access to PersonalFN’s latest views and ratings on mutual funds. You also get detailed research reports on some of the top schemes under coverage of our research team. These can be a guide to help you decide whether the fund is worth buying or not and create a robust mutual fund portfolio.
PersonalFN Direct provides a facility to invest and transact seamlessly across 39 mutual funds in India, all through a single platform which you can use from the comfort of home.
Apart from that, you could reach out to our Customer Support in case of any assistance in transacting. They will assist you in every way possible to ensure investing is a smooth experience for you.
Investment into Direct Plans enables you to save on the commission that goes to the brokers when you transact in Regular Plans. This adds up to the fund value and boosts returns in the long run compared to what you could earn by investing in regular plans.
This article first appeared on PersonalFN here
