SEBI instructions: Fund houses should create framework to protect investors; Keep focus on investing in smallcap and midcap

Capital markets regulator SEBI has asked mutual fund houses to prepare a framework to protect investors who have invested in smallcap and midcap schemes. Apart from this, the regulator has also suggested steps like a ban on heavy investments in these sectors, portfolio rebalancing and creating guidelines to keep investors safe.

Large amounts of money have been invested in mutual fund small- and mid-cap schemes in the past few quarters. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has requested information from fund house trustees in a letter to the Association of Mutual Funds in India so that a policy to safeguard investors' interests can be developed. The policy will be created to safeguard the interests of all investors, thanks to the cooperation of protection committees, trustees, and unitholders of asset management companies.

Fund houses will need to post the new policy on their website within 21 days, according to market regulator SEBI. In the December quarter of the current fiscal year, midcap investments totalling Rs 6,468 crore were made. Investment of more than Rs 12,000 crore has come in small cap.

SEBI has banned 12 people from trading in the stock market for wrongly inflating volumes and prices of V Mark India shares. Apart from this, he has also been asked to return Rs 6.38 crore earned illegally. V Mark is listed on the SME platform of NSE. SEBI found in the investigation that the company's MD Vikas Garg and Sandeep Kumar were committing fraud along with others. In another case, SEBI has imposed a fine of Rs 48 lakh on eight institutions.