Groww has defended its mutual fund strategy after a debate erupted over its decision to introduce regular mutual funds through its subscription-based Groww Prime platform, asserting that direct mutual funds remain at the core of its offering and will continue to be free for all do-it-yourself (DIY) investors.
The clarification comes after Zerodha Founder and CEO Nithin Kamath criticised rival platforms for moving away from direct mutual funds, following Groww's rollout of regular mutual fund offerings under Groww Prime.
Responding to the criticism in a post on X, Groww said there had been "some confusion and some misinformation" regarding its mutual fund business.
"We've seen some confusion and some misinformation about Groww's mutual fund offering. So let us be unambiguous," the company said.
We've seen some confusion and some misinformation about Groww's mutual fund offering. So let us be unambiguous.
— Groww (@_groww) July 9, 2026
Direct mutual funds are, and will remain, the heart of Groww. Over 1 crore investors have built more than ₹1.9 lakh crore of mutual fund investments on our platform,… https://t.co/GTzhpih7TL
Groww said direct mutual funds are, and will remain, the foundation of its platform. It added that more than one crore investors have built over Rs 1.9 lakh crore of mutual fund investments through Groww, making it India's largest mutual fund platform.
"For every DIY investor, Groww stays exactly what it has always been: direct, zero-commission, and free. Forever. We will keep shipping new features for direct MF investors," the company said.
The company stressed that Groww Prime is not a replacement for direct mutual funds but an optional offering aimed at investors seeking professional guidance.
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"MF Prime is not a shift. It is an addition — a fully opt-in product for a different cohort: investors who want research-backed guidance on what to buy, hold, exit, and rebalance. Many of these are people who wanted to invest through Groww but held back because they needed help," it said.
Groww also assured existing customers that nothing would change for those investing through direct mutual funds.
"If you are a DIY customer on Groww today, nothing changes for you. Not the plans, not the pricing, not the experience. Any commentary claiming Groww has changed its approach to mutual fund investing is simply incorrect," the company said.
The platform added that its goal is to cater to different investor preferences while allowing customers to choose the model that best suits their needs.
"Some investors want to do it themselves. Some want guidance. We're proud to serve both — and to let the customer, not the platform, decide," Groww said.
The clarification follows comments by Kamath, who appeared to take a swipe at competitors after Groww expanded its Groww Prime offering to its two-crore customer base.
"It's interesting that most of the direct MF platforms that started when we launched Coin have either disappeared or pivoted to something else. The few remaining platforms are also rethinking their choice of offering direct plans. However, at Zerodha, we will continue to offer direct mutual funds for free," Kamath wrote on X.
Defending Zerodha's long-standing pricing philosophy, Kamath said the company has maintained a low-cost approach since launching India's discount brokerage model in 2010.
"When we started the discount brokerage model in India in 2010, we decided to charge the same fee regardless of trade size. The logic was simple: if the effort to execute a trade is the same, why should customers pay differently?" he said.
Kamath said Zerodha adopted the same principle when it launched Coin by offering only direct mutual funds instead of earning commissions through regular plans.
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