There is no need to comment on the valuations of small and mid-cap stocks now, Securities and Exchange Board of India Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch said at an event in Mumbai on Friday.
However, it was Buch who flagged concerns about the froth and exuberance in the valuations of these stocks about a year ago.
"At a point of time when the regulator felt the need to make a statement about it, the statement was made," Buch said, while addressing the press at the Association of Mutual Funds of India event. "Today, the regulator feels no need to make an additional statement," she added.
Buch also spoke on the financial inclusion initiative of "Chota SIP" that stands for the sachetisation of mutual funds with schemes starting from as low as Rs 250. She added that the asset management companies will not be forced to provide such a product.
The need to mandate an initiative typically arises when it is loss-making or requires external enforcement to sustain, Buch explained. However, in the case of Rs 250 SIP, all stakeholders, including the regulator, have contributed to its development, ensuring a collaborative effort.
She emphasised that the unit economics of micro-sized SIP is well understood and proven to work, making it a viable and sustainable product. Given its strong fundamentals and industry-wide benefits, SEBI believes that the mutual fund industry will adopt it voluntarily and wholeheartedly. Therefore, there is no necessity to impose a mandatory requirement for AMCs to implement it.
Buch also spoke about the Mutual Fund Investment Tracing and Retrieval Assistant, or Mitra platform, aimed at tracking the lost mutual fund investments. The digital platform is designed to simplify investment management by consolidating and organising scattered investments, particularly solving inheritance related confusions of securities.
Currently, many investors—especially young people and those living abroad—find it difficult to manage their investments due to complex paperwork and fragmented holdings. Mitra aims to change this perception from "it's too difficult in India" to "it's so simple in India", the SEBI chief said.
The platform was carefully designed to balance convenience with fraud prevention, ensuring a seamless and secure experience for investors and their families, she added.
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