The US$ 68 bn financial services conglomerate, Old Mutual Group, is planning a foray in the Indian mutual fund (MF) market. This was reported by a leading financial daily.

The Old Mutual Group has interests ranging from life insurance, asset management, banking and general insurance. In addition to MFs, life insurance is another area the company plans to pursue in India. It has operations in Africa, UK, Bermuda, Hong Kong, Ireland and the US.

The passing of the Insurance Regulatory Bill is likely witness a string of financial conglomerates wanting to set up shop in India for both the mutual fund and insurance businesses. Prudential (ICICI) and Sun Life (Birla) are two instances of companies that have set up shop in the MF segment, with an interest in Insurance.

The MF segment, which is already crowded with many international companies is likely to become even more competitive as more MFs enter the market over the next few months. This will expand the market, and give investors an array of funds to choose from. The smaller MFs are likely to get marginalised and may become prime targets for takeovers. But the investors could not care less, so long as the MFs keep giving them higher returns.

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