Mumbai, 7 September 2019: Technology plays a pivotal role across various spheres of life today, and the finance sector is at the forefront of this revolution. The mutual fund (MF) industry has adopted technology across its processes, be it in fund management, transaction processing or customer servicing. To cater to this target market, it is important for companies to evolve and adapt to the recent trends that millennials follow.

Millennials and Tech savvy investors are at the helm of betting big on MFs. This is evident in a recent report which states that around 16 lakh new MF investors were millennials, falling in the age bracket of 20 and 35 years. The younger group accounts for 47 per cent of the new investors in MFs. Roughly 73 per cent of millennials believe they should be able to accomplish any financial task on a mobile device.

The role of technology can only get bigger and the digital mode is the way forward. With the help of new age technology, companies in the financial services space are competing with each other to have maximum share of such investors as their clients and are trying to dynamically deconstruct their investors personal financial services ecosystems and reassemble them with newer and better means.

After considering the evolving customer needs, Aditya Birla Sun Life (ABSL) MF was able to develop an investor website that was better suited for the understanding of millennials as well. Following were the changes that have been incorporated.

On the similar lines, ICICI Securities (I-Sec), has launched One Click Investment, a curated baskets of MF schemes, customized as per investment objectives of investors, covering the entire spectrum of investors i.e. from HNI to Retail including Millennials, who prefer to DIY (Do It Yourself).

A Balasubramanian, CEO, ABSL MF said, “A robust tech infrastructure, followed by continued innovation are a given in today’s world where the key demand is for convenience and accessibility. Our investor and partner applications and portals are designed keeping this in mind. Investors and partners are moving towards digitalization, with paperless transactions showing a significant increase. Close to 80 per cent of our overall transactions are coming through the online mode, which includes both our platforms as well as that of our partners”.

I-sec said, with the help of One click Investment, an investor can choose from the available baskets of MF schemes, which have been curated after extensive analysis on both qualitative and quantitative parameters. The basket composition ranges from pure equity to pure debt and also a combination of both, thereby offering growth, optimization, stability, preservation and tax savings. The platform also allows for basket level goal mapping and provides option to separately view the performance of the invested baskets.

Vijay Chandok, MD & CEO, ICICI Securities said, “One repeated feedback we have been receiving from our MF investor community was the amount of research they need to do before making a scheme selection and thereafter having to constantly monitor its performance. To free investors of this botheration and effort, we have introduced One Click Investment, where based on an individual’s goals and risk appetite, one can choose amongst the available baskets with underlying MF schemes selected based on our extensive research considering not only historical returns but also future growth potential. The baskets offer both lump sum and SIP investing modes, making this a very efficient investment vehicle”.

The new features on the ABSL MF website replicate online purchase behaviour of millennials in buying MF, keeping it consistent with buying any item on e-platform like Flipkart/Amazon etc. A new cart feature for e-platform on the lines of buying of multiple funds – up to 5 schemes, has been added. It is also equipped with another interesting feature where investors can get online analysis of past purchases to suggest tailor-made MFs across asset classes to make informed direct investment.

At ABSL MF, we consider technology as an enabler for investors and partners, and have been using it effectively for an enhanced experience. Technology has not only helped in widening the reach of mutual fund industry, but also it connects with younger investor base as well, who are a lot more tech-savvy, added Balasubramanin.

Schemes in the baskets will be reviewed constantly by I-Sec research team and suitable changes will be made as per evolving market and scheme dynamics. So the investors need not worry about scheme selection, exiting non-performing schemes and reinvesting in performing ones, I-sec said in a statement.