Sebi to MF trustees: Do not rely on assurances, evaluate independently

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has proposed an overhaul of the roles and responsibilities of mutual fund (MF) trustees in a bid to safeguard the interest of unit holders and curb potential misconduct by asset management companies (AMCs). In a consultation paper issued on Thursday, the capital markets regulator has spelt out ‘core responsibilities’ for trustees to ensure that the actions taken by asset managers are not skewed towards their stakeholders.

These responsibilities include preventing undue influence of sponsors, market abuse by employees, unfair advantage to associates, conflict of interest between various parties and mis-selling. The proposed