A winner on hand

The BSE might have lost the race to the NSE but it seems to be now working with its thinking cap on. On Monday alone, a million dollars worth of mutual funds (MFs) were bought on the BSE StAR MF – a dedicated distribution platform for MFs. And this is thanks to a new cloud-based instant messaging platform – Telegram.

4000 MF distributors are part of Telegram group by the same name – BSE StAR MR and like the way we use WhatsApp, this group shares everything, right from helping in make decisions to trouble shooting and even knowledge sharing. Interestingly, it began as a group of just four distributors chatting and problem solving and now it has gone on to become so big. The BSE call it the “the largest and the fastest growing group of independent financial advisors or mutual fund distributors on social media in India.”

It has got a sense of legitimacy with some of the BSE officials also joining the group and helping resolve issues. Omkeshwar Singh, head of mutual funds at the exchange, also responds to distributors’ queries in the Telegram group.

What speaks for its success is the fact that the BSE StAR MF accounted for a fifth of all new mutual funds sold in financial year 2018. And yes, MF distributors prefer this app to even Facebook or Whatsapp when it comes to any communication in MF.

With some Rs.87.400 crore getting invested in the MF industry in two months of April and May alone, looks like BSE finally has a winner oin hand!