AMFI: Mutual Funds Industry Body

Functions: (1) Setting ethical and professional standards for the mutual fund industry. (2) Issuing AMFI Registration Number (ARN) to distributors after they pass NISM-Series-VA Mutual Fund Distributors Certification — distributors cannot sell mutual funds without active ARN. (3) Publishing daily NAVs (Net Asset Values) of all mutual fund schemes. (4) Investor education and awareness via 'Mutual Funds Sahi Hai' campaign. (5) Maintaining classification standards for fund categories (large cap, mid cap, ELSS, debt categories).

Member AMCs (40+ as of 2025): SBI Funds, HDFC AMC, ICICI Prudential, Nippon India, Aditya Birla Sun Life, Kotak Mahindra, Axis MF, UTI, Mirae Asset, DSP, Tata, Bandhan (formerly IDFC), Edelweiss, PGIM, Quant, Parag Parikh, Quantum, Motilal Oswal, Invesco, Franklin Templeton, Sundaram, LIC MF, Canara Robeco, Mahindra Manulife. Total industry AUM crossed ₹65 lakh crore in 2024.

Investor protection: AMFI publishes the AMFI Code of Ethics and conducts background checks for ARN holders. Categorisation: SEBI-mandated 36 categories of mutual funds (e.g., 5 categories of equity by market cap, 16 categories of debt by duration/credit, 6 of hybrid). AMFI's investor grievance redressal works alongside SEBI's SCORES portal. Direct vs Regular plans concept (since 2013) creates ARN-free 'direct' option for self-buying.

Direct plans of mutual funds are bought without distributor commission (no ARN involved) — typically save 0.5-1.5% expense ratio annually compared to Regular plans. Direct plans are accessible via AMC websites, MF Utility, and platforms like Zerodha Coin, Groww (direct), Kuvera, ETMoney, Paytm Money. Always check 'Direct - Growth' option when investing.

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