Shradha Project

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SUMMER TRAINING PROJECT REPORT

ON

DETERMINING THE SATISFACTION LEVEL OF EXISTING

CHANNEL PATNERS

CARRIED AT

Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF BACHELORS OF BUSINES

MANAGEMENT

TO

THE IIS UNIVERSITY, JAIPUR

SUPERVISED BY SUBMITTED BY

Mrs. Vandana Sachdeva Shradha Jaipuria

Assistant professor BBM SEM VI SECA

Department of management studies ICG/2011/12337

ROLL NO: 111080


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

COMPANY PROFILE

INTRODUCTION TO THE COMPANY

HISTORY

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

MARKET ANALYSIS OF COMPANY

SWOT ANALYSIS

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

RESEARCH METHODLOGY

HYPOTHESIS

SCOPEOBJECTIEVE

SAMPLING TECHNIQUE

RESEARCH DESIGN AND INSTRUMENT

DATA COLLECTION

ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION

FINDINGS

SUGGESTIONS RECOMMENDATION

CONCLUSION

LIMITATIONS

APPENDIX/ANNEXURE

BIBLIOGRAPHY


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PREFACE

I Shradha Jaipuria of International College for Girls, Jaipur Rajasthan, did my

Summer Internship project with BSL Asset Management Company Ltd from 22nd

May to 6thJuly 2013.

The project involves a study of mutual fund industry, evaluating and suggesting

measures to improve the services provided by the representatives of Birla Sun Life

Mutual Fund to the retail distributors and also to identify the strong as well as the

weak points so that an appropriate sales pitch could be developed. The sales pitch

highlighted features like Birla Sun Life having a huge distributor base, returns being

independent of the market ups and downs, etc. The project also involves determining

the effect of SEBI circular regarding the waiver of entry load on direct applications in

mutual fund.

Calls were made to all the different channel distributors (Retail) across all tiers from

companys database and appointments were sought. Thereafter a brief questionnaire is

filled up by them about the study.

The major part of the questionnaire is focused on determining effects of SEBI circular

on Waiver of Entry Load on Direct Application in Mutual Funds, what were the

different parameters on which the behavior of the investor is depending after this

circular and determining the satisfaction level of the channel partners.

A lot of interaction has been done with the distributors about the products and

services of Birla Sun Life. A comparative analysis is also done of Birla Sun Life

Mutual Fund with other AMCs in order to find the market position of the company

with respect to services provided by it. It is found that there are many issues on which

the company needs to improve, which are elaborated in further parts of the reports.

ReportingI reported to Mr.Shushant Akkar, Relationship ManagerSales who

kept guiding me during the project as and when required.

Learning during training-

a) Learning about the Mutual Fund Industry and their importance in the current

scenario.


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b) I learned the difference of investing in mutual fund and other investment

(bank/post office) products.

c) The scope of the project is also to find out that what factors forces the

customers to buy a particular mutual fund. I learned what things investor

should keep in mind before investing into any fund apart from that I have also

seen what Indian investors think about mutual fund and how much they are

aware about mutual funds.

d) Opportunity to learn about the ups and downs in the market and its impact on

the performance of various schemes.

e) The presentations of BSL mutual fund that I gave to our alternate distribution

channels employees helped me to get exposed to various problems that the

distributors face during selling of mutual fund schemes and how to tackle with

such problems.

f) I have learned that mutual funds now present perhaps the most appropriate

investment opportunity for most investors. As financial markets become more

sophisticated and complex, investors need a financial intermediary who

provides the required knowledge and professional expertise on successful

investing.

g) Learning about several business operations of the company.

h) Corporate Exposure during training made me more confident and outgoing.

Interaction with Relationship Managers and branch heads at various banks

boosted my confidence and infused enthusiasm in me.


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INTRODUCTION

Objective of the study

As the title of the project suggests, the objective of the project is to find out the

satisfaction level of Distributors with respect to the services & overall product quality

provided by the AMC.

The following are the sub objectives of the project:

Understanding the attitude and behavior of the distributors towards Birla

Sun Life Mutual Fund.

Find out their preference parameters for selling a particular fund.

Understanding the competition for the service provided by different mutual

fund companies.

Finding out ways and means to improve on the services by Birla Sun Life

Mutual Fund.

Rationale of the study

Mutual fund industry has grown by leaps and bounds, particularly during the last two

decades of the 20th

century. Moreover the entry of private sector mutual funds (since1993) has injected a sense of competition and the industry has been witnessing a

structural change from a public sector monopoly to monopolistic industry. A proper

evaluation measure will remove confusion and help investors to decide about levels of

investments in various mutual fund schemes, so as to maximize their returns. Further,

the growing competition in the market forces the fund managers to work hard to

satisfy investors and the management.

Furthermore, the study includes a survey of dealers to find out the satisfaction level

among the various Individual financial advisors of Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund,

Jaipur. And to estimate the effect of SEBI circular issued on 31 st December, 2007

regarding waiver of entry load on direct application in mutual funds, which is

implemented from 4thJanuary 2008.

Since the issue of this circular there has been a buzz in the mutual fund industry and

the distributors of mutual fund, that this will affect their business heavily.


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COMPANY PROFILE

Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company Ltd. (BSLAMC), the investment

managers of Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, is a joint venture between the Aditya Birla

Group and the Sun Life Financial Services Inc. of Canada. The joint venture brings

together the Aditya Birla Group's experience in the Indian market and Sun Life's

global experience.

Since its inception in 1994, Birla Sun Life Mutual fund has emerged as one of India's

leading Mutual Funds managing assets of a large investor base. The fund offers a

range of investment options, which include diversified and sector specific equity

schemes, fund of fund schemes, hybrid and monthly income funds, a wide range of

debt and treasury products and offshore funds.

BSLAMC follows a long-term, fundamental research based approach to investment.

The approach is to identify companies, which have excellent growth prospects and

strong fundamentals. The fundamentals include the quality of the companys

management, sustainability of its business model and its competitive position,

amongst other factors. Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company has one of the

largest team of research analysts in the industry, dedicated to tracking down the best

companies to invest in.

Birla Sun Life AMC strives to provide transparent, ethical and research-based

investments and wealth management services.

Vision

To be the most trusted name in investment and wealth management, to be the

preferred employer in the industry and to be a catalyst for growth and excellence of

the asset management business in India.

Mission

To consistently pursue investor's wealth optimization by achieving superior and

consistent investment results Creating a conductive environment to hone and retain


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talent. Providing customer delight. Institutionalizing system-approach in all aspects of

functioning. Upholding highest standards of ethical values at all times.

Client focus

We listen carefully to our clients.

We put our clients first and at the heart of all we do.

We listen and deeply understand our clients businesses, risk and issues.

We help our clients better meet their investment goals.

We anticipate trends and help clients plot the future course.

Consistently exceed our clients expectations. Make decisions close to our clients

SHAREHOLDERS IN BIRLA SUN LIFE ASSET MANAGEMENT

COMPANY

Aditya Birla Group

Sun Life Financial Inc.

The Aditya Bir la Group is India's first truly multinational corporation. Global in

vision, rooted in Indian values, the Group is driven by a performance ethic pegged on

value creation for its multiple stakeholders.

The Aditya Birla Groups products and services offer distinctive customer solutions

worldwide. The Group has operations in 20 countries - India, Thailand, Laos,

Indonesia, Philippines, Egypt, China, Canada, Australia, USA, UK, Germany,

Hungary, Brazil, Italy, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Malaysia and Korea.

A US $28 billion corporation with a market cap. of US $31.5 billion and in the

League of Fortune 500, the Aditya Birla Group is anchored by an extraordinary force

of 100,000 employees, belonging to 25 different nationalities. Over 50 per cent of its

revenues flow from its operations across the world.

Its 66 state-of-the-art manufacturing units and sectoral services span India, Thailand,

Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Egypt, Canada, Australia and China.


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The Aditya Birla Group is a dominant player in all of the sectors in which it operates.

These sectors include viscose staple fiber, non-ferrous metals, cement and viscose

filament yarn, branded apparel, carbon black, chemicals, fertilizers, sponge iron,

insulators and financial services.

The Group has also made successful forays into the IT and BPO sectors.

In India, the Group has been adjudged The Best Employer in India and among the

top 20 in Asia by the Hewitt-Economic Times and Wall Street Journal Study 2007.

Sun L ife Financial I nc. is a leading financial services organization headquartered in

Toronto, Canada, operating in key markets around the world.

The Sun Life Financial group of companies and their joint ventures offer individuals

and corporate customers a diverse range of financial products and services that fall

into two principal business areas: wealth management and protection. Throughout its

international operations,Sun Life Financial has an employee base of approximately

13,800 people plus an extensive global distribution network of career sales forces,

independent agents, investment dealers and financial planners.

Tracing its roots back to 1865, Sun Life Financial Inc. and its partners today have

operations in key markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United

Kingdom, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Indonesia, India and China. As on 30th June

2007, Sun Life Financial Inc. manages assets worth CDN $435 billion.

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and

Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under ticker symbol "SLF".

Why Birla Sun Life Mutual Funds?

HERITAGE

Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund is a joint venture between the Aditya Birla Group and

Sun Life Financial Inc. of Canada. Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund offers a wide range of

top quality financial services solutions for resident and non-resident Indians.
http://www.sunlife.com/worldwide/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=33b05a366ccb0110VgnVCM1000006c90d09fRCRD&vgnLocale=en_CAhttp://www.sunlife.com/worldwide/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=3640db72d02c0110VgnVCM1000006c90d09fRCRD&vgnLocale=en_CAhttp://www.sunlife.com/worldwide/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=3640db72d02c0110VgnVCM1000006c90d09fRCRD&vgnLocale=en_CAhttp://www.sunlife.com/worldwide/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=33b05a366ccb0110VgnVCM1000006c90d09fRCRD&vgnLocale=en_CA


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The Aditya Bir la Group is one of India's largest business houses. Global in vision,

rooted in Indian values, the Group is driven by a performance ethic pegged on value

creation for its multiple stakeholders.

The Group's operations span 66 state of the art, straddling India, Thailand, Malaysia,

Indonesia, Egypt, Philippines, Canada, Australia and China.

A US $28 billion corporation with a market cap. of US $31.5 billion and in the

League of Fortune 500, the Aditya Birla Group is anchored by an extraordinary force

of 100,000 employees, belonging to 25 different nationalities. Over 50 per cent of its

revenues flow from its operations across the world.

The Aditya Birla Group is a dominant player in all its areas of operations viz;

Aluminum, Copper, Cement, Viscose Staple Fibre, Carbon Black, Viscose Filament

Yarn, Fertilizers, Insulators, Sponge Iron, Chemicals, Branded Apparels, Insurance,

Mutual Funds, S strategic joint ventures with global majors such as Sun Life

(Canada), AT&T (USA), the Tata Group and NGK Insulators (Japan), and has

ventured into the BPO sector with the acquisition of TransWorks, a leading

ITES/BPO company.

Sun L if e F inancialis a leading international financial services organization providing

a diverse range of wealth accumulation and protection products and services to

individuals and corporate customers. Chartered in 1865, Sun Life Financial and its

partners today have operations in key markets worldwide, including Canada, the

United States, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia,

India, China and Bermuda.

As of 30 June 2007, the Sun Life Financial group of companies had total assets undermanagement of CDN $ 435 billion.

TRACK RECORD

With a proven track record of 12 years, Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund has been a

catalyst towards the growth of the private sector asset management business.

INNOVATIONS

Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund is the first to launch


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Birla Cash Plus, a liquid fund.

Birla Dividend Yield Plus which is a dividend yield fund.

Birla Bond Index Fund (a debt index fund) which replicates the Crisil Composite

Bond Fund Index has been assigned AAAF rating by Crisil.

INVESTMENT PHILOSOPHY

Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund follows a long-term, fundamental research based

approach to investment. The approach is to identify companies, which have excellent

credit-worthiness and strong fundamentals. The fundamentals include the quality of

the company's management, sustainability of its business model and its competitive

position, amongst other factors. Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company

(BSLAMC) has one of the largest team of research analysts in the industry, dedicated

to tracking down the best companies to invest in BSLAMC will always strive to

provide transparent, ethical and research-based investments and wealth management

services.

GEOGRAPHICAL REACH

Today, BSLAMC is present in 111 locations, including 74 branches.

PRODUCT OFFERINGS

Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund offers a range of investment options, which include

diversified and sector specific equity schemes, fund-of-fund schemes, hybrid and

monthly income funds, a wide range of debt and treasury products and offshore funds.

BSLAMC also provides Private Wealth Management services.

DIFFERENT FUNDS MANAGED BY BIRLA SUN LIFE ASSET

MANAGEMENT COMPANY:

Birla Sun Life Government Securities Fund: An Open-ended Gilt scheme with the

objective to provide investors current income consistent with a portfolio invested

100% in securities issued by the Government of India or the State Governments, and

the secondary objective is capital appreciation.


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Birla Floating Rate Fund: An Open-ended income scheme with the objective to

generate regular income through investment in a portfolio comprising substantially of

floating rate debt / money market instruments.

Birla Sun Life Cash Manager: An Open-ended liquid scheme with the objective to

provide current income which is consistent with a portfolio that offers investors

superior liquidity by investing 100% in a diversified portfolio of debt (Fixed Income)

and money market securities.

Birla Sun Life Income Fund: An Open-ended income scheme with the objective to

generate consistent income through superior yields on its investments at moderate

levels of risk through a diversified investment approach.

Birla Sun Life Short Term Fund: An Open-ended short term income scheme with

the objective to generate income and capital appreciation by investing 100% of the

corpus in a diversified portfolio of debt and money market securities with relatively

low levels of interest rate risk.

Birla Sun Life Liquid Plus: An Open-ended short term income scheme with the

objective to generate regular returns through investments in debt and money market

securities.

Birla MIP II - Wealth 25 Plan: An Open-ended income scheme with the objective

to generate regular income so as to make monthly payment or distribution to unit

holders with the secondary objective being growth of capital. Monthly Income is not

assured and is subject to availability of distributable surplus.

Birla Sun Life Monthly Income: An open-end income scheme with the primary

objective to generate regular income so as to make monthly and quarterly

distributions to unit holders and the secondary objective as growth of capital. Monthly

income is not assured and is subject to availability of distributable surplus.

Birla Dynamic Bond Fund: An Open-ended income scheme with the objective to

generate optimal returns with high liquidity through active management of the

portfolio by investing in high quality debt and money market instruments.

Birla Sun Life Government Securities Fund: An Open-ended Gilt scheme with theobjective to provide investors current income consistent with a portfolio invested


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100% in securities issued by the Government of India or the State Governments, and

the secondary objective is capital appreciation.

Birla Asset Allocation Fund: An Open-ended Fund of Funds scheme with the

objective to provide income and capital appreciation along with diversification by

investing in a basket of debt and equity Mutual Fund schemes in line with the risk

profile of the investors.

Birla Sun Life International Equity Fund - Plan B: An open-ended diversified

equity scheme with an objective to generate long-term growth of capital, by investing

predominantly in a diversified portfolio of equity and equity related securities in the

domestic and international markets.

Birla Income Plus: An Open-ended income scheme with the objective to generate

consistent income through superior yields on its investments at moderate levels of risk

through a diversified investment approach

Birla India Opportunities Fund: An Open-ended growth scheme with the objective

to achieve superior long-term growth of capital by investing in shares of companies

that do one or more of the following: Leverage India's intellectual capital for

providing services, research and creative inputs; Seek to use current and impending

changes in patent laws / import tariffs / quotas to supply goods and services; Leverage

India's lower labour costs for providing services and manufactured goods; Leverage

India's large population of English speaking people for providing services.

Birla Gilt Plus: An Open-ended government securities scheme with the objective to

generate income and capital appreciation through investments exclusively in

Government Securities.

Birla Cash Plus: An Open-ended liquid scheme with the objective to provide

reasonable returns at a high level of safety and liquidity through judicious investments

in high quality debt and money market instruments.

Birla MNC Fund: An Open-ended growth scheme with the objective to achieve

long-term growth of capital at relatively moderate levels of risk by making

investments in securities of multi-national companies through a research based

investment approach


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Birla MIP: An Open-ended income scheme with the objective to generate regular

income so as to make monthly distribution to unit holders with the secondary

objective being growth of capital. Monthly Income is not assured and is subject to

availability of distributable surplus.

Birla Sun Life Buy India Fund: A multi-sector open-end growth scheme with the

objective of long term growth of capital, through a portfolio with a target allocation of

100% equity, focusing on investing in businesses that are driven by India's large

population and inherent consumption patterns. The focus of the scheme will be in the

consumer and healthcare sectors.

Birla Sun Life New Millennium Fund: A multi-sector open-end growth scheme

with the objective of long term growth of capital, through a portfolio with a target

allocation of 100% equity, focusing on investing in technology and technology

dependent companies, hardware, peripherals and components, software, telecom,

media, internet and e-commerce and other technology enabled companies.

Birla Top 100 Fund: An open-ended growth scheme with the objective to provide

medium to long term capital appreciation, by investing predominantly in a diversified

portfolio of equity and equity related securities of top 100 companies as measured bymarket capitalization.

Birla Index Fund: An Open-ended index-linked growth scheme with the objective

of generates returns commensurate with the performance of Nifty subject to tracking

errors.

Birla Equity Plan: An Open-ended Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS) with the

objective to achieve long-term growth of capital along with income tax relief for

investment.

Birla Advantage Fund: An Open-ended growth scheme with the objective to

achieve long-term growth of capital at relatively moderate levels of risk through a

diversified research based investment approach.

Birla India GenNext Fund: An Open-ended growth scheme with the objective to

target growth of capital by investing in equity/equity related instruments of companies

that are expected to benefit from the rising consumption patterns in India, which in


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AWARDS WON BY BSLAMC

CNBC TV18 - CRISIL Mutual Fund of the Year Awards for 2007

Mutual Fund of the YearBirla Sun Life Mutual Fund

Total Fund Houses = 26

1 yr performance ended 31, Dec 2007

Emerging Equity Fund of the Year

Birla Infrastructure FundGrowth

1 yr performance ended 31 Dec, 07

Total Schemes in Category = 14

Birla Sun Life Frontline Equity Fund

Category: Large Cap oriented Equity Fund



Birla Sun Life Income Fund

Category: Income Funds1 yr performance ended 31 Dec, 07


Birla Sun Life Monthly Income

Category: Monthly Income PlansConservative



Birla Sun Life Short Term Fund

Category: IncomeShort Term Funds



Birla Sun Life Income Fund-Growth

Best Fund - Bond INR General

3 yrs & 10 yrs performance ended 31 Dec, 07

Total Schemes in Category = 100 and 10 respectively
http://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=293Ghttp://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=293Ghttp://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=293Ghttp://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=293Ghttp://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=293Ghttp://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=92http://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=92http://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=32http://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=63http://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=63http://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=84http://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=84http://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=32http://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=32http://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=32http://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=84http://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=63http://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=32http://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=92http://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=293Ghttp://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=293G


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Birla Gilt Plus-Regular Plan-Growth

Best Fund - Bond INR Government

5 yrs performance ended31 Dec, 07


Birla Sun Life '95 Fund-Growth

Best Fund - Mixed Asset INR Aggressive

10 yrs performance ended 31 Dec, 07


ICRA Mutual Fund Awards 2008

Bir la I ncome Plus

7-Star Gold AwardDebt: Long Term

1 yr ended 31 Dec, 07


Bir la Sun L ife Short Term Fund

7-Star Gold AwardLiquid Plus

1 yr ended 31 Dec, 07


Schemes of BSL mutual fund

1.Birla Sun Life Cash Manager- A fund that aims to provide the convenience

of a saving account with the opportunity to earn higher posttax return.

2.Birla Sun Life Saving Fund A fund that provide the convenience of a

saving account with the opportunity to earn higher posttax return.

3. Birla Sun Life Dynamic Bond Fund A dynamic income solution that

aims to generate return with active management in bonds of quality companies to

capture positive price movements and minimize the impact of adverse price

movement.
http://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=404Ghttp://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=AGhttp://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=AGhttp://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=301Ghttp://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=84http://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=84http://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=84http://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=301Ghttp://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=AGhttp://www.birlasunlife.com/BirlaSunLife/Mutual_Fund/BSLAMC_MP/BSLAMC_InvestOption/Abt_fund.aspx?schcode=404G


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4. Birla Sun Life Frontline Equity FundA diversified equity fund that

invests across sectors in line with BSE200 index , with a bias for large caps but

not exclusively focused on them.

5. Birla Sun Life MNC Fund - The fund that invest in securities of

multinational companies in order to achieve long - term growth of capital with

relatively moderate levels of risk.

6. Birla Sun Life Small & Mid Cap Fund - An Equity fund that aims to

generate growth and capital appreciation by investing predominantly in equity

related securities of companies considered to be small and mid cap.


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Mutual Fund Types

All mutual funds would be either closed-end or open-end, and either load or no-load.

Once we have reviewed the fund classes, we are ready to discuss more specific fundtypes. Funds are generally distinguished from each other by their investment

objectives and types of securities they invest in.

Money Market Funds : They invest in securities of a short-term nature, which

generally means securities of less than one-year maturity. The typical, short-term,

interest-bearing instruments these funds invest in include Treasury Bills issued by

Governments, Certificates of Deposit issued by banks and Commercial Paper issued

by companies.

Gilt Funds: Gilts are government securities with medium to long-term maturities,

typically of over one year. Since the issuer is the Government/s of India/States, these

funds have little risk of default and hence offer better protection of principal.

Debt or Income Funds: Debt Funds invest in debt instruments issued not only by

governments, but also by private companies, banks and financial institutions and other

entities such as infrastructure companies/utilities. By investing in debt, these fundstarget low risk and stable income for the investor as their key objectives.

Equity Funds: Equity Funds invest a major portion of their corpus in equity shares

issued by companies, acquired directly in initial public offerings or through the

secondary market. They are generally considered at the higher end of the risk

spectrum among all funds available in the market.

Hybrid Funds: There are funds that seek to hold a relatively balanced holding of debt

and equity securities in their portfolios. Such funds are termed Hybrid Funds as

they have a dual equity/bond focus.

Commodity Funds: Commodity Funds specialize in investing in different

commodities directly or through shares of commodity companies or through

commodity future contracts.

Growth Funds: The aim of growth funds is to provide capital appreciation over the

medium to long- term. Such schemes normally invest a majority of their corpus in


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equities. They are ideal for: investors in their prime earning years and also for

investors seeking growth over the long term.

Balanced Funds: The aim of balanced funds is to provide both growth and regular

income. Such schemes periodically distribute a part of their earning and invest both in

equities and fixed income securities in the proportion indicated in their offer

documents. In a rising stock market, the NAV of these schemes may not normally

keep pace, or fall equally when the market falls. They are ideal for investors looking

for a combination of income and moderate growth.

Index Funds: An Index Fund is a mutual fund that tries to mirror a market index, like

Nifty or BSE Sensex, as closely as possible by investing in all the stocks that

comprise that index in proportions equal to the weight age of those stocks in the

index. These are passively managed funds wherein the fund manager invests the funds

in the stocks comprising the index in similar weight. Index funds, while reducing the

risk associated with the market, offer many benefits to the investors. These are

considered appropriate for: Conservative long-term investors looking at moderate

risk, moderate return arising out of well diversified portfolio.

Sectoral Funds: Sectoral Funds are those, which invest exclusively in a specifiedindustry or a group of industries or various segments such as 'A' Group shares or

initial public offerings.


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Advantages of Mutual Fund

If mutual funds are emerging as the favourite investment vehicle, it is because of the

many advantages they have over other forms and avenues of investing. The following

are the major advantages offered by mutual funds to all investors:

Professional Management: Mutual Fund is managed by skilled investment

professionals known as the Fund Managers. They are backed by a well equipped

investment research team and have a thorough knowledge of the capital market. The

manager uses the money that is invested by the investors to buy and sell stocks. Thus,

mutual funds enjoy the benefit of efficiently managed organization.

Diversification of Risk: Mutual funds are invested in a number of companies across

a broad cross-section of industries and sectors. Since mutual fund is a trust that pools

the savings of a number of investors sharing a common financial goal, the associated

risk is greatly reduced. This encourages the small earning groups to invest their

savings. Therefore loss in one sphere will not greatly affect the overall investment

status.

Reduction in Transaction costs: If we compare mutual funds to direct investments

in the capital market we will find mutual fund to have less cost. This is due to the

savings in brokerage costs, demat costs, depository costs, etc.

Liquidity: Investments in mutual funds is liquid and can be redeemed at the NAV on

any working day. In mutual funds (especially the open-ended schemes) an investor

can get his money back in 1-5 days.

Transparency: Whatever amount is invested in any scheme is made known to us and

we are periodically informed about all the updates and changes that take place.

Operational Flexibility:Mutual funds offer flexibility by providing various options

and schemes to match individual needs. Funds that are specially open-ended provide

high operational flexibility like:

Systematic Investment Plan (SIP)

Systematic Withdrawal Plan (SWP)


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Systematic Transfer Plan (STP)

Tax Planning

Retirement Plan

High Return and Capital Appreciation: Mutual funds have the potential to provide

a higher return than that from the bank deposits because funds are invested in a

diversified basket of selected securities.


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Disadvantages of Mutual Funds

While the benefits of investing through mutual fund far outweigh the disadvantages,

an investor and his advisor will do well to be aware of a few shortcomings of using

the mutual funds as investment vehicles.

Managing a Portfolio of Funds: Availability of a large number of funds can

actually mean too much choice for the investor. He may again need advice on how to

select a fund to achieve his objectives, quite similar to the situation when he has to

select individual shares or bonds to invest in.

No Control over Costs: An investor in a mutual fund does not have any control over

the overall cost of investing. He pays investment management fees as long as he

remains with the fund. He also pays fund distribution costs, which he would not incur

in direct investing.

No Tailor-made Portfolios: Investors who invest on their own can build their own

portfolios of shares, bonds and other securities. Investing through funds means he

delegates this decision to the fund managers. The very high-net-worth individuals or

large corporate investors may find this to be a constraint in achieving their objectives.

Taxes:When making decisions about your money, fund managers don't consider your

personal tax situation. For example, when a fund manager sells a security, a capital-

gain tax is triggered, which affects how profitable the individual is from the sale. It

might have been more advantageous for the individual to defer the capital gains

liability.


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Mutual Fund in India

A survey done by Rachna Monga published in live mint side on 15 March 2008 finds

that Mutual fund investors constitute a mere 3% of population. After 15 years of

privatization of mutual fund companies - which are 32 in number - may take pride in

managing assets of more than Rs. 6 trillion, but how many investors do they have?

The Invest India Incomes and Savings Survey 2008, released by IIMS Data works,

Shows that out of 321 million individual wage earners aged between 18 and 59, only

9.63 million invest in mutual funds in India. So, fund investors constitute a mere 3%

of the population considered for the survey. The survey also reveals that 90% of thesavers have no clue about what a Mutual Fund is?

The industry is now struggling to comply with the new Securities and Exchange

Board of India norms that require every mutual fund investor to quote a Permanent

Account Number (PAN). While the industry may be actively creating awareness

about mutual funds as an asset class, 40% of the population still think that they cant

afford to play in this asset class because it is beyond their financial capacity. An

additional 28% think it is a risky asset class. Complicated application forms, too many

products, and a lack of awareness about where to buy from are some of the reasons

that have held potential investors back. Nilesh Shah, chief investment officer and

deputy managing director of ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co. Ltd. argues that

unlike banks or insurance companies, mutual funds have always got a step-motherly

treatment in terms of regulation or taxation. If I am accepting investments only

through cheques, then why should I ask investors to get a PAN? he asks.

According to an article published on 2nd June 2008 by Mr Nirmal Menon the effect

has not been much significant, It says that Call it the staying power of the middle

man. When the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had

decided to waive off the entry load of 2.25 per cent for people wanting to invest

directly in mutual funds in January this year, it almost sounded like the death knell for

distributors.

Five months later, things stand where they were. Asset Management Companies(AMCs) and mutual fund distributors say that, except for some visible movements of


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direct investments from corporations and a few high-net individuals, SEBIs decision

hasnt really evoked an encouraging response from retail investors.

Most AMCs state that the percentage of retail investors that approached them before

and after this decision remained the same. Leading AMCs such as Reliance Mutual

Fund and JP Morgan Asset Management India peg this percentage at around 3 per

cent.

There has been no significant shift in investor preference towards approaching us

directly since the time the announcement is made, Vikrant Gugnani, President and

CEO of Reliance Mutual Fund, said.He added that distributors were still an integral

part of the system, as they have the wherewithal and the expertise to offer advisory

services to investors besides handling the documentation and paper work.

Reliance Mutual Fund, which has over 95 per cent of its business coming from

distributors, would soon be increasing its presence in Tier III and Tier IV cities, where

these middle men are the only conduit between the AMCs and aspiring investors.

Reliance Mutual Fund has over 26,000 distributors empanelled with them.

Industry players also point out that the dearth of retail investors directly approaching

AMCs could be attributed to the cloud of pessimism around the recent market slump

as well as falling trading volumes in mutual funds.

Very few investors are making direct investment deals, and this is by and large

guided by distributors, Krishnamurthy Vijayan, JP Morgan Asset Management

Indias Managing Director and CEO, said. But distributors are honest about one thing.

According to them, the impact of the entry load waiver hasnt trickled down to retail

investors because a large section still believe that they do not have the expertise to

hand-pick a fund that suits their appetite, and very few people have the time to apply

and process their own documents. Retail side is not showing up primarily because of

the lack of information and time, Partha Gupta, partner, Investment Idea Financial

Services, said.

Though the waiver effect may not have translated into bad news for distributors on the

retail side, the results are beginning to show among wholesalers or large clients.


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In case of equity funds, where the waiver applies, wholesalers have begun directly

approaching AMCs, Shirish Patel, director of Mumbai-based Prudent Corporate

Advisory, said. His company has seen 5-7 per cent of his corporate clients

approaching the AMCs directly.

The Indian MF industry has Rs 5.67 lakh crore of assets under

management. As per data released by Association of Mutual Funds in India,

the asset base of all mutual fund combined has risen by 7.32% in April, the

first month of the current fiscal. As of now, there are 33 fund houses in

the country including 16 joint ventures and 3 whollyowned foreign asset

managers. According to a recent McKinsey report, the total AUM of the Indian

mutual

fund industry could grow to $350-440 billion by 2012, expanding 33%

annually. While the revenue and profit (PAT) pools of Indian AMCs are pegged

at $542 million and $220 million respectively, it is at par with fund houses

in developed economies. Operating profits for AMCs in India, as a percentage

of average assets under management, were at 32 basis points in 2006-07,

while the number is 12 bps in UK, 17 bps in Germany and 18 bps in the US,

in the same time frame.


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REGULATORY MEASURES BY SEBI

Like Banking & Insurance up to the nineties of the last century, Mutual Fund industry

in India is set up and functioned exclusively in the state monopoly represented by the

Unit Trust of India. This monopoly is diluted in the eighties by allowing nationalized

banks and insurance companies (LIC & GIC) to set up their institutions under the

Indian Trusts Act to transact mutual fund business, allowing the Indian investor the

option to choose between different service providers. Unit Trust is a statutory

corporation governed by its own incorporating act. There is no separate regulatory

authority up to the time SEBI is made a statutory authority in 1992. but it is only in

the year 1993, when a government took a policy decision to deregulate Indian

Economy from government control and to transform it market oriented, that the

industry is opened to competition from private and foreign players. By the year 2000

there came to be established in the market 34 mutual funds offerings a variety of

about 550 schemes.

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE BOARD OF INDIA (MUTUAL

FUNDS) REGULATI ONS, 1996

The fast growing industry is regulated by Securities and Exchange Board of India

(SEBI) since inception of SEBI as a statutory body. SEBI initially formulated

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE BOARD OF INDIA (MUTUAL FUNDS)

REGULATIONS, 1993 providing detailed procedure for establishment, registration,

constitution, management of trustees, asset management company, about

schemes/products to be designed, about investment of funds collected, general

obligation of MFs, about inspection, audit etc. based on experience gained and

feedback received from the market SEBI revised the guidelines of 1993 and issued

fresh guidelines in 1996 titled SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE BOARD OF

INDIA (MUTUAL FUNDS) REGULATIONS, 1996. The said regulations as

amended from time to time are in force even today.

The SEBI mutual fund regulations contain ten chapters and twelve schedules.

Chapters containing material subjects relating to regulation and conduct of business

by Mutual Funds.


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ENTRY LOAD

This addendum sets out changes to be made in all the Offer documents and Key

Informatio Memorandums of BSL Mutual Fund Schemes. Pursuant to SEBI

circular number SEBI/IMD/CIR No. 10/112153/07 dated December 31, 2007, in

respect of all the schemes of BSL Mutual Fund, no entry load shall be charged for

direct applications (Purchase and Switch-in) accepted by the Asset Management

Company (AMC i.e. applications accepted through internet (AMC website or

Registrars Website), accepted at AMC or collection Centres / Investor Service

Centres or accepted through any other mode of direct purchase as prescribed by

AMC from time to time that are not routed through any distributor/agent/broker. It

shall also be applicable to additional purchases done directly by the investor

under the same folio and switch-in to a scheme from other schemes if such a

transaction is done directly by the investor. However, for additional purchase under

existing folio, the investor has to mention the word Direct specifically in the

application form in order to avail the benefit of entry load waiver otherwise such

application will be treated as routed through distributor/agent/broker, if any,

through whom initial purchase is made. The above load structure shall be applicable

with effect from 4th January, 2008 for all applications accepted on and from 4th

January, 2008

No entry load on mutual funds: Who wins, who loses -

The recent ruling by the Securities and Exchange Board of India SEBI, on the

removal of entry load on mutual fund investments has brought appreciation as well as

criticism from different corners. Last year SEBI had done away with entry load in

cases where the investors directly invested in mutual funds without going through

an agent or a distributor.

With the new ruling in place, investors will be free to negotiate the commission with

their distributor and if they are smart negotiators they may even pay nil commission

on their investments. Good news for some, not so good news for others. Well let us

have a look as to who stands to benefit and who stands to lose out and the

implications of SEBI's decision for investors, distributors and mutual fund

companies.


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Who will benefit?

What a silly question to ask? Of course, you, dear investor!

How? Because now that there will be no entry load on the money that you will

invest in any mutual fund scheme all the money that you invest will be used to buy

mutual fund units unlike earlier when 2.25 per cent would be lopped off and the rest

invested. The table below illustrates this better.

As seen in the illustration above because of no entry load on your investments you

will make Rs 9,102 more than what you would have made otherwise. According to

the new ruling, investors will decide with the distributor, an upfront commission or

fees to be paid for their advice and services.

The benefits for investors are:

No entry load

Distributors will get a fee for their advice and hence distributors will have

to give the right advice rather than promoting schemes, which offer them

superior brokerage

No more churning of the portfolio of the investors which many distributors

used to indulge in especially when a New Fund Offer (NFO) would be

announced to earn hefty commissions without any care for your money

Some distributors would make the investors exit their old funds and make them invest

in new fund where the commission would be high. It is not that NFOs are not good

investments but this practice which some of the distributors used to follow is wrong

and unethical

However, the flip side is now there also will be no cash back to the investor. Earlier,

the practice is that the distributor would pay back the investor a small amount out of

the commission he earned from mutual fund companies making the investor feel

good about it.

The recent SEBI move brings in a greater degree of transparency in investments in

mutual funds and investors will be benefited as they would now get real advice in

the true sense.


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Who loses?

The retail distributors, the fund houses to some extent, and the relationship managers

of banks who made a neat commission out of their advice to investors on which funds

to buy and sell.

How?

They will now have to negotiate with the clients and decide on a fee (smart investors

can negotiate this to their own benefit) whereas initially they used to get a fixed

brokerage from the fund house. The taxation angle, though, is also not very clear.

Initially service tax is deducted from the brokerage and the balance is paid to the

distributor. Now it is still not clear how the service tax will be paid.

Whether the distributor will collect that amount from the investor and then pay the tax

or is there any other methodology still stands to be clarified. If distributors have to

pay a service tax, then they will have to take a service tax number. This in turn can

lead to distributors asking fees in the form of cash in order to avoid the service tax.

The retail distributors may reduce or may entirely stop selling mutual funds as it may

no longer be lucrative to them. This will hamper the business of fund houses.

SEBI has also passed a ruling for the distributors to disclose their commissions andother benefits. This ruling obviously did not go down well with the industry.

There are no changes in the exit load as of now.

SEBI's ruling will be applicable to:

All investments in the mutual fund schemes -- including additional

purchases or switch from one scheme to the other -- with effect from

August 1, 2009

New schemes launched from or after August 1, 2009

Systematic investment plan (SIP) registered on or after August 1, 2009

There are still lots of ifs and buts as SEBI is still to issue complete guidelines. But

this preliminary guideline too is a revolutionary step in itself as investors will now

be paying for the right kind of advice. The system of pass back wherein distributors

used to pass on their incentives to the investors for inducing the investors to invest in

a particular fund to meet their personal targets will also be done away with. Now


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investors can gain access to well-informed and proper advisors, financial planners to

get proper advice for their investments in accordance with the fee that they pay.

Distribution: The prime driver of growth

According a report by Indian Financial Institutions Practices titled Indian Asset

Management: Achieving Broad Based Growth, revenue pools are skewed in favour

of distributors, who corner almost 60 per cent of revenue, with manufacturers

accounting for the rest. Customers choose an AMC primarily on the recommendation

of a salesperson, followed by fund performance and brand strength. Given that

distribution in India has already leapfrogged to an open architecture, with banks,

independent financial advisors (IFAs) and national distributors (NDs) playing an

almost equally important role, it is imperative for AMCs to manage distributionpartners with care. Banks are the dominant channels in the top 8 cities. Even here,

however, the cross-sell rates for banks, at an average of 2 per cent in urban India, are

much lower than global benchmarks (e.g., 12 per cent in the UK and 15 per cent in

Belgium). Only foreign banks in India are closer to global benchmarks, with a cross-

sell rate of about 8 per cent. National distributors today offer better services than

banks and IFAs, especially in investor query resolution, and are primarily focused on

HNI customers. Independent financial advisors come across as the most preferred

primary channel for distribution beyond the top 8 cities.


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Branding: The key to influencing the perception of performance

According a report by Indian Financial Institutions Practices titled Indian Asset

Management: Achieving Broad Based Growth, fund performance is a necessary but

not sufficient condition for driving AUM growth. Funds in the top docile (with

respect to historic growth) have witnessed maximum growth across asset classes,

from pure equity to pure debt products, and across time. However, among different

funds, growth varies significantly for top-performing schemes. The research shows

that a positive perception of the brand induces a positive view of performance.

Strong brands are able to influence perception of fund performance and hence spur

growth, making brand management one of the critical success factors in the industry.

It expect players to differentiate themselves on the dimensions of strategy and focus

and that winners will be those making an explicit choice among the three strategies

at-scale players, asset class-focused players, and multi-boutique players.


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SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTH

Has network of 600 branches and advisor spread over 1500 towns in India having

over 130000 advisors.

Backed by Aditya Birla brand and sun life financial services.

Emphasis on customer satisfaction through transparent functioning.

Strong capital base.

WEAKNESS

Lower presence in rural market.

Lesser advertising as compared to competitors.

OPPORTUNITIES

Growing potential in rural market.

Alignment with government schemes.

Better awareness amongst people for getting insurance.

THREATS

Economic crisis and economic instability.

Entry of new NBFCs in the sector.


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REVIEW OF LITERATURE

ARUNAJATESAN S., VISHISNATHAN T.R., Macmillan Publishers India

ltd.,2009 editionInsurance in the modern form came into practice mainly to cover the risk at sea and

their disastrous consequences. The very word policy indicating the insurance contract

comes from the Italian polizza. The aim of the insurance is to make provisions against

dangers which best human life and dealings. Those who seek it Endeavour to avert

disaster by shifting possible losses on to the shoulders of others, who are willing for

pecuniary considerations, to take risks thereof and in case of life insurance.

AGARWAL O.P., Himalaya Publishing House, 2010 edition

The insurance can be defined in both financial and legal terms. The finance definition

focuses on arrangement that redistributes the cost of unexpected losses, the collection

of small premium payment to those suffering loss. The insurer seeks to know the

material facts from the proposer through a proposal. It is in a questionnaire format

prepared by the insurer to elicit all information necessary for a proper evaluation of

the risk. The proposal form usually concludes with the declarations by the proposer to

the effect that the statements made by the proposer.

GULATI C. NEELAM, Anurag Jain for Excel books, 2007

In India most of the products are endowment types where the saving component is

predominant. Every policy will remain claim either by maturity or by death. Policy

expires on a specific date. Insurance is understood as a risk transfer mechanism where

persons facing similar insurable risk are brought together to protect themselves by

pooling the risk and sharing the losses. Insurance companies make this possible

through insurance contracts. They are governed by loss enacted by government and

regulation issued by the authority which is empowered exclusively to do so by

legislation.

VERMA M.M, Educational Publishers, 2009

The life policy issued by the LIC is a printed document which is in evidence of the

contract of insurance. It contains the various terms, conditions and privileges upon


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which the contract is based. Life insurance covers mainly the risk of death. It does not

cover the effect of inflation and fall in currency value of the sum assured which is

promised at the outset of the contract.


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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH

Research is a process of steps used to collect and analyze information to increase our

understanding of a topic or issues. The primary purposes of basic research are

documentation, discovery, interpretation of the research and development of the

methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge. It includes gathering

of information, data and facts for the advancement of knowledge.

HYPOTHESIS

A hypothesis is a preliminary or tentative explanation or postulate by the researcher ofwhat the researcher considers the outcome of an investigation will be. It is an

informed/educated guess. It indicates the expectations of the researcher regarding

certain variables. It is the most specific way in which an answer to a problem can be

stated.

Research hypotheses are the specific testable predictions made about the independent

and dependent variables in the study. Hypotheses are couched in terms of the

particular independent and dependent variables that are going to be used in the study

A hypothesis may be defined as a proposition or a set of proposition set forth as an

explanation for the occurrence of some specified group of phenomenon either

asserted as a provisional conjecture to guide some investigation or accepted as

highly probable in the light of established facts.

The types of hypothesis:

Null hypothesis

Alternative hypothesis

1) NULL HYPOTHESIS [H0] - The null hypothesis assumes that there is no

significant difference in the sample & population in a specific matter under

consideration.

2) ALTERNATIVE HYPOTHESIS [H1] -When we reject the null hypothesis, the

conclusion we accept is called alternative hypothesis. It specifies that the difference


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between sample statistic and population parameter is significantly not arising

accidentally but because of other reasons.

The NULL hypothesis: There is a no significant difference between Satisfaction levels of

Channel partners of birla sun life mutual fund and services provided by birla sun life mutual

fund.

The ALTENATIVE hypothesis: There is a significant difference between Satisfaction

levels of

Channel partners of birla sun life mutual fund and services provided by birla sun life mutual

fund.

Scope of the Study

Product Scope:The research is conducted to know about the prospects of various

new investment instruments coming up in India like Gold ETFs, Real estate mutual

funds, fund of funds. The research is also conducted to analyze the future of water

funds that is still in its infancy state globally.

Area Covered: Individual Financial Advisors of Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, Jaipur

branch.

Objective of the study

As the title of the project suggests, the objective of the project is to find out the

satisfaction level of Distributors with respect to the services & overall product quality

provided by the AMC.

The following are the sub objectives of the project:-

Understanding the attitude and behavior of the distributors towards BirlaSun Life Mutual Fund.

Find out their preference parameters for selling a particular fund.

Understanding the competition for the service provided by different

mutual fund companies.

Finding out ways and means to improve on the services by Birla Sun Life

Mutual Fund.


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SAMPLING TECHNIQUE

This research has used convenience sampling technique. Convenience sampling is

used in exploratory research where the researchers interested in getting an

inexpensive approximation of the truth. As the name implies, the sample is selected

because they are convenient.

Since the probability of inclusive of any unit (of population) in a sample is unknown

taking in view the size of the population it is better to go for non-probability

convenience sampling method. This is also called accidental sampling as the

respondents in the samples are included merely because of their presence on the spot.

Several important considerations for me while my research using convenience

samples include:

1) Is there good reason to believe that a particular convenience sample would or

should not respond or behave differently than a random sample from the same

population?

2) Is the question being asked by research one that can adequately be answered. Every

project work is based on certain methodology, which is a way to systematically solve

the problems or attain its objective.

It is very important guidelines an lead to completion of any project work through

observation, data collection and analysis and sampling technique.

RANDOM SAMPLING: Based on theory of population it is called random

sampling. It provides non zero chance of selection for each population element.Alternative method of random sampling is selected for the study which is known as

systematic random selection .when population is divided into homogeneous group or

strata is known as stratified random sampling. When equal chances of selection are

provided then it is known as simple random sampling.


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Data Collection Method

Primary Data: - Primary data is collected during the course of researchperiod with the help of the questionnaire that is designed for the consumers

to collect the information that is required to carry out the research. Personal

interview were conducted with the retailers to ascertain major competitor in

fairness cream market.

QUESTIONNAIRE:-A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of

a series of questions and other prompts for the purpose of gathering

information from respondents. Although they are often designed for

statistical analysis of the responses, this is not always the case

INTERVIEW: -An interview is a conversation between two or more people

where questions are asked by the interviewer to elicit facts or statements

from Interviews are standard parts of journalism and media reporting but are

also employed in many other situations, including qualitative research

Secondary Data: - Secondary data is collected from books, articles, Internet

and previous research papers that had been conducted by the company

representatives and officials.


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RESEARCH DESIGN

First an exploratory research is conducted to get some insights about the topic.

Secondary data is also collected. Further descriptive research is conducted todetermine the satisfaction level of existing channel partners and to analyze the effect

of waiver of entry load on direct applications in mutual funds.

TYPES:-

DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH DESIGN: - It is used to describe

characteristics of a population or phenomenon being studied. It addresses the

what question.

EXPLORATORY RESEARCH DESIGN: - Exploratory research of

research conducted for a problem that has not been clearly defined. It helps

in determining the best research design.

SAMPLE DESIGN

A sample design is a definite plan for obtaining a sample for a given population. It

refers to a techniques or procedure adopted in selecting items for the sample.

The following is the sample design that has been adopted for the study.

1. Population:- Finite(Jaipur)

2.

Sampling Unit:- Areas of Jaipur3. Sample size: -sample size is 78.


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DATA ANALYSIS

Q1.

YEARS RESPONSES %

0-2 27%

2-5 40%

5-10 23%

MORE THAN 10 10%

Inference: 67% of the channel partners are with an experience of less than 5 years in

the Mutual fund industry. 33% of the channel partners are with an experience of more

than 5 years

27%

40%

23%

10%

0-2 Years

2-5 Years

5-10 Years

>10 Years


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Q2

PARAMETERS MEAN RANK

Better Services 4.12 5

Good Brand 3.89 4

Returns 2.77 1

Better Incentive Structure 3.03 2

Timely Brokerage 3.47 3

Inference: From the above table it can be inferred that 2.77 Individual financial

advisors give preference to returns of the funds above all the factors which is related

to the benefit of the investors. Next to it 10.62 consider their own benefits such as

incentive structure, services, timely brokerage etc.

4.12

3.89

2.77

3.03

3.47

Better Services

Good Brand

Returns

Better Incentive Structure

Timely Brokerage


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Q3.

Reliance ICICI Birla UTI LIC

Services 2.231956 2.50775 2.263113 1.85192 1.99872

Brand 4.37683 3.77896 3.4200741 4.76948 4.71249

TimelyBrokerage 3.326837 3.44806 3.398655 2.81341 2.10651

Returns 3.851395 3.79927 3.387171 3.55814 3.81302

IncentiveStructure 2.245288 2.4084 2.185967 2.26585 2.43233

TOTAL 16.032306 15.9424 14.6549801 15.2588 15.0631

3.2064612 3.18849 2.93099602 3.05176 3.01261

The above table shows the scores of satisfaction of the various channel partners

surveyed.

0

2

4

6

8

10

1214

16

18

Services Brand TimelyBrokerage Returns IncentiveStructure TOTAL

Channel Partner Satisfaction Scores

Reliance

ICICI

Birla

UTI

LIC


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Inference:

The graph above shows the channel partners satisfaction scores on each of the

factors and total satisfaction score for each of the AMCs, where a score of 5

represents the most satisfied partner and a score of 1 represents the least satisfied

partners.

Q4.

PARAMETERS AVERAGE

Frequency of Relationship Manager Visit 3.451

Clarity of forms and other material 4.053

Services of Registrar CAMS 3.127

Cost 2.724

Quality of Services 3.581

Brokerage Structure 3.017

Fund Performance 3.745

Frequency of new funds 3.819

3.451

4.053

3.127

2.7243.581

3.017

3.745

3.819

Frequency of Relationship

Manager Visit

Clarity of forms and other

material

Services of Registrar

CAMS

Cost

Quality of Services

Brokerage Structure


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Inference:

Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund scored 4.053 on the clarity of forms and other material. It

scored 2.724 on the cost that is incurred by the IFAs.

Q5.

PARTICULARS RESPONSES%

SATISFIED 69%

NON-SATISFIED 31%

Inference:

From the upper graph we can say that about 69% of the channel partners are satisfied

by the services of Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund.

69%

31%

Satisfied

Not Satisfied


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Q6.


LESS THAN 25% 39%

25-50% 37%

MORE THAN 50% 24%

Inference:

In the graph above we can see that

Around 39% of the channel partners think that about very few of their

investors know about the SEBI circular.

Around 37% say that according to their estimates more than 25% and less than

50% of their investors know about the SEBI circular.

Only 24% of the channel partners think that more than 50% of their total

investor base has knowledge about the SEBI circular regarding waiver of

Entry Load on Direct applications.

39%

37%

24%

LESS THAN 25%

25-50%

MORE THAN 50%


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Q7.

We can measure by using two different options at two different ends like

a. Male / Female

PARTICULARS RESPONSES

MALE 63%

FEMALE 37%

b. Service Man / Business Man


SERVICE MAN 68%

BUSINESS MAN 32%

63%

37%

Male

Female


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c. Computer Savvy / Non Computer Savvy


COMPUTER SAVVY 72%

NON COMPUTER SAVVY 28%

Inference:From above three graphs we can infer that

The direct applications in the mutual funds are given by the 63% male

investors and 37% female investors.

68%

32%

Service Man

Business Man

72%

28%

Computer Savvy

Non Computer Savvy


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People who are in computer savvy are 72% and non computer savvy

are 28%.

Investors who are into service are 68% and into business are 32%.

Q8.


YES 33%

NO 67%

Inference: From the response given by the channel partners to this question, this can

be inferred that 67% of the total channel partners survyed didnt had any significant

decrease on their average assets under managementthat they hold with different

AMCs.

33%

67%

Yes

No


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Q9.

EFFECT OF SEBION ENTRY LOAD RESPONSES%

HAS STARTED 37%

WILL START WITH A TIME GAP 63%

Inference: With the above response graph it can inferred that the channel partners

holds a view that the effect of SEBI circular regarding waiver of entry load on direct

applications in mutual funds will start with a time gap of 63%.

Q10.

PARTICULARS RESPONSES

A.Reduce the load partially and let the

AMC bear the charges.

33.33

B.Remove the charges completely and let

the AMC and the broker share the

charges

35.90

37%

63%

Has Started

Will Start with a Time

Gap


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C.Let it be as it is, the effect will fade in some

time

30.77

Inference: From above graph we can say that they had different views over this

question with every option being chosen about 30%.

33.33

35.90

30.77

28.00

29.00

30.00

31.00

32.00

33.00

34.00

35.00

36.00

37.00

a b c

Series1


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MAJOR FINDING

67% of the channel partners are with an experience of less than 5 years in the

Mutual fund industry. 33% of the channel partners are with an experience of

more than 5 years.

It is inferred that 2.77 mean Individual financial advisors give preference to

returns of the funds above all the factors which is related to the benefit of the

investors. Next to it 10.62 consider their own benefits such as incentive

structure, services, timely brokerage etc.

We can infer from this survey that the channel partners satisfaction scores oneach of the factors and total satisfaction score for each of the AMCs,

where a score of 5 represents the most satisfied partner and a score of 1

represents the least satisfied partners.

Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund scored 4.053 on the clarity of forms and other

material. It scored 2.724 on the cost that is incurred by the IFAs.

It is found out by this survey that about 69% of the channel partners are

satisfied by the services of Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund.

From the response given by the channel partners this can be inferred that 67%

of the total channel partners survyed didnt had any significant decrease on

their average assets under management that they hold with different AMCs

since the issue of this circular.

Around 39% of the channel partners think that about very few of their

investors know about the SEBI circular.

Around 37% say that according to their estimates more than 25% and less than

50% of their investors know about the SEBI circular.

Only 24% of the channel partners think that more than 50% of their total

investor base has knowledge about the SEBI circular regarding waiver of

Entry Load on Direct applications.

The direct applications in the mutual funds are given by the 63% male

investors and 37% female investors.


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People who are in computer savvy are 72% and non computer savvy are 28%.

Investors who are into service are 68% and into business are 32%.

The channel partners holds a view that the effect of SEBI circular regarding

waiver of entry load on direct applications in mutual funds will start with atime gap of 63%

They had different views over this question with every option being chosen

about 30%. Still we can see that there is more inclination towards removing

the loads completely let the AMC and channel partner bear the losses.

.


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SUGGESTIONS

More number of Individual financial advisors could be included in this survey

so that more data is gathered and accuracy of study increases.

The study could be conducted sometime later so that the effect of the SEBI

circular could be determined in significant terms.

The study could be conducted in more number of cities with different

investment patterns so that better scenario can feature.

Birla Sun Life must focus on building a brand value where it has scored very

less.


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RECOMMENDATIONS

The services provided by Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, Jaipur must be

improved because the satisfaction level among the channel partners is not so

high. It can be improved by reducing the defaults in case of wrong entries of

applications and brokerage defaults like untimely cheque and incorrect

amount.

The factsheet CONNECT and other promotion material which is send monthly

and other promotional material stationary must reach timely to the branch

offices.

The frequency of visits by the Relationship Manager must be increased. The

channel partners felt that the frequency of visits is not adequate. They were

also unsatisfied by their relationship manager changing very frequently.

The effect of the SEBI circular regarding waiver of entry load on direct

application in mutual fund is not significant and will start increasing with a

time gap. Offers such as waiver of loads on some funds can be circulated

regularly so that the effect is reduced.

More and more meeting such as high tea can be conducted so that an adequate

number of touch points are reached. The Individual financial advisors are

keener to listen to the fund managers as compared to the sales managers so

fund managers can also be involved in the meetings.


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CONCLUSION

Here ALTERNATIVE HYPOTHESIS that isthere is a significant difference between

Satisfaction levels of Channel partners of birla sun life mutual fund and services

provided by birla sun life mutual fund. Most of the channel partners are with an

experience of less than 5 years in the Mutual fund industry. The channel partners are young

into this business which represents a more energetic and enthusiastic working population.

Individual financial advisors give preference to returns of the funds above all the factors

which is related to the benefit of the investors. Next to it they consider their own benefits

such as incentive structure, services, timely brokerage etc. Not many investors have

knowledge about the SEBI circular regarding waiver of Entry Load on Direct applications.

So the effect on the business of the channel partners is not much significant. Most of the

direct applications in the mutual funds are given by the male investors because they have

better knowledge about the SEBI circular on waiver of entry load on direct application.

People who are computer savvy prefer giving direct application through internet as

compared to the non computer savvy investors since most of the asset management

companies provide option of direct application through their websites. Computer savvy

investors consider it secure and easier to apply through internet. Investors who are into

service or are retired personnel prefer giving direct application as compared to the investors

who are into business. The channel partners holds a view that the effect of SEBI circular

regarding waiver of entry load on direct applications in mutual funds will start with a time

gap as the awareness regarding such circular will rise.


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LIMITATIONS

Sampling Error The sample size is small only 78. We filled 85

questionnaires but 7 out of those were rejected.

Response Error: It of two type

1.

Inability error: Many a times it so happened that the respondents were

empanelled recently so they didnt had much experience about the

services of Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund.

2.

Unwillingness Error: Respondents were deterrent to provide

information because of lack of time.

Other limitations: Area of study is limited to Jaipur branch only; hence

recommendation cannot be generalized for all branches of Birla Sun Life

Mutual Fund throughout India.


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QUESTIONNAIRE

Dear Sir /Madam

This is a Marketing Research initiative taken up by a mutual fund asset

management company to analyze the effect of waiver of entry load on direct

applications in mutual funds. Hereby, we request you to kindly provide us with the

following information which will be kept confidential and will not be used for any

other purpose without your prior permission.

1. How long have you been into Mutual Fund industry?

a. 0-2 Years

b. 2-5 Years

c. 5-10 Years

d. >10 Years

2. Please rank the parameters given below according to your preference

in choosing any AMC?

a. Better services d.Better incentive structure

b. Good Brand e. Timely brokerage

c. Returns f. Any other__________

3. Please rate the following AMCs on the basis of these parameters

Birla ICICI Reliance UTI LIC

a. Services

b. Good Brand

c. Timely Brokerage

d. Returns

e. Incentive Structure


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b.No

9. Do you think that the effect of SEBI circular on Entry Load has started

or will start with a time gap?

a.

Yesb.No

10.What do you think the AMC should do with regards to the Entry Load?

a. Reduce the load partially and let the AMC bear the charges.

b. Remove the charges completely and let the AMC and the

broker share the charges.

c. Let it be as it is, the effect will fade in some time.

____________________________________________________________________

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books:

ARUNAJATESAN S., VISHISNATHAN T.R., Macmillan Publishers India

ltd.,2009

AGARWAL O.P., Himalaya Publishing House, 2010 edition

GULATI C. NEELAM, Anurag Jain for Excel books, 2007

VERMA M.M, Educational Publishers, 2009

WEBSITES:

http://en.wikipedia.org

http://mutualfund .birlasunlife.com

www.mutualfundsindia.com

http://investopedia.com/articles/mutualfunds

http://www.moneycontrol.com/financials/bsl/balance-sheet/BSL

http://www.sebi.gov.in/boardmeetings/124/mfdistributors.

North American Retail Financial Services by Bruce D. Temkin with Bill

Doyle, Catherine Graeber, Mary Pilecki, and Brad Strothkamp

European Retail Financial Services by Benjamin Ensor with Cliff Condon,

Jost Hoppermann, Tim van Tongeren, and Ashara Giordanelli on April 27,

2007.

www.consumerfed.org/pdfs/mutual_fund_survey_report.pdf.

http://www.raddon.com/press/article98.asp

http://www amazines com/article detail cfm/392303?articleid=392303
http://www.moneycontrol.com/financials/bsl/balance-sheet/BSLhttp://www.consumerfed.org/pdfs/mutual_fund_survey_report.pdfhttp://www.raddon.com/press/article98.asphttp://www.amazines.com/article_detail.cfm/392303?articleid=392303http://www.amazines.com/article_detail.cfm/392303?articleid=392303http://www.raddon.com/press/article98.asphttp://www.consumerfed.org/pdfs/mutual_fund_survey_report.pdfhttp://www.moneycontrol.com/financials/bsl/balance-sheet/BSL

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