No relook at bourses’ self-listing: Sebi

MUMBAI: Sebi chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey on Wednesday said that there was no plan for the regulator to have a re-look at the current rule of not allowing self-listing of exchanges. He also said that the regulator was working with RBI to ease the onboarding process for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs).Pandey was speaking to journalists after addressing the annual conclave of the Association of Portfolio Managers in India. Regarding self-listing of bourses, the Sebi chief said that there was no proposal or plan to form a panel to consider such a move. Currently, when an exchange goes public, its shares are not traded on the same exchange’s trading platform. In India, BSE’s shares cannot be listed and traded on BSE. Likewise, NSE’s won’t be traded on NSE’s trading platform.Pandey insisted that the regulator cannot force foreign funds to invest in India, adding that Sebi is trying to ease the process for foreign funds to invest in the country. Sebi, meanwhile, is working with market players to finalise new CAS rules and it will stick to the recommendations in the recently published consultation paper on the process.During his speech, Pandey mentioned two recent and important developments for the PMS industry.Speaking about the recent Sebi board nod for reviewed Portfolio Managers Regulations, he said that one interesting addition was “the PRIM—the Portfolio Managers Route for Investing in Mutual Fund units.”“Under PRIM, portfolio managers can construct portfolios using direct plans of mutual funds, including ETFs, index funds and specialised investment funds,” he said. “This creates another space for professional portfolio construction. Instead of looking at investment products in separate silos, it allows a portfolio manager to use different pooled investment vehicles to build a portfolio around the needs of the client.”The second interesting development was the introduction of the concept of Independent Fund Managers (IFM), the Sebi chief said. “This can create space for investment professionals and entrepreneurial talent to operate in association with an established portfolio manager. At the same time, accountability must remain clear. The registered portfolio manager will continue to bear responsibility for the activities of the Independent Fund Manager.” The Sebi chief said that “opening up possibilities while keeping accountability clear runs through the new framework.”You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.