Investments in mutual funds have increased a lot in the last few years. Mutual fund investments help you achieve your financial goals.
However, have you ever wondered who takes care of the entire processing of mutual funds? It’s Registrar and Transfer Agents (RTAs).
RTAs are registered firms and take care of the complete administration of mutual funds. In this article, we will understand in detail what is RTA in mutual funds.
What is RTA in Mutual Funds?
RTA stands for Registrar and Transfer Agents, and these are companies registered with SEBI. RTAs are responsible for maintaining records of mutual fund companies.
The Registrar and Transfer Agents play an important role in keeping track of investors’ transactions in mutual funds. These transactions are under:
- Buy and sale of mutual fund units
- Updating of details
- Switching between funds
- Redemption of funds
These RTAs are skilled in maintaining proper data of both mutual investors and Asset Management Companies (AMCs).
Investors may have invested in various mutual fund schemes which are of different AMCs.
Still, all these transactions can be found in one single bucket through RTA. It makes it easy for investors to access all mutual fund-related information from RTAs.
RTAs are hired by financial institutions to have a proper record of investor information.
Some of the popular RTAs in INDIA are 3i infotech, CAMS (Computer Age Management Services), Karvy, and others.
SEBI monitors RTAs closely in order to ensure utmost safety and security for all parties involved.
Role of an RTA in Mutual Funds
Registrar and Transfer Agents have two main roles to perform:
1. Maintaining Records
As a registrar, RTAs need to maintain a proper record of all mutual fund investors.
This includes personal information, transaction history, and units of holdings. They also take care that all these details are up to date.
If there are any changes then that too are handled by RTAs.
2. Managing Transactions
As transfer agents, RTA is also responsible for managing the buying and selling of mutual fund units.
They have a complete record of the ownership of mutual fund unit holdings. RTAs handle the issuance and redemption of units.
Even if there is any change of ownership then they need to take care of it.
By doing this dual role RTAs take care of the administrative aspects of the mutual funds.
They are also one point contact for investors for any of their queries related to investing.
Services Offered by RTA
RTAs provide different services and ensure the smooth functioning of mutual funds. Let’s understand the services it offers to different parties.
1. Services to Asset Management Companies (AMC)
RTAs work jointly with AMCs and divide their responsibilities. Every RTA focuses heavily on operations, investor services, and distribution services.
AMCs select an RTA for their record-keeping services. RTA is allotted to your folio depending on the AMC.
The CDSL website has mentioned more than 200 RTAs and the NDSL website has mentioned at least 100 RTAs.
2. Service to Mutual Fund Investors
Here are a few of the services offered to mutual fund investors by RTAs.
- Transactions and Investments: RTAs have their own online platforms. Investors are allowed to carry out transactions with mutual fund companies through these platforms. They can also use these platforms to invest in New Fund offers (NFOs).
- Statement Generation: RTAs generate different types of statements that provide insightful information about the mutual fund portfolio. Investors can also access the consolidated account statements (CAS) that display all the mutual fund holdings.
3. Service to Mutual Fund Distributors
RTAs help mutual fund distributors in the buy and selling of mutual funds. This is on behalf of investors.
They accept investment applications and process the KYC forms of investors and distributors.
As RTAs are spread throughout the nation, they reduce the overall cost and increase efficiency.
4. Service to AIF Investors
RTAs offer specialized services to AIFs (Alternative Investment Funds) and Portfolio Management Services (PMS) clients.
AIF is one type of pooled investment vehicle which acts as a fund. It is mainly for seasoned investors.
They collect investments from sophisticated foreign and Indian participants which are overseen by SEBI.
On the other hand, PMS works very similarly to mutual funds but it is a customized portfolio of stocks.
It allows individuals to select the stocks directly, and gives more control to compared to mutual funds. Here is a list of services offered to them:
- Investors Servicing
- KYC
- Fund Accounting
- Document Management Services
- Knowledge and Technology Partnership
- Pre-launch support
Conclusion
RTA is important in the mutual fund industry and ensures efficient administration for AMCs and investors.
They offer a variety of services and act as mediators between investors and mutual funds.
Investors and Asset management companies rely a lot on RTA services. From KYC verification to transaction processing, they provide a variety of services.
