For an industry that had gone considerably digital even before the covid-19 crisis, lockdowns and reopening have not made much impact in operational terms.
However, the second-order effect of a slowing economy on fresh flows is a lot more severe. Gross inflows into equity funds have dropped significantly in May, a senior marketing executive at a large mutual fund told Mint.
About 80-85% of our transactions were already online, said the executive. A few glitches remain. Financial transactions, including systematic investment plan (SIP) registrations or stoppages are all possible online, confirmed Vishal Dhawan, founder, Plan Ahead Investment Advisors. “However, non-financial transactions such as change of bank mandate are stuck.