Paving the way for the launch of a common platform for mutual fund investors, the advisory committee formed by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) today submitted its final report and recommended CAMS, Karvy, NSDL and CDSL as major players that will build and manage this platform for the industry.

“Of the 15 companies that had placed bids, we have shortlisted four. CAMS and Karvy will manage the R&T part and NSDL and CDSL will manage the platform,” said Jaideep Bhattacharya, chief marketing officer, UTI Asset Management Company. Bhattacharya is also heading the committee.

The common platform, which is expected to be up and running by March 2010, is being touted as a game changer. It will consolidate all investment information under one roof and help investors and distributors reduce costs, improve efficiency and save time. “Investors will be able to access all the information under one roof, irrespective of which mutual fund have they invested in,” said Bhattacharya.

At present, investors find it hard to keep a track of their investments. There are 32 mutual fund companies and more than 4,000 schemes floating in the market. An investor has to either go through an agent to buy or sell schemes or approach the nearest branch. Moreover, keeping track of all investments made in different mutual funds is quite cumbersome as investors get different statements for different schemes.

The common platform is expected to streamline this process of buying and selling as well. One of the recommendations of the committee is to introduce a single form to purchase different schemes of fund houses. Also, investors should be allowed to issue a common cheque to purchase different schemes.

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