India’s markets regulator has proposed reducing mutual fund expenses and overhauling fee structures to make costs more transparent and investor-friendly, according to a consultation paper released Tuesday on its website.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has suggested lowering total expense ratios (TER) by up to 0.15% for open-ended mutual funds and up to 0.25% for closed-end schemes. The regulator also said fees must clearly exclude brokerage, taxes and other transaction costs, and their break-up must be disclosed upfront.

This represents a shift from SEBI’s 2023 framework that tried to include such charges within the overall expense ratio. That earlier approach drew pushback from asset managers overseeing ₹75.61 trillion ($860.23 billion) in investor assets.

Brokerage

See Full Page