AMFI appoints HDFC MF's Milind Barve as Chairman

Mutual fund industry body Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) has named HDFC Asset Management Company Managing Director Milind Barve as its new chairman, a position which fell vacant after incumbent U K Sinha became chief of market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

At the same time, AMFI has named Sundeep Sikka, CEO of Anil Ambani group's mutual fund arm Reliance Capital Asset Management Co, as its new Vice-Chairman.

Earlier in September 2010, AMFI had named U K Sinha, then chief of UTI Mutual Fund, as its Chairman and Barve as its Vice-Chairman. However, the leadership team at AMFI had to undergo a change after Sinha assumed charge as Sebi Chairman on February 18.

Barve and Sikka would hold office of Chairman and Vice-Chairman, respectively, till the next Annual General Meeting of AMFI, which is expected to take place in September.

In addition to being an industry organisation, AMFI also serves as a self-regulatory body for the mutual fund firms. It interacts with the Sebi, which regulates the MF space, and represents to the government, Reserve Bank of India and other organisations on all matters relating to the mutual fund industry.

Its responsibilities include implementation of various regulatory requirements for the mutual fund companies, distributors and investors.