LIC MF banks on agents for a comeback

Unlike private asset management companies’ offices, which often have a sleek, minimalist aesthetic, LIC Mutual Fund’s workspace looks exactly like you'd expect of a government-owned entity—drab furniture and yellow walls.

- Srushti Vaidya

After decades of allowing its mutual fund venture to take a back seat, LIC is finally giving it the attention it deserves.

(PT)

Yet, inside the CEO's office hangs a frame that proclaims a simple but ambitious goal—₹1 trillion in assets.

After decades of allowing its mutual fund venture to take a back seat, LIC, it appears, is finally giving it the attention it deserves.

Though LIC holds a massive ₹4 trillion in core insurance assets, its mutual fund business remains a modest player with just ₹44,383 crore in assets under management (AUM) after 36 years of operations. The contrast with its peers that entered the mutual fund business around the same time is stark. SBI Mutual Fund now has ₹12.6 trillion in AUM, while Canara Robeco Mutual Fund (formerly Canbank Mutual Fund) has ₹1.2 trillion.

While the insurance behemoth plans to leverage its massive agent network to bridge this gap, experts said even the widest reach couldn’t compensate for the persistent underperformance of its biggest equity schemes.