Reliance Mutual Fund, part of Reliance Capital, which has been acquired by Japanese financial services company Nippon Life for Rs 6000 crore, will not be named Nippon India Mutual Fund. The company will be focusing on regaining the lost market share it has had in the country. Reliance Mutual Fund used to be the leader in assets under management till a few years ago but has slipped to the 5th spot as institutional investors pulled out their money with the troubled company. Nippon Life entered Reliance AMC first by buying a 26% stake in 2012 and now owns as much as 75%, making it the single largest promoter. Chief executive Sundeep Sikka, who will continue to lead the new company, said the retail investors have stayed with it and it has been able to grow its market share as well. Sikka said the domestic mutual fund space has only 2 percent penetration and the fund house will focus on rural and semi-urban segments. Beyond its 300 physical touch-points and 78,000 distributors, it will focus more on digital forms of selling.
