SEBI proposes Mutual Fund fee cuts to boost transparency and reduce investor costs

India’s markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India ( SEBI ), has proposed significant reductions in mutual fund expense ratios and changes to fee structures to make costs more transparent and investor-friendly, according to a consultation paper released on Tuesday. The regulator suggested lowering total expense ratios (TER) by up to 0.15 per cent for open-ended mutual funds and up to 0.25 per cent for closed-end schemes. SEBI also proposed that fees clearly exclude brokerage, taxes, and other transaction costs, with their detailed break-up disclosed upfront. This move marks a departure from SEBI’s 2023 framework, which had attempted to include such charges within the overall expense ratio . That approach had faced opposition from asset managers overseeing inves