Nippon India MF reaches Leh
Tsewang Namgyal, a car driver in Leh, plans to put in ₹250 a month through systematic investment plan in Nippon mutual fund as he was curious and has no knowledge of mutual funds.
His comfort comes from his friend Shazar Hussain who is already aware of Mutual funds through his son working in Delhi. However, Hussain has never taken the effort to try it himself, but now that Nippon MF has opened the first-ever office of a MF in Leh with two dedicated local employees he is eager to take the plunge.
Jigmat Diskit, a hotel receptionist, has made an initial inquiry and wants to put in small amounts from her salary for her son’s education.
In a bid to break the ice, Nippon India MF held a town hall meeting with over 350 army personnel in Leh to educate the benefit of disciplined investment and build a corpus for peaceful retirement. Nippon MF’s campaign of SIPahi has come in handy to drive home the message.
There are only 12 AMC branches in the whole of Jammu and Kashmir with an average assets under management of about ₹10,500 crore—representing merely 4 per cent of the state’s gross domestic product of ₹2.5 lakh crore.
Tashi Gyalson, chief of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council and member of BJP said given the money people lose in ponzi online schemes in this region, there is an urgent need more financial literacy and many MFs will follow Nippon MF to this region sooner than later.
To employ local youth, Nippon India MF has opened a training centre and first-ever National Institute of Securities Markets test centre in Leh. The first online NISM exam to become a MF distributor will be held on August 22.
Sundeep Sikka, CEO told businessline that thanks to Major Genaral VP Malik, who led India to victory in Kargil war and independent director of Nippon India MF, the fund house managed to reach a place at about 11,500 feet above sea level where finding enough oxygen to breath itself is not easy.
The fund house has literally started from ground zero, right from identifying and educating distributors and investors and setting up physical infrastructure, he said.
“It may not be a run-away success at Leh and it could take 3-5 years, but we are happy to have taken the first baby step in Leh,” he added. Nippon India MF has punched in 11 applications on day one.
Venkat Chalasani, CEO, Association of Mutual Funds in India said it is really a wonder that none of the fund houses have not reached Leh-Ladakh region 61 years since MF was introduced in this country. The growth of Nippon India MF in Leh and surrounding areas will definitely bring leading fund houses and the entire eco-system to this small picturesque city which can easily be considered beyond top-300 cities, he added.
Given the presence of all the leading public and private sector banks in Leh, he added the potential of this region appears to be immense and the physical presence of Nippon India MF will definitely boost local public confidence.
Once considered passive spectators in financial markets, smaller cities are now emerging as active participants in the MF space driven AMFI initiatives like “MF Sahi hai” and pushing fund house to participate in key public events like Kumbh Mela to target new investors and spread awareness in smaller cities.
The success of these measures can be gauged from the fact that over 55 per cent of all new SIP registrations last fiscal was from B-30 location against 48 per cent just two years ago. These cities have added over 2.34 crore new SIP accounts, with a notable rise in direct plan investments, reflecting the growing financial confidence and awareness, according to AMFI data.
Share of B-30 assets under management (AUM) in the MF industry has risen from 16 per cent in December 2020 to 18 per cent in March 2025.
Interestingly, over 80 per cent of B-30 AUM is allocated to equity funds, compared to just 52 per cent in the top 30 cities led by digital penetration and SEBI nudge to introduce chota SIP.
“If equity investment is risky for small town investors as it is for investors from bigger towns. We will try to ensure that there are no miss-selling through our internal ch cks and balances,” said Sikka.
Published on August 3, 2025