Groww responds to Nithin Kamath tweet: Direct mutual funds remain free for DIY investors

Groww has said direct mutual funds will remain central to its platform and will continue to be free for do-it-yourself investors, responding to confusion around its mutual fund offering after Zerodha founder Nithin Kamath’s recent post on direct plans.

The company said direct mutual funds are “the heart of Groww” and that its existing mutual fund investors will see no change in plans, pricing or experience. Groww said more than 1 crore investors have built over Rs 1.9 lakh crore of mutual fund investments on its platform, making it the largest mutual fund platform in the country.

“For every DIY investor, Groww stays exactly what it has always been: direct, zero-commission, and free. Forever,” the company said. It added that it will continue to launch new features for direct mutual fund investors.

Also Read: Zerodha will keep direct mutual fund plans for free, says Nithin Kamath

The response came after Kamath said Zerodha would continue to offer direct mutual funds for free through Coin. He had said that when Zerodha started the discount broking model in India in 2010, it decided to charge the same fee regardless of trade size because the effort to execute a trade was the same. He said the same logic was applied to mutual funds, and Zerodha did not launch mutual funds until it could offer only direct plans.

Kamath had also said that most direct mutual fund platforms that started around the time Zerodha launched Coin had either disappeared, changed direction or were rethinking their choice of offering direct plans. He added that Zerodha would continue to offer direct mutual funds for free.Groww, without naming Zerodha or Kamath, said there had been “confusion” and “misinformation” about its mutual fund offering. It clarified that MF Prime is not a shift away from direct mutual funds, but an additional product for a different set of investors.”MF Prime is not a shift. It is an addition — a fully opt-in product for a different cohort: investors who want research-backed guidance on what to buy, hold, exit, and rebalance,” Groww said.

The company said many investors wanted to invest through Groww but held back because they needed help. MF Prime is meant for such users, it said.

“If you are a DIY customer on Groww today, nothing changes for you. Not the plans, not the pricing, not the experience,” Groww said. “Any commentary claiming Groww has changed its approach to mutual fund investing is simply incorrect.”