India’s Rs 70 Lakh Crore Mutual Fund Space Gets A New Giant: Jio BlackRock

Jio BlackRock Mutual Fund: Jio BlackRock Asset Management, a 50:50 joint venture between Jio Financial Services and BlackRock, has received the final approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to start its mutual fund operations.

In an exchange filing dated May 27, the company said Sebi has granted a registration certificate to Jio BlackRock Mutual Fund and has also approved Jio BlackRock Asset Management to act as the fund’s asset management company.

The approval comes after a series of regulatory steps, which included an in-principal nod from Sebi in October 2024 to Jio Financial Services and BlackRock Financial Management Inc. to act as co-sponsors and set up the mutual fund business.

Jio BlackRock has appointed Sid Swaminathan as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. Swaminathan brings with him over two decades of experience in the asset management industry.

Before taking on this role, he led BlackRock’s International Index Equity team, overseeing assets worth $1.25 trillion. Prior to that, he headed BlackRock’s Fixed Income Portfolio Management for Europe, where he was responsible for both systematic and indexed strategies, Jio Financial Services said in a statement.

In July 2023, Jio Financial Services partnered with BlackRock to establish a new mutual fund venture in India. The two companies formed an equal 50:50 joint venture, and each company committed $150 million (approximately Rs 1,200 crore) towards the joint venture.

According to Association of Mutual Funds India (Amfi), the assets under management (AUM) of India’s mutual fund industry have grown nearly six-and-a-half times over the past decade, climbing from Rs 10.83 lakh crore as on March 31, 2015, to Rs 69.50 lakh crore as on April 30, 2025.

Investments through Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) saw a big jump in FY25, with total yearly contributions rising by 45.24 per cent to Rs 2.89 lakh crore. This sharp rise in contributions, coupled with gains from market performance, pushed total SIP assets up by 24.59 per cent to Rs 13.35 lakh crore, according to Amfi’s latest annual report. 

SIPs now account for 20.31 per cent of the mutual fund industry’s overall AUM.Individual investors, including retail participants, high-net-worth individuals (HNIs), and non-resident Indians (NRIs), are the dominant players in the market, holding 63.2 per cent of the industry’s total AUM as of March 2025. Within that, equity funds are the most popular, which make up 65 per cent of individual holdings, followed by 18 per cent in hybrid funds, 9 per cent in debt, and 7 per cent in passive funds.

India’s mutual fund AUM accounts for 19.9 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), the highest it has ever been. However, mutual fund penetration in the country still remains well below global averages, indicating that there is considerable room for future growth in the domestic mutual fund industry.