NPS Update: Motilal Oswal AMC Gets PFRDA Nod As Pension Fund Sponsor

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has approved Motilal Oswal Asset Management Company  (MOAMC) to act as a sponsor of the National Pension System (NPS). MOAMC announced receiving the approval on May 6, 2026.

Notably, the approval is the first step; there are several other operational milestones before the MOAMC can start full-scale deployment. According to PFRDA guidelines, MOAMC is required to establish a standalone pension fund entity, which will serve as an investment manager, overseeing the contributions of NPS subscribers and managing pension assets in strict compliance with the PFRDA Act, 2013, and other regulatory frameworks. 

Recently, PFRDA issued a circular regarding insider trading, superseding its earlier circular and adopting Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) regulations. The Pension Fund Managers now need to comply with Sebi’s guidelines in this regard.

The operational formalities include securing a Certificate of Registration, executing an Investment Management Agreement (IMA) with the NPS Trust, and finalising arrangements with other stakeholders within the NPS framework, such as custodians, intermediaries, and others, to ensure a smooth flow of operations.

After completing these protocols, the company can start its role as a sponsor of the pension fund.

Highlighting the timing of MOAMC’s entry in the NPS, Prateek Agrawal, MD and CEO, MOAMC, pointed to a fundamental shift in the system. He said: “As India’s financial ecosystem evolves, the need for disciplined, long-term retirement investment and planning is becoming critical for long-term financial security. As Indians shift their financial habits, moving from a saver to an investor mindset, NPS inflows have also been growing steadily.”

He added that MOAMC aims to bring a “research-driven, high-conviction, and long-term investment approach” for investors to build a sustainable retirement corpus for them.

The Motilal Oswal Group has over three decades of experience in the equity market, and currently provides advisory and investment services across mutual funds, alternative investment funds (AIFs), and portfolio management services (PMS).

Getting an approval to act as a sponsor means it becomes eligible to incorporate a Pension Fund (separate company), subject to satisfying the requisite criteria and getting necessary approvals from PFRDA.

Simply put, the sponsor is like the promoter of the pension fund set-up, whereas the Pension Fund Manager is the company that manages subscribers’ money. For instance, Tata Pension Fund Management is a pension fund manager, and its sponsor is Tata Asset Management. Similarly, for the ICICI pension fund manager, the sponsor is ICICI Bank.

As of now, there are 10 Pension Fund Managers.

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