Hold a joint mutual fund account? Sebi makes the nomination process voluntary. Details here

livemint.com:

Sebi), has announced to grant an exemption (not an extension!) from nominating a nominee to the jointly-held mutual fund folios. This means that investors who hold joint mutual fund accounts do not need to nominate a nominee to prevent their accounts from being frozen after June 30, 2024. The requirement of providing nomination is prescribed in the master circular released on May 19 last year, which states that investors should either nominate a nominee, or opt out of the nomination process.

Later, Sebi constituted a working group to review this regulatory framework of mutual funds, wherein investors are required to choose one of the two options (give nomination or opt out) before June 30, as described above. After these recommendations, Sebi caried out public consultations, and a set of guidelines were released. Finally, the regulator announced that the requirement of providing nomination details is no longer mandatory for the jointly-held mutual fund folios.

This decision was conveyed through a circular released by Sebi on April 30 and signed by Peter Mardi, Deputy General Manager in Investment Management Department. In the Master Circular for Mutual Funds dated May 19, 2023, Sebi instructed all asset management companies (AMCs) to designate September 30, 2023, as deadline for nomination or opting out of nomination for all the current investors holding mutual fund units, whether solely or jointly. ALSO READ: SEBI extends deadline for demat and mutual fund nomination.