The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has proposed ending the public disclosure of individual salaries of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), Chief Investment Officers (CIOs) and Chief Operations Officers (COOs) at mutual fund companies, replacing the current framework with aggregate compensation disclosures.
The proposal, released through a consultation paper on 10 June, forms part of a broader review of executive remuneration disclosure requirements in the mutual fund industry.
If implemented, Asset Management Companies (AMCs) would no longer publish the remuneration of named senior executives. Instead, they would disclose the total remuneration paid to categories of employees along with the number of employees covered within each category.
Shift away from individual pay disclosures
Currently, AMCs are required to publish detailed remuneration information on their websites. The existing framework requires disclosure of:
- Names, designations and remuneration of CEOs, CIOs and COOs
- The top 10 employees by remuneration
- All employees earning more than Rs 1.02 crore annually
- The ratio of CEO remuneration to median employee pay
- Assets under management-related information
Under SEBI's proposal, executive compensation would continue to be disclosed, but only in an aggregated format rather than on an individual basis.
For example, instead of reporting the salary of a specific CEO, CIO or COO, a fund house would disclose the total remuneration paid collectively to executives within that category.
Privacy concerns drive proposed changes
SEBI said the proposed revisions seek to balance transparency with privacy and proportionality concerns.
According to the regulator's analysis, employees covered under the current remuneration disclosure framework account for only a small share of the workforce at most AMCs, typically between 2% and 10% of total employees.
The regulator noted that industry stakeholders, including the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), have raised concerns about the extent of the existing disclosure requirements.
AMFI has argued that publishing the remuneration of named individuals exposes employees to privacy risks while placing mutual fund companies at a competitive disadvantage compared with other segments of the investment industry.
According to the consultation paper, similar disclosure requirements do not exist for sectors such as:
- Portfolio Management Services (PMS)
- Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs)
SEBI noted that feedback received from industry participants suggested individual salary disclosures provide limited additional value to investors while increasing privacy risks.
The consultation paper stated that "the public disclosure of named individual remuneration may expose employees to risks relating to misuse of personal information."
New proposal for fund manager compensation
The regulator has also proposed a separate mechanism for disclosing fund manager remuneration.
At present, fund manager compensation is not disclosed separately.
Under the proposed framework:
- Scheme-level consolidated remuneration data could be shared with investors upon request
- Information would only be available to investors holding units in the relevant scheme
- The data would not be publicly disclosed
- Disclosure would be limited to the schemes in which the investor is invested
The proposal seeks to provide investors with greater insight into compensation linked to the schemes they own while avoiding broader public disclosure.
Industry consultation underway
SEBI has invited public comments on the consultation paper until 30 June 2026.
The proposal reflects a wider regulatory debate over how much executive compensation information should be publicly available and whether disclosure requirements should evolve alongside growing concerns around employee privacy and data protection.
If adopted, the changes would mark one of the most significant revisions to remuneration disclosure norms in India's mutual fund industry in recent years, shifting the focus from individual executive pay packets to broader compensation trends across organisations.