1.

Abstract
The mutual fund industry in Bangladesh was thrown open to the private sector in 1999.
Since then the AMCs with mutual funds has grown in excess of Tk. 3500 corer with over
80% of the fund being managed by private sector AMCs. To protect the interest of the
investors, SEC prescribed a structure to be followed by the financial institutions and
mutual funds alike. The structure depends upon independent directors and statutory
auditors. In order to safeguard investors money in the current unstable situation of
Bangladesh stock market, corporate governance guidelines have been institutionalized.
This paper attempts to critically review.

2. Introduction

Bangladesh has a small community of 29 merchant banks licensed by the SEC. These
merchant banks lack skilled personnel and possess too small a market share to exert
any impact in the domestic capital market. The pool of organized investment funds is
miniscule hence the merchant banks have failed to build up a viable retail client base.
Complementing the role of merchant banks are 323 securities firms that are members of
the stock exchanges. These companies suffer from low capitalization, weak
governance, and inefficient operations. Here were the corporate governance plays a big
role. It is the system by which companies are directed and controlled. It considers such
matters as how board of directors operate the role of executive, compensation in
determining firm performance, and the role of multiple shareholders. Corporate
governance in financial intermediarys (mutual funds) in Bangladesh is a paramount
issue as economic reforms have not only increased growth prospects, but they have
also made markets more competitive. This means that in order to survive companies
will need to invest continuously on a large scale. And due to this large scale investment
it is imperative for firms to rely on capital markets to a greater degree for their needs of
additional capital.

Simultaneously, the increasing institutionalization of the capital markets has enhanced
the disciplining power of then market. In case of mutual funds its applicable that they
will invest in these shares and its important that there is good corporate governance to
make sure

_ Streamlining the Guidelines with the Code of Corporate Governance
_ Protection of depositors
_ Improvements in prudential regulation
_ Full and fair disclosure of all material information with particular emphasis on accurate,
objective Presentation of financial information; no colorful accounting.




3. History of Mutual Fund

Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) launched by government in 1980 was the
first ever Mutual Funds for the sake of investors and of the capital market. The first
private sector to take initiative of organizing a mutual fund was Asset & Investment
Management Services of Bangladesh Limited (AIMS) in 1999.
Though the mutual fund industry grew over time there has only been close ended fund
since the beginning of the mutual funds. The country's first ever open-end mutual fund
hit market in the first quarter of 2010, expanding the orbit of stock market and providing
shareholders a very useful and convenient investing vehicle. Prime Finance Asset
Management Company Limited (PFAMCL) float the mutual fund, with initial size of
Tk500 million. In this fiscal year total market capitalization of mutual fund was Tk.
3595.5 corer; 32 percent higher than that of previous fiscal year. In general the
investment in mutual fund is normally assumed to be safe investment due to volatility in
capital market but the market capitalization of mutual fund was comparably lower than
other sector.
4. Structure of mutual fund in Bangladesh

Mutual funds are portfolios of different securities such as stocks, bonds, treasuries etc. Mutual
funds pool money of both individual and institutional investors allowing the funds to achieve:

economies of scale by reducing costs and increasing investment returns
divisibility and diversification
active management with superior stock picking and market timing
reinvestment of dividends, interest and capital gains
tax-efficiency
buying and selling flexibility

There might be varieties of mutual funds that differ in terms of their investment
objectives, underlying portfolios of shares, risks and returns, fees and expenses, etc.
Mutual funds are professionally managed investment schemes that collect funds from
small investors and invest in stocks, bonds, short term money market instruments, and
other securities. This ensures a diversified portfolio for the investors at much less efforts
than through purchasing individual stocks and bonds. There are two types of mutual
funds open ended and close ended.

(a) Open ended fund

No restrictions on the amount of shares the fund will issue
If demand is high enough; the fund will continue to issue shares
Open-end funds also buy back shares when investors wish to sell
The fund will be closed to new investors if it assets become too large
(b) Close ended fund

Publically traded
Raises fixed amount of capital (only once) through issuing IPO
Issue fixed amount of share
It is listed and traded like a stock on a stock exchange
The stock prices of a closed-end fund fluctuate according to market forces as well as the
changing values of the securities in the fund's holdings

5. Mutual Funds listed in Bangladesh

NAME SYMBOL TYPE OBJECTIVE
1. AB Bank 1st Mutual Fund (ABB1STMF) ABB1STMF:BD Closed-End Fund Moderate Allocation
2. AIBL First Islamic Mutual
Fund (AIBL1STI)
AIBL1STI:BD Closed-End Fund Aggregate Bond
3. AIMS First Guaranteed Mutual
Fund (AIMS1ST)
AIMS1ST:BD Closed-End Fund Aggregate Bond
4. DBH First Mutual Fund (DBH1ST) DBH1ST:BD Closed-End Fund Aggregate Bond
5. EBL First Mutual Fund (EBL1STMF) EBL1STMF:BD Closed-End Fund Dynamic Allocation
6. EBL NRB Mutual Fund (EBLNRBMF) EBLNRBMF:B
D
Closed-End Fund Aggregate Bond
7. Eighth Icb Mutual Fund (8THICB) 8THICB:BD Closed-End Fund Growth Broad
Market
8. Exim Bank 1st Mutual Fund (EXIM1ST) EXIM1ST:BD Closed-End Fund Dynamic Allocation
9. Fifth ICB Mutual Fund (5THICB) 5THICB:BD Closed-End Fund Growth Broad
Market
10. First Bangladesh Fixed Income
Fund (FBANGFI)
FBANGFI:BD Open-End Fund Aggregate Bond
11. First Janata Bank Mutual
Fund (1JANATA)
1JANATA:BD Closed-End Fund Aggregate Bond
12. Fourth ICB Mutual Fund (4THICB) 4THICB:BD Closed-End Fund Growth Broad
Market
13. Grameen Mutual Fund Scheme
1 (GRAMEEN1)
GRAMEEN1:B
D
Closed-End Fund Aggregate Bond
14. Grameen Mutual Fund Scheme GRAMEEN2:B Closed-End Fund Aggregate Bond
2 (GRAMEEN2) D
15. Green Delta Mutual Fund (GREENDEL) GREENDEL:B
D
Closed-End Fund Aggregate Bond
16. ICB AMCL 2nd Mutual Fund (ICB2DMF) ICB2DMF:BD Closed-End Fund Aggregate Bond
17. ICB AMCL First NRB Mutual
Fund (ICBFNRB)
ICBFNRB:BD Closed-End Fund Aggressive
Allocation
18. ICB AMCL Islamic Mutual Fund (ICBIS) ICBIS:BD Closed-End Fund Dynamic Allocation
19. ICB AMCL Second Nrb Mutual
Fund (ICBAMCL)
ICBAMCL:BD Open-End Fund Foreign Aggregate
Bond
20. ICB AMCL Sonali Bank Limited 1st
Mutual Fund (ICBSON1)
ICBSON1:BD Closed-End Fund Dynamic Allocation
21. ICB AMCL Third NRB Mutual
Fund (ICBTNRB)
ICBTNRB:BD Open-End Fund Aggregate Bond
22. ICB Employees Provident MF 1: Scheme
1 (ICBEPS1)
ICBEPS1:BD Closed-End Fund General (Non-US)
23. IFIC Bank First Mutual Fund (IFIC1ST) IFIC1ST:BD Closed-End Fund Aggregate Bond
24. IFIL Islamic Mutual Fund 1 (IFILIM1) IFILIM1:BD Closed-End Fund Moderate Allocation
25. LR Global Bangladesh Mutual Fund
One (LRGLBM1)
LRGLBM1:BD Closed-End Fund Blend Broad Market
26. MBL 1st Mutual Fund (MBL1STMF) MBL1STMF:BD Closed-End Fund Aggregate Bond
27. Nccbl Mutual Fund 1 (NCCBLM1) NCCBLM1:BD Closed-End Fund Blend Broad Market
28. Phoenix Finance 1st Mutual
Fund (PF1STMF)
PF1STMF:BD Closed-End Fund Aggregate Bond
Short
29. PHP First Mutual Fund (PHPMF1) PHPMF1:BD Closed-End Fund Aggregate Bond
30. Popular Life First Mutual
Fund (POPULAR1)
POPULAR1:BD Closed-End Fund Aggregate Bond
31. Prime Bank First ICB AMCL Mutual PRIME1IC:BD Closed-End Fund Aggregate Bond
32. Prime Finance First Mutual
Fund (PRFINFM)
PRFINFM:BD Closed-End Fund Aggregate Bond
Short
33. Reliance One Mutual Fund (RELIANC1) RELIANC1:BD Closed-End Fund Aggregate Bond
34. Second ICB Mutual Fund (2NDICB) 2NDICB:BD Closed-End Fund Growth Broad
Market
35. Seventh ICB Mutual Fund (7THICB) 7THICB:BD Closed-End Fund Growth Broad
Market
36. Sixth ICB Mutual Fund (6THICB) 6THICB:BD Closed-End Fund Growth Broad
Market
37. Southeast Bank First Mutual
Fund (SEBL1ST)
SEBL1ST:BD Closed-End Fund Aggregate Bond
38. Third ICB Mutual Fund (3RDICB) 3RDICB:BD Closed-End Fund Growth Broad
Market
39. Trust Bank First Mutual
Fund (TRUSTB1)
TRUSTB1:BD Closed-End Fund Aggregate Bond