UTI to give itself a new corporate identity

By Mumbai: | 23 Jul 2002

1
Unit Trust of India (UTI), Indias leading mutual fund, is planning to give itself a new corporate identity. UTI chairman M Damodaran, who got a two-year extension recently, has started repositioning the fund by restructuring its corporate ladder. This includes redesignating its executives and promoting some of them. UTI has also decided to have a new corporate logo for the trust.

While executive directors continue to be called EDs, chief general managers have been redesignated as presidents. The change in the designation came into force from 1 July 2002 onwards. Under the new dispensation, assistant general managers have now been called assistant vice-presidents and deputy general managers are called vice-presidents. General managers have been redesignated as senior vice-presidents.

Say senior UTI officials: These changes have been done as a corporate restructuring exercise to bring the trust in line with other private sector mutual funds. R Rangarajan, who is in charge of all debt schemes, and A K Shridhar, who is in charge of all equity schemes, have been promoted from the general manager level to the chief general manager level. Thus, they will now be called presidents.

UTI is also working to change its logo to make it look modern and contemporary. The new logo, getting developed by Rediffusion DY&R, will be launched soon. Linopinion, the public relations arm of Lowe Lintas Advertising, will oversee the launch. The agency is reportedly conducting a market research to gauge public reaction to the change.

The objective is to put up a new face for UTI. Traditionally, the organisation is perceived to be a government-run body, which triggers a different expectation level from investors. Now it will look modern and contemporary, says a UTI official.

As part of its human resource development exercise, UTI had slashed the retirement age from 60 to 58 and increased the working hours for its officers sometime back. It also cut the number of holidays for its executives. It recently introduced an incentive-linked compensation package, which enables a competent fund manager to earn much more than his actual salary.

The central government, meanwhile, is planning to provide compensation for losses in different schemes of UTI to its new sponsors under the proposed restructuring plan. A senior finance ministry official says the step is aimed at providing incentives to the new sponsors of UTI for joining the new set-up. Considering the current health of the trust, creation of a new sponsoring company will be very difficult in the absence of any incentive.

The issue has already been discussed with Finance Minister Jaswant Singh and a final decision on the mode of compensation for losses in different UTI schemes is expected to be concretised in consultation with concerned parties. The mutual fund behemoth is currently facing major shortfalls in the assured-return monthly income plans.




 

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