SBI Mutual Fund, the country’s largest fund house, has launched Aarambh, an assisted digital onboarding service designed to make it easier for first-time investors to begin their MF journey with confidence.
Aarambh, meaning ‘a beginning,’ has been built on a foundational insight: many new investors need guidance and a simple, seamless onboarding experience to become investment-ready.
It enables an SBI branch official or authorised representative, SBI MF Relationship Manager or a Mutual Fund Distribution Partner to support a prospective investor throughout the onboarding process, from their first conversation to completing their first investment in a single digital session.
It also introduces one of the earliest Aadhaar-based biometric eKYC and eSign integrations in the mutual fund onboarding process. Traditionally, onboarding has relied heavily on one-time passwords, which may be cumbersome for some investors or unusable when a mobile number is not linked with Aadhaar.
With Aarambh, a fingerprint completes the onboarding process quickly and simply, while an OTP-based route still continues to remain available for investors who prefer it.
Importantly, Aarambh ensures a fully digital experience for individuals who do not hold a PAN, a segment that until now could invest only through physical, paper-based processes.
First-time investors can also begin with Jan Nivesh which enables SIPs starting at ₹250 a month.
Debasish Mishra, MD & CEO, SBI Funds Management said Aarambh brings together assisted guidance, secure biometric authentication and digital onboarding to make that beginning more accessible.
It reflects the fund house commitment to support first-time investors with clarity and trust as they enter the mutual fund ecosystem and begin their investment journey, he said.
RS Srinivas Jain, Head of Strategy, Digital, IT, and IR said by integrating assisted onboarding with biometric authentication, the fund house will simplify the entry point for individuals who may be unfamiliar with the existing onboarding processes.
Our goal is to design digital experiences that encourage participation while maintaining transparency and trust that investors expect, he added.