SEBI has been pushing mutual fund industry to widen its reach in smaller towns and cities. In industry parlance, these markets are called as B30 towns. Simply put, these are cities and towns that are beyond the top-30 cities.

Data shows that just little over 18 percent of investor assets managed by mutual fund industry, come from B30 locations.

So, what is it about investors from these parts of the country that make them wary of mutual funds? Is it do with their preference for physical assets or to do with their income patterns?

And what the industry can do to get more investors from these parts to invest in the mutual funds? Are there are enough incentives for individual distributors to get these investors, who on an average make very small investments in mutual funds?

In this podcast, Moneycontrol’s Jash Kriplani speaks with Ashutosh Bishnoi -- managing director and chief executive officer of Mahindra Manulife Mutual Fund -- who shares his views on several of these questions and also what investors should be doing with their investments right now. 

The fund house, which manages investor assets worth Rs 5,271 crore, was launched in 2016 with the focus on smaller cities and towns.