Dozens of investors staged a protest in front of the Dhaka Stock Exchange building in Motijheel on Wednesday, opposing the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission’s newly issued drafts of Mutual Fund Rules 2025 and Margin Rules 2025.
The demonstration was jointly organised by the Mutual Fund Investors’ Unity Front, Bangladesh Capital Market Investors Association and Capital Market Investors Association.
Protesters alleged that several provisions in the new regulations would hurt investors and weaken the overall market. They claimed that arbitrary and unrealistic decisions by the regulator had already pushed thousands of investors to bankruptcy and caused significant erosion of market capitalisation.
Mutual Fund Investors Unity Front general secretary Zahurul Haque Jewel said the Commission was ignoring the country’s current political and economic realities while framing new policies.
“Without consulting stakeholders, the Commission has included stringent clauses in the draft rules that have destabilised the market,” he said.
In a separate stakeholders’ meeting held on the same day, BSEC chairman said the changes were based on stakeholder consultations.
Jewel urged the regulator to review the market’s condition, consult stakeholders and adopt realistic, investor-friendly policies.
Another investor said many mutual fund holders have not received dividends for two consecutive years because of BSEC’s strict provisioning policy.
“Now the Commission is planning to close these funds. These are our own investments made at our own risk, and BSEC has no right to forcibly terminate them,” he said.
Another investor said the proposed margin rule restricts margin loans only to A-category shares and requires forced sales if the shares fall to B or Z categories.
“Such a rule will put both investors and brokerage houses at extreme risk. In an unstable market, these policies will worsen the situation,” he said.
Capital Market Investors Association convener Sheikh Mehedi Farhan said so-called reforms initiated by a few BSEC officials were harming millions of investors.
“We are not children; we understand our interests. Using the name of small investors, the regulator is trying to serve its own agenda,” he said.
He added that the regulator should first fix the share trading mechanism and market liquidity before talking about mutual fund reform.
Bangladesh Capital Market Investors Association general secretary Manik said the draft margin rules contained misleading provisions that could drive big investors out of the market. “We will continue our united efforts until our demands are met,” he said.
