The scuttlebutt is that Salunkhe and Prasad exited following issues of corporate governance relating to unit holder funds.
Jagadish Salunkhe, chairman of the board of trustees of JP Morgan Mutual Fund and an independent director, and PGR Prasad, another independent director, have put in their papers.
A company spokesperson confirmed the exits to DNA on Thursday.
The scuttlebutt is that Salunkhe and Prasad exited following issues of corporate governance relating to unit holder funds.
But the spokesperson clarified to DNA by email that there have been no issues pertaining to corporate governance or use of unitholder funds.
“We assure you that JP Morgan Asset Management holds our fiduciary responsibility in the highest regard and as a firm we would never compromise on the safety of our unitholders’ funds,” the spokesperson said.
“They have resigned for personal reasons.”
A trustee board usually consists of a senior group of veterans whose purpose is to represent the interests of the investors in mutual fund schemes.
Salunkhe has previously been part of the insurance industry for over forty years.
He joined Life Insurance Corporation of India in the year 1960 and rose to the position of chairman in January 1994.
During his stint he worked in wide ranging areas such as actuarial, marketing, group schemes business, human resources development and general management.
Prasad retired as managing director and chief executive of SBI Mutual Fund in December 2005, a post he held for three years.
Prior to that, he held several senior posts in the banking industry, including heading an overseas subsidiary of the State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender, and working in the corporate finance division of SBI Capital Markets.
Both Salunkhe and Prasad could not be reached for comment.
Dharmendra Bhandari, a partner in a chartered accountant firm Anjali Subhash & Associates, is the other independent director on the board.
The remaining member, Roger Hepper, is an associate director and chief operating officer of JF Asset Management Asia-Pacific region.
JP Morgan Mutual Fund had assets ofRs 5,195.50 crore under management as of December 31, 2010, according to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India.
It is ranked 20th out of the 41 mutual funds operating in the country in terms of the funds under management.
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