This refers to `Small investors dogged by dud share: survey' (Business Line, November 29): The fact that a large number of retail investors hold the shares of `dead' companies is worrying. The negative opinion of the investors against the auditors of bad companies should serve as a wake-up call to the audit community.

The Ministry of Company Affairs should conduct a study of all the companies that floated share after 1990-2000 and can no longer be traced. A separate study should be conducted on the companies started during this period and performing badly.

The poor rating given to the mutual funds by the retail investor community is also thought provoking. The AMFI should conduct a separate study into the matter and take all possible steps to allay the apprehensions of the public in this regard.

It is quite natural to find that the retail investors may prefer conventional bank deposits vis-à-vis money market funds. SEBI should tighten up further to book erring companies for the welfare of the investor community.

C. P. Velayudhan Nair

Kochi

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