"Our expectation is that HDFC Bank will be on the forefront to mobilise at least Rs 5,000 crore through distribution of MF products from leading eight cities in India," UTI MF chairman and managing director M Damodaran said at a ceremony marking the MF's strategic tie-up with HDFC Bank.

UTI MF already has tie-ups with six other banks including Bank of India, Corporation Bank, Indian Bank, Union Bank of India and Allahabad Bank. HDFC bank managing director Aditya Puri said looking at uncertainty in the market, including equities and interest rates, investors need professional advice to rebalance their portfolio and look for new opportunities.

The bank would work to garner maxmium share out of Rs 5,000 crore through its strong presence in metro cities, Puri said.

UTI MF chief marketing officer A Bishnoi said the mutual fund has strong presence in non-metro areas and was looking to tap high and medium net worth individuals in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Pune through HDFC Bank branches.

UTI MF wants to increase its average size of portfolio of unit holders in these cities to Rs 1 lakh from current Rs 25,000-30,000, Bishnoi added.