MUMBAI: Despite around 9% fall in equity fund inflows, a still roaring SIP book, which hit a fresh record high of Rs 23,332 crore along with inflows into other categories boosted total assets under management (AUM) of mutual funds by 6% to Rs 64.69 lakh crore in July as against Rs 60.89 lakh crore in June.
While inflows into equity funds declined by 8.61% to Rs 37,113.4 crore in the reporting month due to a fall in investments in large-cap and mid-cap funds, the SIP book roared to a new record high of R23,332 crore along, shows the monthly data from the industry lobby Amfi (Association of Mutual Funds of India) on Friday. As against this in June, inflows into equity mutual funds had surged by 17% to Rs 40,608.19 crore, a record high.
Inflows into open-ended equity funds have remained in the positive zone for the 41st month in a row. In July, the benchmark Sensex gained 3.43% while Nifty rose 3.92%, despite the budget day setbacks. According to the Amfi data, inflows into monthly gross systematic investment plans (SIPs) hit a fresh record high of Rs 23,332 crore in July up from Rs 21,262 crore in June.
Further, the SIP AUM was highest ever at R13,09,385.46 crore in July compared to Rs 12,43,791.71 crore in June. Venkat Chalasani, the Amfi chief executive, told reporters that the industry has demonstrated positive growth with retail investors consistently embracing mutual funds as a reliable investment avenue, showing that MFs have become an integral part of retail investors’ financial strategies.
Continuous investments in sectoral or thematic funds fuelled inflows into equity mutual funds. In July, the category saw net inflows of Rs 18,386.35 crore. This was also because of new fund launches—there were nine new fund offers in the sectoral/thematic fund category garnering Rs 12,974 crore in the month.
According to Manish Mehta of Kotak Mahindra AMC, net equity flows declined a tad over June partly due to NFO listings and SIP inflows. Most of the lump-sum purchases seem to be through the NFO route now. In the equity fund category, inflows into large-cap funds slumped 31% to Rs 670.12 crore, while mid-cap and small-cap funds also saw fresh inflows slowing. In spite of this, small-cap funds saw net inflows of Rs 2,109.20 crore and mid-cap funds saw Rs 1,644.22 crore fresh investments in the month.
Debt mutual funds see Rs 1.19 lakh crore inflows
In the fixed-income category, debt mutual funds saw net inflows of Rs 1,19,587.60 crore, as against net outflows of Rs 1,07,357.62 crore in June, while short-term liquid funds category saw net inflows of Rs 70,060.88 crore, and money market funds saw fresh investments of Rs 28,738.03 crore.