NEW DELHI: The assets under management (AUM) of country’s mutual fund industry surpassed the Rs 50 lakh crore mark in December as investors continue to pour money, especially via systematic investment plans (SIPs), amid a strong rally in the Indian equity markets, data released by the Association of Mutual Funds of India (AMFI) on Monday showed.
The monthly gross SIP inflows, which were nearly Rs 8,000 crore in the financial year 2019-20, have now scaled up to an all-time high of Rs 17,610 crore in December 2023. The systematic investment plans AUM as of December 2023 touched Rs 10 lakh crore, which is another milestone. The total SIP inflow in the calendar year 2023 stood at Rs 183,741 crore as against Rs 149,437 crore in CY22, according to AMFI data.
Inflows in the equity mutual funds stood at `161,573 crore in 2023, thanks to the Indian market hitting new highs in 2023 with benchmarks Sensex and Nifty clocking a gain of about 20% each. Debt mutual funds, however, saw an outflow of Rs 46,089 crore during the year.
Meanwhile, the number of unique mutual fund investors more than doubled over the last five years, from 1.91 crore in December 2018 to 4.21 crore in December 2023. AMFI believes that the industry is geared up to surpass the Rs 100 lakh crore AUM mark by the turn of the decade and achieving this growth will require an increase in the investor base from 4.21 crore to 10 crore investors.
“The mutual fund industry is geared up for the next growth milestone of Rs 100 lakh crore AUM and 10 crore investors, which we are sure will be achieved sooner than expected as the industry has shifted gears to accelerate distribution outreach leveraging technology across the value chain,” said Navneet Munot, Chairman of AMFI.
Akhil Chaturvedi, Chief Business Officer, Motilal Oswal Asset Management Company said that the over investor sentiment remained buoyant on back of persistence of markets strength. “Market and investor sentiment in the run up to the year of general elections remain positive. Large cap category looks set to regain momentum of Oct & Nov after outflows in December,” added Chaturvedi.