MUMBAI: Continuing inflows into the most popular mutual fund segment, the systematic investment plans or SIPs set new records in April topping the Rs 20,000–crore mark for the first time, and coupled with this and fresh inflows into debt and equity funds the total assets under management have risen to Rs 57.26 trillion in the month, up from Rs 55.01 trillion in the previous month.
Being the fiscal year closing month, March saw a significant outflow of Rs 1.59 trillion, but the industry reversed the trend and saw a strong rebound with net inflows reaching Rs 2.39 trillion, driven by inflows across all categories, show the latest data shared by the industry lobby the Association of Mutual Funds of India or Amfi on Monday.
According to Ashwini Kumar, a senior vice-president at Icra Ratings, after clipping at 35 percent in FY24 ove FY23, the industry AUM continued to post a stellar performance in April with the net AUM growing by 38 percent on-year to touch Rs 57.26 trillion over Rs 41.62 trillion in April 2023.
Sequentially, he said net AUM grew 7 percent from Rs 53.40 trillion in March 2024, while net inflows surged 97 percent on year in April by Rs 2.39 trillion from Rs 1.21 trillion in April 2023.
For the first time ever, monthly investments into SIPs topped the Rs 20,000 crore landmark reaching Rs 20,371 crore in April, Venkat Chalasani, the chief executive of Amfi told reporters. The SIP book was Rs 19,271 crore in March and Rs 19,187 crore in February.
However, inflows into open-ended equity mutual funds had slumped 16 percent to Rs 22,633 crore. Similarly, inflows into equity mutual fund fell 16.42 percent to Rs 18,917.08 crore in April on a fresh slump in investments into large-cap funds.
On the other hand, small-cap funds saw inflows worth Rs 2,208.70 crore in the reporting month after witnessing outflows in March.
"The mutual fund industry surged to new levels with net AUM reaching Rs 57.26 lakh crore and SIP accounts touching 8.70 crore. A historic SIP contribution of Rs 20,371.47 crore taking SIP AUM to Rs 11.26 lakh crore with 63.65 lakh new SIP registrations showcases investor confidence," said Chalasani.
Meanwhile, inflows into open-ended equity funds remained in the green for the 38th straight month but inflows into large-cap funds slumped 83 percent to Rs 358 crore in April, while mid-cap funds saw 76.19 percent jump in net investments to Rs 1,793 crore.
Small-cap funds, which were seeing outflows for the first time in 30 months in March, were back in the green with net inflows of Rs 2,209 crore. On the other hand, focused funds and tax-saving equity linked savings scheme categories saw net outflows of Rs 328 crore and Rs 144 crore, respectively.
Meanwhile, debt funds, which had witnessed net outflows of Rs 1.98 trillion in March saw net investments of Rs 1.90 trillion in April, led by Rs 1.03 trillion inflows into liquid funds and inflows of Rs 34,084 crore into money market funds.
Sanjay Agarwal, a senior director with Careedge Ratings said, in the reporting month practically all debt categories, excluding medium duration funds, credit risk, and banking & PSU funds saw inflows. The credit risk category continued to witness 13th straight month of outflows.
Manish Mehta of Kotak Mahindra AMC said investors are increasingly preferring large cap oriented schemes and multi-asset allocation funds now. Investors understand that time in the market is important than timing the market and hence continue to add investments through SIPs/STPs.
On SIPs crossing the Rs 20,000-crore mark A Balasubramanian, the managing director of Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC said that it shows the industry has received higher acceptance from investors to invest their savings and create wealth in the long-term via the SIP route.
The surging inflows can be attributed to factors like quarter-end demands for advance tax, diminishing year-end redemptions, and continued volatility in stock markets, leading investors favouring cash for short-term investments," said Gopal Kavalireddi, vice-president of research at Fyers.