Inflows into equity mutual funds fell to the lowest in 10 months even as the stock benchmarks rallied.
Net investments into equity and equity-linked schemes declined 31.2% from the previous month to Rs 6,119.58 crore in August, according to data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India. That’s the third straight month of decline in inflows but the eighteenth continuous month of investments into such stock plans.
The S&P BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty 50 rose 2.96% and 2.99%, respectively, in August.
SIP Contribution
Monthly contributions into systematic investment plans increased after two months to a record.
“Retail investors remained fully invested, rather they are taking mutual fund vehicle as the right vehicle for investing for the long term,” NS Venkatesh, chief executive officer at AMFI, said during a conference call.
Continued interest, according to him, is being seen from retail investors, which is getting reflected in SIPs as well as the overall AUM.
Category-Wise Trends
All segments witnessed inflows in the month of August.
Mid caps witnessed the most investments among categories, while large caps saw the least.
Mid-caps funds have been witnessing inflows since March last year, while multi and large caps since September 2021. Investors have been pumping into small caps since October 2021.
AMFI started posting granular data since April 2019.
Debt Funds
Liquid funds, used by companies to park short-term cash, saw inflows after two months.
Credit risk funds witnessed outflows for the ninth month in a row.
Net Flows
All mutual fund schemes, debt and equity, saw inflows for the second straight month.
Money market funds saw inflows worth Rs 5,928.78 crore in August, compared with inflows worth Rs 2,638.7 crore in July.
The average assets under management stood at Rs 39.53 lakh crore in August against Rs 37.76 lakh crore in July. Net AUM rose to Rs 39.33 lakh crore from Rs 37.74 lakh crore in the previous month.