Equity Mutual Fund Inflows Hit Record High In May

Inflows into equity mutual funds almost doubled to a record high in May as new thematic schemes drove fresh investments in the segment. Equity inflows increased 83% to Rs 34,697 crore last month against Rs 18,917.1 crore in April, according to the data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India on Monday.

The record jump in equity-oriented funds came even as debt-oriented funds saw investments leave, driving the overall net inflows into mutual funds lower.

Small-cap funds logged inflows of Rs 2,724.7 crore during the month under review, compared to Rs 2,208.7 crore. Mid-cap schemes attracted investments of Rs 2,605.7 crore, against Rs 1,793.1 crore in April.

Large-cap funds inflows almost doubled to Rs 663.1 crore during May, compared with Rs 357.6 crore in the previous month. Multi-cap funds had inflows of Rs 2,644.9 crore, against Rs 2,723.9 crore in the previous month.

Sectoral and thematic funds saw their highest inflows ever at Rs 19,213.4 crore, taking the assets under management for the category to Rs 3.37 lakh crore, the second highest among equity-oriented funds.

The inflows in the segment were led by Rs 9,563 crore into the new fund offer for HDFC Manufacturing Fund.

The overall systematic-investment-plan contribution stood at nearly Rs 21,000 crore, with equity-linked funds getting the lion's share of the inflows, the AMFI said. The figure continued to reach a new record during May at Rs 20,904.4 crore, compared to Rs 20,371 crore.

The net SIP contribution for May stood at Rs 9,226.1 crore, versus Rs 8,660 crore in April. The net SIP contributions accounts for outflows due to cancellations and completion of SIP periods.

The SIP contributions have maintained a growing trend despite a dip in financial savings, AMFI Chief Executive Officer V Chalasani said.

Liquid funds recorded inflows of Rs 25,873.4 crore during the month under review as opposed to around Rs 1.03 lakh crore in April.

Credit-risk funds saw outflows of Rs 540.5 crore in May, as opposed to Rs approximately 359 crore being pulled out of the schemes in April.

Total inflows into debt-oriented funds stood at approximately Rs 42,295 crore in May, against Rs 1.9 lakh crore in the month before.

Overall inflows into mutual funds stood at Rs 1.11 lakh crore during May, compared with Rs 2.39 lakh crore. Net assets under management increased to Rs 58.9 lakh crore in April from Rs 57.3 lakh crore in May.