AUM surge

All focus on rising equity inflows in mutual funds has made debt component of asset management pale. However, net inflows in debt funds in July hit a 6-year high at Rs 43,913 crore, according to the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). While this high was on the hope of a rate cut in August, which did not happen, but that has not prevented investors from placing their faith in a rate cut in the near future. Interestingly, July also witnessed a net inflow of Rs 2,506 crore in equity funds. The increase in the inflow into mutual funds could be due to increase in investor awareness campaign and the lack of better alternatives, especially in the traditional physical assets—gold and real estate category. The investor behaviour also appears to be shifting towards SIP, with an increase in the number of SIP folios in the past year. Moreover, the expectations of improvement from corporate earnings are something that many investors are awaiting to savour the benefits of their trust in equities in the past few years. The lesson for investors from this trend? Invest with a financial goal and stay invested for the long run to gain the most.