The income and debt-oriented schemes witnessed an outflow in the month of February 2020 as per the data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) on March 11, 2020. The net outflow from income and debt-oriented schemes stood at Rs -27,939.55 crore in February 2020 as compared to an inflow of Rs 1,09,305.61 crore for the month January 2020. The open-ended growth and equity-oriented schemes category witnessed an inflow of Rs 10,796 crore in February 2020 as compared to Rs 7,877 crore in January 2020, up by 37 per cent. The equity inflow has risen for the third month in a row.

Speaking on the February 2020 MF monthly data, N S Venkatesh, CEO, AMFI said: “Continued vibrancy in monthly SIP flows is at Rs 8,513 crore, and net inflows into equity AUMs are at record high this fiscal at Rs 10,796 crore, which has resulted in MF AAUMs achieving an all-time high milestone at Rs 28.29 lakh crore. Market indices have grown year-on-year by 6 per cent against 15 per cent jump in MF industry AUM.”

Equity Linked Savings Schemes (ELSS) continue to find favour with individual investors, with positive net flows at Rs 871 crore during the month, despite the Budget for 2020-21 proposing an alternate simplified tax structure, said the AMFI chief.

The overall AUM saw a marginal decline of 2 per cent at Rs 27,22,937.39 crore in February 2020 as compared to Rs 27,85,803.67 crore in January 2020. The total amount collected through Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) during February 2020 came flat at Rs 8,512.93 as compared to January 2020, which stood at Rs 8,531.90 crore. The total number of SIP accounts for the month of February stood at 3,09,49,733, whereas the SIP AUM was Rs 3,11,430.60, down by 4 per cent as compared to Rs 3,24,868.34 crore in January 2020.

''Individual investors continue to repose trust in the equity market, investing through MFs via the SIP route and am happy to note that SIP monthly contributions have breached the Rs 8,000 crore mark for the 15th consecutive month,” added Venkatesh. For March 2020 mutual fund outlook, he expects a continued buoyancy in SIP flows though a few institutional investors may reassess their investment strategy, given the deep correction in markets.