New Delhi, Jul 3: Mutual funds' asset base dropped eight per cent to nearly Rs 25 lakh crore in the quarter ended June 30, mainly due to outflow pressure in equity and debt categories.

Average asset under management of the industry, comprising 45 players, stood at Rs 24.82 lakh crore in April-June quarter 2020, as compared to Rs 27 lakh crore in the preceding quarter, according to Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi).

The asset base of the industry was at Rs 25.5 lakh crore in the same period a year ago.

"The industry registered a decline of eight per cent on quarter-on-quarter basis as net inflows reduced across most of the assets and categories of mutual fund schemes," said Omkeshwar Singh, Head of RankMF, Samco Securities.

In spite of a 24 per cent climb back in the Nifty for the June quarter, funds struggled to grow AUM on account of outflow pressure both in debt and equity. While debt outflows were triggered by debt events, such as the Franklin Templeton issue, profit booking on rally led to equity inflows.

"Besides, lower investment, with economic uncertainty threatening jobs and pay cuts, could also be the reason for decline in the assets base. Moreover, fresh inflows were also relatively weak," Vidya Bala, co-founder, PrimeInvestor, said.

The average AUMs of all the top five mutual fund houses — SBI MF, HDFC MF, ICICI Prudential MF, Aditya Birla Sunlife MF, and Nippon India MF — have declined.

With an asset base of Rs 3,64,363 crore, SBI mutual fund continues to be the largest fund house in the country during the June quarter 2020, although the average AUM of the fund house plunged from Rs 3,73,536 crore in the preceding quarter.

HDFC MF, which is at the second position, has seen a drop in its asset base to Rs 3,56,183 crore from Rs 3,69,783 crore in the March quarter.

This is followed by ICICI Prudential MF at the third rank with an average AUM of Rs 3,46,163 crore in June quarter. It had an average AUM of Rs 3,50,743.5 crore in the March quarter.

Aditya Birla Sunlife MF, the fourth largest fund house, has seen its average AUM decrease to Rs 2,14,592 crore from Rs 2,47,522 crore.

The average AUM of Nippon India MF fell to Rs 1,80,061 crore from Rs 2,04,884 crore.