The mutual fund industry’s net asset under management (AUM) was Rs 39.42 lakh crore, while the average asset under management (AAUM) was Rs 40.04 lakh crore in March, indicating investors’ continued faith in the markets, the industry body Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) said in its monthly update.
Commenting on the industry performance, AMFI chief executive N.S. Venkatesh said: “India and its growing investor base continue to put faith in the equity markets via the mutual fund route.” Venkatesh said the equity-oriented mutual funds registered a net inflow of over Rs 200,000 crore in FY2022-23.
What’s encouraging is that inflows into the systematic investment plans (SIP) continue to soar, “breaking records on a month-on-month basis. It would not be overkill to say that the retail investor is the hero of the markets. The spike in investors witnessed in the post-pandemic period, despite the volatility due to geo-political reasons and inflation, is a cue to resilient investor behaviour,” he said.
The report highlights that retail AUM (equity, hybrid, and solution-oriented schemes) stood at Rs 20.34 lakh crore in March 2023, with an average AUM of Rs 20,45,632 crore. In addition, the number of retail scheme folios was more than 11.64 crore, and the SIP contributions were Rs 14,276.06 crore.
AMFI said mutual fund folios also reached an all-time high of more than 14.57 crore, and retail MF folios were also at a record high.
Other Key Metrics
Further, the number of SIP accounts stood at 6,35,99,116 in March compared to 6,28,26,035 on February 23. On the other hand, the SIP AUM was Rs 6,83,296.24 crore in February 2023, compared to Rs 6,74,414.92 crore in February.
Equity-oriented funds saw a net inflow of Rs 20,190 crore in March 2023. The number of new SIPs registered in March 2023 was 21,65,516.
In addition, a total of 43 schemes were launched, including 22 open-ended and 21 close-ended schemes, raising a total of Rs 8,496 crores.
Regarding debt funds, Venkatesh said, “Investors should look at debt funds beyond tax efficiency; these funds also provide investors with real-time liquidity enabling the investor to withdraw money within a day. In the long term, the debt fund offers the benefit of interest rate movements.”
