The mutual fund industry saw an additional subscription of 32 lakh new investors due to the ‘Mutual Funds Sahi Hai’ campaign launched by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). The investor awareness campaign, which kicked off on 15 March last year, is aimed at promoting and busting myths around mutual funds.

A Balasubramanian, chairman of AMFI said, “Concerted efforts taken by the mutual fund industry through the ‘Mutual Funds Sahi Hai’campaign under the guidance of SEBI, and supported by favourable market conditions and the distribution community, led to the overwhelming success in the inaugural year.”

“Given the rising household incomes and higher appetite towards financial savings coupled with the long-term India growth story, we are sure mutual funds would become the investment option of choice of every household in the years to come,” Balasubramanian added.

Along with subscription of new investors, the industry witnessed 25 per cent growth in its assets under management (AUM) to Rs 4.25 lakh crore and a 38 per cent retail AUM growth to Rs 3.25 lakh crore.

The total number of folios and SIP accounts during the same period saw a growth of 26 per cent (1.05 crore) and 52 per cent (70 lakh), respectively. Monthly SIP contribution touched Rs 6,425 crore from 2.05 crore SIP accounts.

“We continue to advocate mutual fund investors to have patience and stay invested, add debt and hybrid funds to their portfolios and allocate more through SIPs. This, especially in the period of market volatility, will benefit over the long term,” said Balasubramanian.

AMFI had recently tied up with Times Network to launch Jan Nivesh, a mutual fund awareness initiative to promote healthy financial habits and smart investment in the country. The campaign plans to reach out to over 50,000 people across 100 cities and towns.

“We want to build on the base and ensure that the momentum and faith of the investors continue for investing in the mutual funds for the long term,” said N S Venkatesh, Chief Executive of AMFI.