Indian Mutual Fund Sector’s AUM Up 21% To Rs 46.58 Lakh Cr Till Sept 2023
The contribution of systematic investment plans (SIP) to the mutual fund industry touched Rs 16,042 crore in September 2023
The assets under management (AUM) of the Indian mutual fund industry grew by nearly 21 per cent to touch Rs 46.58 lakh crore as of 30 September 2023, up from Rs 38.42 lakh crore as of 30 September 2022, the rating agency Icra has said.
Average assets under management (AAUM) of the industry stood at Rs 47.79 lakh crore for the month of September 2023, as against Rs 39.88 lakh crore in September 2022.
It added that the contribution of systematic investment plans (SIP) to the mutual fund industry touched Rs 16,042 crore in September 2023 while the total number of unique investors in mutual funds crossed the four-crore mark indicating the growing interest among retail investors for investing in equities through the mutual fund route.
Notably, net inflows into equity-oriented schemes came down marginally on a year-on-year basis at Rs 14,091 crore in September this year, as against Rs 14,099 crore same period last year, according to data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) in last week. However, sequentially, inflows dropped by nearly 30 per cent from Rs 20,245 crore in August 2023.
Among the growth/equity-oriented schemes, the small and mid-cap funds continued to witness inflows to the tune of Rs 2678 crore and Rs 2001 crore respectively; sectoral/thematic funds saw net inflows of Rs 3147 crore, multi-cap Rs 2235 crore while value/contra fund saw inflows of Rs 1291 crore. However, large-cap and ELSS funds recorded net outflows of Rs 111 crore and Rs 141 crore respectively.
Debt mutual funds witnessed a huge surge in net outflows at Rs 1,01 lakh crore in September this year as against net outflows of Rs 25,873 crore in August with 14 out of 16 fund categories witnessing outflows during the month at the back of higher food inflation, squeeze in liquidity condition and spike in US treasury yield leading to outflow.
However, two debt categories (long duration and gilt fund) witnessed a marginal net inflow of Rs 299.68 crore on the back of the inclusion of Indian Government bonds in the JP Morgan Emerging Market Debt Index.
Ashwini Kumar, Head Market Data, Icra Analytics said, “The asset under management (AUM) of the Indian mutual fund industry has witnessed good growth during the first half of the current fiscal fueled by strong gains in stock prices on the back of positive sentiments around the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals.”
Kumar added that equity-oriented schemes continued to witness a strong uptick in demand with net inflows of around Rs 14,091 crore, backed by a sense of optimism around India’s economic growth prospects. FII inflows, too have led to a rise, including comparative economic factors around the globe.
“The Reserve Bank of India has adopted a rate-pause stance at the recently concluded Monetary Policy Committee meeting, including the evolving geo-political developments that would likely keep the investors cautious in the near term. Long-term investors may show interest to enter the market at this elevated level,” he added.