Net inflows into open-ended equity mutual fund (MF) schemes jumped to a five-month high in August at Rs 20,161 crore. This was almost thrice the figure recorded in the previous month, showed data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) on Monday. In July, net inflows stood at Rs 7,505 crore.
Smallcaps continued to attract robust inflows at more than Rs 4,200 crore, while the midcap, large & midcap and multicap categories witnessed higher inflows month-on-month. Flexi-cap funds saw a reversal in the trend, raking in Rs 2,192 crore in inflows, compared with an outflow of Rs 932 crore last month.
What stood out was the sectoral/thematic category that reported a threefold rise in inflows at Rs 4,805 crore, from Rs 1,430 crore last month. “The spike in flows could also be attributed to the five new fund launches in this segment, which cumulatively garnered Rs 2,556 crore during the month,” said Melvyn Santarita, analyst (manager research), Morningstar India.
Outflows continued from largecap funds, though the quantum got reduced in August at around Rs 350 crore, compared with Rs 1,880 crore in July.
SIP inflows rose to an all-time high again, with August recording Rs 15,813.54 crore in contribution. The total SIP AUM rose to Rs 8.47 trillion, compared with Rs 8.32 trillion in July.
On the other hand, it was a torrid month for debt funds, with open-ended debt schemes showing net outflows of ₹25,872 crore. Liquid funds accounted for a majority of outflows, with close to Rs 26,823 crore being withdrawn. The ultra-short duration category witnessed net outflows of Rs 4,123 crore.
However, the overnight, floater, and corporate bond fund categories saw net inflows of Rs 3,158 crore, Rs 2,325 crore, and Rs 1,755 crore, respectively.
Arbitrage funds saw a healthy Rs 9,482-crore inflow, with hybrid schemes seeing over Rs 17,000 crore coming in.
Investments into gold ETFs jumped to a 16-month high of Rs 1,028 crore. “With continued interest rate hikes in the US, inflation still higher than expectations, and growth rate slowing down, the appeal of gold as a safe haven and hedge against inflation is expected to continue. Moreover, gold prices in recent times have come off from their all-time high levels, providing some buying opportunity,” said Santarita.
Index funds and other ETFs saw Rs 1,985 crore and Rs 1,893 crore in inflows. AMFI chief NS Venkatesh said investors are taking to passive investing more and more as the process of investing has become easy and simplified and costs involved are low.
Retail AUM (equity, hybrid, and solution-oriented) stood at Rs 24.63 trillion for the month, at an average of Rs 24.38 trillion.
Net AUM for the industry stood at Rs 46.63 trillion as on August 31, while the average AUM for the month was Rs 46.93 trillion.
