The mutual fund industry saw the number of investors doubling in a matter of 4 years and 3 months. As of June 30 2021, there were 2.39 crore mutual fund investors as compared to 1.19 crore at the end of March 2017, AMFI CEO NS Venkatesh said.
The data captures the total number of unique PANs which includes both individual and corporate investors.
The industry saw 12 lakh new investors joining the MF bandwagon in the first quarter of FY 2022. The number is considerably higher when compared with the total investor addition of 20 lakh during the whole of FY 2021.
Industry experts attribute this to the continuous investor awareness campaigns and ease of investment due to digitization for the surge in investor count.
“Investors now recognize that in addition to providing steady investment performance, mutual funds are well-regulated, transparent and convenient. The stellar role played by distributors and advisors in making funds more accessible and the ‘Mutual Fund Sahi Hai’ campaign by AMFI have aided this momentum. The lockdown could have dampened the momentum last year, however, digital tools including steps such as facilitating e-KYC for registering new investors have made it easier to become an MF investor. Fund houses have also played a significant role through various investor awareness efforts; for instance, the timely #DateyRaho campaign by IDFC MF encouraged many investors to stay the course,” said Vishal Kapoor, CEO of IDFC AMC.
Mumbai-based MFD Rushabh Desai also echoed similar views. "The investor awareness campaigns being run by distributors and fund houses have delivered results. AMFI's decision to rope in top cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni for its 'Mutual Fund Sahi Hai' campaign also played a major role in igniting interest of tier-II and tier-III investors in mutual funds," said Desai.
However, despite the surge, the total number of mutual fund investors remains low. Comparing the investor count with the total number of PAN cards (51 crore as of June last year) shows that there’s only one mutual fund investor for every 21 PAN card holders in India.
