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The industry average AUM recorded a new high as it crossed the Rs 46 lakh crore mark in July 2023. It stood at Rs 46.28 lakh crore, 23% higher than last year. Of this retail investors (equity, hybrid and solution oriented schemes) contributed Rs 23.77 lakh crore, which is over 51%.
Also, gross SIP inflows crossed Rs 15,000 crore for the first time and stood at Rs 15,245 crore. Moreover, the overall industry inflows turned positive to Rs 82,046 crore as against June 2023.
Here are the other key data points of the month gone by.
Equity inflows report a decline
Equity inflows dipped from Rs 8,637 crore in June 2023 to Rs 7,626 crore in July 2023. This is partially due to investors booking profits in large cap funds which reported net outflows of Rs 1,880 crore. Also, there was a net outflow from focused funds to the tune of Rs 1,067 crore. A similar trend was observed in ELSS and flexi cap funds.
However, in response to the market rally, small cap funds received the highest inflows of Rs 4,171 crore. Multi cap funds received the next-highest inflows of Rs 1,623 crore, and the flows in other equity categories was positive.
Debt flows turn positive
The overall debt flows turned positive at Rs 61,440 crore, largely due to the inflows in liquid funds.
Liquid funds received the highest inflows of Rs 51,938 crore followed by money market (Rs 8,608 crore) and low duration funds (Rs 7,027 crore).
This was partially set off by the net outflows from overnight funds (Rs 10,747 crore) and banking & PSU fund (Rs 1,310 crore).
Hybrid inflows increase close to 3x
Total inflows in hybrid funds increased from Rs 4,611 crore in June 2023 to Rs 12,421 crore in July 2023.
Apart from balanced hybrid fund/aggressive hybrid fund, all categories received net inflows. Among these, arbitrage funds received the highest net inflows to the tune of Rs 10,075 crore.
Index net flows improve, but ETFs report a decline
From negative flows in June 2023, index funds reported net inflows of Rs 1,179 crore. However, total net flows in ETFs (gold and others) weakened. It declined from Rs 3,473 crore to Rs 103 crore.
Folio count and SIP AUM increase
With an addition of 22.90 lakh folios, the total count increased to 15.14 crore. Of this retail folio count across equity, hybrid and solution oriented schemes was 12.09 crore.
The total SIP AUM also went up from Rs 7.94 lakh crore to Rs 8.32 lakh crore and the SIP accounts stood at 6.81 crore.
New fund offerings report a rise
As against 11 open-ended NFOs in June 2023, the MF industry launched 17 such schemes in July 2023. These funds mobilised Rs 6,723 crore in the last month.
How do experts read these numbers?
Emphasising the retail investors’ interest, NS Venkatesh, CEO, AMFI said, “The surge in retail investors' interest in mutual funds has translated into impressive inflows across scheme categories. Investors are increasingly realizing that mutual funds have various options suited for their risk profile and goals and that they can partake in the India growth story by investing as little as Rs 500 a month”
He further said, “The substantial increase in SIPs is a result of mutual fund houses and AMFI's widespread awareness campaigns, tapping into Bharat's wealth and aspiration to partake in market growth. Investors in B30 cities are indirectly investing in stock markets via SIPs in equity mutual funds.”
Manish Mehta, Joint President-Sales, Marketing & Digital Business, Kotak MF added, “Overall industry witnessed growth post the June quarter ending factor where institutional investors redeemed due to quarter end phenomenon. All-time high of equity markets has led to profit booking by investors. Investors should consider asset allocation products and continue SIPs."
