Equity inflows positive in May 2014; folio count, however, falls

The total investor count in equity funds stands at 2.92 crore now.

After seeing a four lakh jump in equity folios in April, mutual fund industry has again witnessed a fall in equity folios in May. SEBI data shows that the industry has lost close to 3.5 lakh folios in equity funds in April-May 2014 even though the category saw a net inflow of Rs. 2,452 crore. The equity folio count has come down to Rs. 2.92 crore in May 2014 from 2.95 crore in April 2014.

Experts attributed this fall in equity folios to profit booking. Both S&P BSE Sensex and CNX Nifty went up by 8% or 1800 points and 544 points respectively in May. While S&P BSE Sensex breached 24k mark in May, CNX Nifty closed at it’s the then all-time high of 7200 points in May.

Largely due to new fund launches, equity funds saw a net inflow of Rs. 2,452 crore in May. AMFI data shows that mutual fund industry’s asset under management scaled to a new high of Rs. 10.11 lakh crore in May. Gross redemption from equity funds stood at Rs. 7,547 crore in May. 

While AMCs are witnessing redemptions in equity funds, the debt category is seeing a moderate rise in investor accounts. More than one lakh folios were generated in debt funds in the first two months of FY 2014-15. “Some investors have booked profits from equity funds and shifted towards fixed income,” said the sales head of a foreign fund house.

Similarly, fund of funds also saw a marginal increase in folios count in April-May 2014. This category has added close to 1500 folios. The focus of investors is tending to shift towards diversification beyond Indian markets.

Folio data

Source: SEBI