The Indian mutual fund industry touched new milestone in 2015-16 with the number of total folios reaching a five-year high. The data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) indicates that the total number of folios for the MF industry stood at 4.8 crore in FY16, its highest since FY12 when it was at 4.6 crore.
For equity schemes, the number of folios stood at 3.6 crore in the last financial year, while it was around 83 lakhs for debt funds. Market participants attribute the rise in folios to immense participation of retail investors,especially into equity funds.
Dinesh Kumar Khara, MD and CEO at SBI Asset Management Company (AMC), said: “In the last few months, markets have remained choppy, but retail investors have shown faith in equity mutual funds. I think one of the biggest reasons for the rise in number of folios can be attributed to retail investors investing in equity funds through systematic investment plans (SIPs).”
In line with the rise in folios even equity funds saw net inflows in FY16. According to the data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi), equity funds which also include equity-linked saving schemes (ELSS) saw net inflows of over R74,000 crore in FY16, against around R71,000 crore in FY15.
Even debt funds witnessed increase in the number of folios over the past five years. But total folios of debt funds, which stand at around 83 lakhs, are not as favored as equity schemes.
