Inflow into equity funds fall for fifth month in a row in October

Despite the outflows from equity funds, assets under management of Indian mutual funds (MFs) in October rose 7% to Rs 26.32 lakh crore compared to September.

For the fifth month in a row, inflows into equity funds declined. Net inflows into equity funds in October stood at Rs 6,026.38 crore compared to Rs 6,609 crore in September 2019, a fall of 8.8%, showed the data from Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi). Despite the outflows from equity funds, assets under management of Indian mutual funds (MFs) in October rose 7% to Rs 26.32 lakh crore compared to September.

Equity inflows in October have been the lowest in the last five months. In May 2019, equity funds had seen inflows of Rs 5,407.75 crore. While the inflows in equity funds in June and July were Rs 7,663.14 crore and Rs 8,112.52 crore, respectively, in August, the inflows moved up to Rs 9,152.43 crore, showed the data from Amfi. Market participants say the fall in inflows in equity could be largely due to the volatility in the equity markets.

In October, total amount collected through SIPs was at Rs 8,246 crore lower compared to September collection of Rs 8,263 crore. G Pradeepkumar, CEO, Union Asset Management Company, said, “SIPs flows have remained robust even in the face of continued volatility in the market which augurs well for the MF industry as well for the broader markets. Arbitrage funds as a category seem to be continuing to attract investor attention probably on account of their relatively stable returns and tax efficiency.” In the current fiscal, the SIPs contribution was around Rs 57,607 crore, showed the data from Amfi.

In equity-oriented schemes, inflows were seen across all categories, barring dividend yield funds and value funds which saw outflows of Rs 24.58 crore and Rs 228.74 crore, respectively. While large-cap and mid-cap saw inflows of Rs 1,182.25 crore and Rs 1,091.04 crore, respectively, in October, small-cap funds also saw inflows of Rs 678.21 crore. Even debt-oriented schemes saw inflows of Rs 1.21 lakh crore in October, led by inflows in liquid fund which stood at Rs 93,202.96 crore.