Mumbai — Equity mutual funds witnessed a strong rebound in March, with inflows into actively managed schemes touching an eight-month high, according to data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India.
Investments in equity funds rose sharply to ₹40,450.26 crore, compared to ₹25,977.81 crore in February, reflecting renewed investor confidence. At the same time, contributions through Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) reached an all-time high of ₹32,087 crore, up from ₹29,845 crore in the previous month, highlighting sustained participation from retail investors.
Despite this strong momentum in equities, the overall mutual fund industry recorded net outflows of ₹2.39 lakh crore in March. This was a sharp reversal from February’s net inflows of ₹94,530 crore and was largely driven by heavy withdrawals from debt-oriented schemes.
Market analysts attribute the surge in equity inflows to consistent SIP contributions, year-end portfolio rebalancing, and investors taking advantage of recent market corrections to increase their exposure. Ongoing volatility linked to geopolitical tensions in West Asia also created attractive entry points for long-term investors.
Among equity categories, flexi-cap funds led the inflow trend, attracting ₹10,054.12 crore during the month, significantly higher than February’s ₹6,924.65 crore. Mid-cap and small-cap funds also saw strong traction, with inflows rising to ₹6,063.53 crore and ₹6,263.56 crore, respectively. Large-cap funds brought in ₹2,997.84 crore, while sectoral and thematic funds maintained stable inflows of ₹2,698.82 crore.
On the other hand, debt mutual funds saw massive outflows of ₹2.94 lakh crore, compared to inflows of ₹42,106.31 crore in February. Overnight and liquid funds were among the biggest contributors to this decline. Hybrid schemes also recorded outflows of ₹16,538.47 crore, while arbitrage funds saw withdrawals amounting to ₹21,113.70 crore.
Gold ETFs witnessed a slowdown in investor interest, with inflows dropping to ₹2,266 crore—nearly half of February’s ₹5,254.95 crore.
Meanwhile, New Fund Offerings (NFOs) raised ₹3,985 crore through 24 launches in March, slightly lower than the ₹4,979 crore mobilised by 21 schemes in February.
Overall, the data indicates that while short-term reallocations impacted the broader industry numbers, investor appetite for equities—especially through SIPs—remains strong and consistent.
With inputs from IANS