At over Rs 26,000 crore, equity mutual funds see record SIP flows in December

MUMBAI: Despite volatile stock market conditions last month, retail investors put their money in equities through the mutual fund route, with total inflows at Rs 41,156 crore.
Dec also recorded the highest-ever gross monthly flows through the systematic investment plan route, at almost Rs 26,460 crore, data released by MF industry trade body Amfi showed. This was the 46th month of net inflows into equity funds, beginning March 2021, an Amfi release said. The momentum of fund inflow through equity schemes underscores the maturity of Indian investors and behavioural changes in the backdrop of market volatility and economic slowdown, Sanjay Bembalkar, head of equity at Union MF, said.
Among the equity schemes, mid and small-cap categories together recorded inflows of Rs 9,761 crore, at a new monthly high since April 2019. However, sectoral & thematic funds recorded the biggest net inflow within the category at Rs 15,332 crore. “These numbers indicate structural change in investing culture, thought process maturity and awareness among investors,” Bembalkar said.
The MF industry’s total assets under management, however, declined to Rs 66.9 lakh crore from Rs 68.1 lakh crore in Nov. The decline in month-end AUM could be attributed to the sharp outflow from several debt funds, mainly from overnight, liquid and money market schemes.