Equity mutual funds have witnessed a significant increase in net inflows for the month of August amounting to Rs 1,986 crore compared with the net outflow of Rs 869 crore in July, according to the AMFI.
But the mutual fund industry's total assets under management have dipped by 4.51 per cent to Rs 6.96 lakh crore in August. This comes after the 8.17 per cent surge in total assets in July. The total assets stood at Rs 7.28 lakh crore in July.
“Equity funds witnessed net inflows of around Rs 2,000 crore in August despite the volatile market conditions. This is the second highest monthly inflow figure in 2011 following the Rs 2,800 crore net inflows seen in February when the markets were relatively stable,” said Mr Jiju Vidyadharan, head, funds and fixed income, Crisil Research.
Gold ETFs shine
Income and liquid funds faced a net outflow of Rs 6,925 crore and Rs 10,066 crore, respectively, in August. The same funds faced net inflows to the tune of Rs 15,429 crore and Rs 35,699 crore respectively in July.
The AUM for Gold ETFs has increased by 23.84 per cent in August as compared to July.
Although there has been a high net inflow into equity funds, there has been a seven per cent drop in the AUM of equity funds in August from the recorded AUM of Rs 1,91,607 crore in July.
“This followed the sharp decline in equity markets; the benchmark S&P CNX Nifty fell by nine per cent during the month on fears of a slowdown in the global and domestic economies coupled with the impact of sovereign debt issues in the US and Europe. The benchmark has slipped by over 16 per cent since the beginning of 2011,” said Mr Vidyadharan.
The AUM for other ETFs, Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS) have also fallen over the July figures.
“The increase in the net inflows in equity mutual funds shows the maturity of the investors. They are investing in a staggered manner and mostly through the SIP route. This shows that investors are understanding the importance of financial planning,” said Mr Gopal Agrawal, CIO, Mirae Asset Global Investments (India).