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Equity mutual funds continued to bleed for the eighth month in a row, but the February net outflows of ₹4,534 crore were much lower than the ₹9,253-crore logged in January.
With the stock markets hitting a new high, almost all categories of equity funds logged outflows as investors booked profits.
Flexi-cap fund bleeds most
The newly formed flexi-cap fund category recorded the highest exits of ₹4,497 crore while value contra and large-cap funds logged outflows of ₹1,379 crore and ₹1,280 crore, respectively. In contrast, the multi-cap fund set saw inflows of ₹4,078 crore, according to the Association of Mutual Funds in India data.
In February, nine multi-cap funds had reclassified themselves as flexi-caps after SEBI mandated that multi-cap funds have to invest 25 per cent each in small-, mid- and large-cap stocks.
Of the 35 multi-cap funds with an AUM (asstes under mangement) of ₹1.68-lakh crore as of December-end, 25 reclassified themselves as flexi-caps in the last two months.
Despite continuous redemption, the AUM of the flexi-cap category has more than doubled to ₹1.56-lakh crore from ₹75,613 crore in January due to addition of new funds.
Inflows via SIPs down
Inflows through SIPs (systematic investment plans) were down at ₹7,528 crore against ₹8,023 crore logged in January.
NS Venkatesh, CEO, AMFI said since February closed on a weekend, SIPs of ₹495 crore registered on these days will now be accounted in March.
“Given the current trend, I expect the inflow into equity schemes will turn positive by next month as investor confidence in the equity market rally is slowly reviving,” he added.
Overall, the MF industry AUMwas up at ₹31.64-lakh crore against ₹30.5-lakh crore in January.
Debt funds up
Debt funds recorded net inflows of ₹1,735 crore taking the overall AUM to ₹13.74-lakh crore with liquid and money market funds drawing investors.
Akhil Chaturvedi, Head of Sales, Motilal Oswal AMC, said the redemptions from equity funds are being deployed into alternative investment avenues such as direct equity and IPOs as also real estate. Investors are trying to time the market as there is a worry on valuations and a feeling that the current rally is unreal, he added.
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