In May, ahead of the Lok Sabha Election, equity mutual fund inflows reached a record high of ₹34,697 crore, according to the data released by the Association of Mutual Funds of India (AMFI). This surge marks an 83.42 percent from April’s ₹18,917 crore.
Net inflows into equity mutual funds zoomed past the ₹30,000 crore level for the first in May 2024, as the previous record for net inflows was ₹28,463 crore, which was hit in March 2022.
Inflows into open-ended equity funds remained in the positive zone for the 39th month in a row in May.
However, the total inflows in the open-ended mutual funds have declined by 54% to ₹1.11 lakh crore in May compared to ₹2.40 lakh crore in April.
The flow of fresh investments along with some mark-to-market gains led to a 2.8 per cent rise in total assets under management (AUM) to ₹58.91 lakh crore.
SIP investments on the rise
In May, the systematic investment plan (SIP) contribution rose to ₹20,904 crore against ₹20,371 crore in April. The monthly SIP contribution in May 2023 was ₹14,749 crore. Monthly investments via SIPs topped the ₹20,000 crore mark for the first time in April 2024.
Category-wise inflows in equity mutual funds
The surge in net investments into open-ended equity funds was fuelled by sectoral and thematic funds. The sectoral/thematic funds saw an increase of 272%in the inflows. These funds witnessed net inflows of ₹19,213.43 crore in May.
Inflow to the these funds was strongly supported by strong collections by the HDFC Manufacturing Fund during the new fund offering (NFO) period.
The NFO raked in ₹9,563 crore, the second-highest for an equity fund and third-highest overall for an NFO. SBI MF’s balanced advantage fund holds the record for the highest NFO collection at ₹14,551 crore, followed by ICICI Prudential MF’s ₹9,808 crore flexicap fund NFO.
The flexi cap funds stood second in the inflow chart and received inflows of ₹3,155.07 crore in May against an inflow of ₹2,172.93 crore in April.
Small-cap funds recorded inflows for the second consecutive month, following March’s inflow. In May, they received ₹2,724 crore, up from April’s ₹2,208.70 crore. Mid-cap funds saw notable net inflows of ₹2,605.70 crore in May.
Investor interest remained largely lukewarm in large-cap funds as the category saw net investments of ₹663.09 crore in May. Dividend yield funds had the lowest inflow at ₹445.27 crore.
Among equity categories, all categories except for ELSS and focused funds received inflows in May. Focused and ELSS funds saw outflows of ₹306.55 crore and ₹249.80 crore, respectively, marking the second consecutive month of outflows for both categories.
Debt Mutual Funds inflow in May 2024
The net inflows in debt mutual funds have slumped 77.73% from ₹1.89 lakh crore in April to ₹42,294.99 crore in May.
Liquid funds recorded the highest inflow in May of around ₹25,873.38 crore against an inflow of ₹1.02 lakh crore in April. The money market funds received an inflow of ₹8,271 crore.
Overnight funds have received an inflow of ₹6,644.63 crore, while ultra short duration funds received an inflow worth ₹1,646 crore. Floater funds have witnessed the highest outflow of ₹546.41 crore, followed by credit risk funds which witnessed an outflow of ₹540 crore.
Hybrid Mutual Funds inflow in May 2024
Meanwhile, the total inflows in hybrid fund category, known for its diverse asset allocation spanning equity, debt, and commodities, declined by 9% in May and stood at ₹17,990.67 crore against an inflow of ₹19,862.94 crore in April.
All hybrid categories except for conservative hybrid funds witnessed inflows in April. Arbitrage funds stood first and received the highest inflows of ₹12,758.12 crore in May against an inflow of ₹13,901.25 crore in April. Multi asset allocation funds received inflows of ₹3,160.61 crore.
The dynamic asset allocation/balanced advantage funds received an inflow of ₹1,279.17 crore. Conservative hybrid funds saw an outflow for the second consecutive month. The category saw an outflow of ₹99.14 crore in May against an outflow of ₹7.97 crore.
Others
The net inflows in the passive funds including Index Funds and ETFs surged by around 36% in May and raked in a net of ₹15,655 crore against an inflow of ₹11,504.97 crore in April.
Other ETFs received the highest inflow of ₹10,689.66 crore in May, followed by index funds which received an inflow of ₹4,490.35 crore. Gold ETFs received an inflow of ₹827 crore. Funds of fund investing overseas saw an outflow of ₹352.20 crore.
