Equity mutual funds inflow rises 8% to INR 25,978 crore in Feb

Equity mutual funds attracted net inflows of INR 25,978 crore in February, marking a 8 per cent rise from the previous month amid the India-US trade deal, according to data released by industry body Amfi on Tuesday.This lifted the industry’s Assets Under Management (AUM) to INR 82 lakh crore in February from INR 81 lakh crore in January.

This positive inflow in equities could be driven by the India-US trade deal, Venkat N Chalasani, CEO of Amfi said. “There could be some volatility in this month due to escalating Middle East conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran but India’s growth story will continue in the long-term,” he added.Going by the data, equity inflows rose to INR 25,978 crore in February, higher than the INR 24,028 crore seen in the preceding month.

Within equity schemes, flexi cap funds attracted the highest net inflow of INR 6,924.65 crore, followed by mid-cap funds at INR 4,003 crore and small-cap funds at INR 3,881 crore.Sectoral and thematic funds also saw inflows of INR 2,987 crore, while large-cap funds saw net additions of INR 2,112 crore. However, ELSS funds recorded a net outflow of INR 650 crore, suggesting some profit booking or reduced tax-saving investments during the period.

Overall, the industry recorded net inflows of INR 94,530 crore during the month, lower than the INR 1.56 lakh crore registered in January.Meanwhile, gold exchange-traded funds saw inflows of INR 5,255 crore in February, compared to INR 24,040 crore in January and INR 11,647 crore in December.Debt mutual funds recorded net inflows of INR 42,106 crore during the month under review, down from INR 74,827 crore in January.