Equity Funds shine as investors pump close to Rs 20,000 crore in October: AMFI Data

Investors continued to show their confidence in equity funds during the month of October, according to data released by the Association of Mutual Funds of India (AMFI), the mutual fund industry’s trade body. The report revealed that the mutual fund industry witnessed a robust net equity inflow, rising by 43.8 percent to Rs 19,932 crore in October compared to the previous month.

In September, inflows into equity funds had slowed to Rs 14,091 crore from the previous month’s Rs 20,245 crore. However, these figures still outperformed most of the other months in 2023.

“In the month of October, the equity markets experienced a risk-off sentiment, with the Index falling below 19,000 levels. Despite this decline, equity mutual funds demonstrated remarkable resilience, recording a substantial net inflow of Rs 19,957 crores, compared to Rs 14,091 crores observed in September,” said Akhil Chaturvedi, Chief Business Officer at Motilal Oswal Asset Management Company.

Inflows into the Rs 47 trillion Indian Mutual Funds (MF) industry turned positive in October, with net inflows totaling ₹80,586 crore. This marked a shift from the net outflows observed in previous months.

The popularity of systematic investment plans (SIP) remained evident, with inflows through SIP reaching Rs 16,927.86 crore in October, up from Rs 16,042 crore the previous month.

Chaturvedi also said that significant flows were witnessed in small-cap funds, amounting to Rs 4,495 crores, followed by thematic/sectoral funds with Rs 3,895 crores. Hybrid funds, driven by arbitrage funds and multi-asset funds, continued to experience healthy net inflows. This trend reflects the prevailing risk-off sentiment in the market, with investors seeking diversification while focusing on capital protection.

Domestic flows also continued to exhibit structural strength. SIPs, in particular, played a significant role in inflows, signaling their growing influence on market dynamics.

Furthermore, investors appeared to be warming up to long-term debt funds, given that interest rates in the economy seemed to have peaked. In October, long-term debt funds saw inflows worth Rs 3,656 crore. This was a turnaround from September when these funds experienced net outflows of Rs 3,972 crore.

A closer look at the AMFI data revealed that government securities (g-sec) funds received a substantial net inflow of Rs 2,001 crore, up by Rs 278 crore in the previous month. Corporate debt funds also gained investor interest, attracting net inflows of Rs 1,940 crore. Even short-term debt funds, after experiencing four successive months of net outflows, managed to secure net inflows of Rs 1,281 crore.

The trends in October suggest a dynamic investment landscape where equity funds, SIPs, and debt funds all played their part in shaping investor sentiment.