Retail mutual fund assets base grows 9.3% to over Rs 23 trn in January

Retail investors' interest in the Indian mutual fund industry has seen an uptick with the value of assets held by them witnessing a rise of 9.3 per cent to Rs 23.4 lakh crore in January this year.

In comparison, the value of assets held by retail investors in mutual funds stood at Rs 21.40 lakh crore in January 2022, latest data with the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) showed.

However, the value of institutional assets has marginally decreased to Rs 17.42 lakh crore in January 2023, from Rs 17.49 lakh crore in January 2022.

Industry insiders believe the increase in asset base is mostly the result of advanced SIP (Systematic Investment Plan) flows, which touched Rs 13,000-crore for the fourth time in a row in January this year.

In addition, industry body Amfi has played an important role in driving awareness towards mutual funds among retail investors.

As per the data, flows through SIP rose to Rs 13,856 crore in January from Rs 13,573 crore in December. This was the fourth consecutive month when SIP flows remained above the Rs 13,000-crore mark.

Overall, assets managed by the mutual fund industry increased to Rs 40.8 lakh crore in January 2023 from Rs 38.89 lakh crore a year earlier, representing 4.93 per cent growth in assets.

Apart from the asset base, the share of retail investors in the industry assets has also increased to 57.3 per cent during the period under review compared to 55 per cent in January last year.

Institutional investors account for 42.7 per cent of the assets, of which corporates are 96 per cent. The rest are Indian and foreign institutions as well as banks.

Individual investors primarily hold equity-oriented schemes while institutions hold liquid, debt-oriented schemes and exchange traded funds (ETFs) and Fund of Funds (FoFs).

In fact, 80 per cent of individual investor assets are held in equity-oriented schemes. 59 per cent of institutions assets are held in liquid, money market schemes and debt-oriented schemes.