Equity mutual funds' asset base climbs 14% to Rs 3.7 lakh cr in May

Market experts attributed rise in inflow to investment in SIPs and strong participation from retail investors

Asset base of equity mutual funds (MFs) surged 14% to Rs 3.7 lakh crore at the end of May as retail investors poured money into these schemes.

The industry's equity assets under management (AUM) were Rs 3.25 lakh crore in May last year, as per the latest data from Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI).

In April, the asset base of equity MFs stood at Rs 3.57 lakh crore.

Despite over 4% slump in the benchmark BSE Sensex in the last one year, investors pumped in over Rs 75,000 crore into the equity schemes.

Retail participation has shown a remarkable resilience to market volatility last fiscal, experts said.

In May, equity and equity-linked saving schemes witnessed an infusion of Rs 4,471 crore, highest in six months. This was the highest net inflow since November, when equity mutual funds saw an inflow of Rs 6,379 crore.

Market experts attributed the rise in inflow to investment in systematic investment plans (SIPs) and strong participation from retail investors.

SIP is an investment vehicle that allows investors to invest in small amounts periodically instead of lump sums. The frequency of investment is usually weekly, monthly or quarterly.

Inflow in equity schemes has helped the 43 mutual funds reach overall total of Rs 13.81 lakh crore in AUM at the end of last month, from Rs 12.03 lakh crore till May 2015.

MFs are investment vehicles made up of a pool of funds collected from a large number of investors for the purpose of investing in stocks, bonds and money market instruments among others.