MF assets decline 2% in October

After a rise in average assets under management (AAUM) for two straight months, the fund industry saw its assets fall in October.

The month was tough for the industry, which recorded a poor performance on all fronts – average assets, net assets and outflow from equity schemes.

According to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) data, the industry’s AAUM stood at Rs6,98,852.71 crore on October 31, a decline of 2.02 per cent compared with the previous month’s Rs7,13,281.23 crore.

Moreover, net assets slipped for the second consecutive month by 1.66 per cent to Rs6,46,395.40 crore from Rs6,57,313 crore in the previous month.

The equity segment continued to see net outflows for the fifth month in a row at Rs2,869 crore, according to data from the Association of Mutual Funds Association (Amfi). The figure crosses the Rs3,000-crore mark if equity-linked saving schemes are counted. Nevertheless, compared with September, when the equity segment saw a net outflow of over Rs7,000 crore, the redemption pressure eased a bit.

“October was an uncertain month. There was pressure from investors who had put in money during earlier peaks. We also had to generate cash for the Coal India offer,” said the chief investment officer of a large fund house.

Overall net outflows were Rs5,742 crore in October, while income funds saw an outgo of Rs5,305 crore. The liquid & money market segment saw net inflows of Rs2,283 crore, while gilt funds and gold exchange-traded funds registered inflows of Rs117 crore and Rs220 crore, respectively.