Mutual funds see Rs 30,000 cr inflow in Feb; Rs 3.98 lakh cr in 11 months

Investors have pumped in more than Rs 30,000 crore into various mutual fund schemes in February, with liquid, income and equity funds attracting the most of the inflows.

With this, total inflows have reached Rs 3.98 lakh crore in the first eleven months of the current fiscal (2016-17). In comparison, Rs 2.07 lakh crore was invested in various mutual fund products during April-February period of 2015-16.

"Investors may have seen the volatility of the current fiscal as a positive to average out costs. Retail investors also appear to have become savvier, using liquid schemes to either earn higher returns or to run Systematic Transfer Plan (STPs) into equity funds to average costs," said Srikanth Meenakshi, the COO of Fundsindia.Com, an investment portal for mutual funds.

"Apart from equity, inflows into debt funds have risen. Deposit rates have been falling, resulting in lower returns for investors. Falling rates help debt fund returns as yields instruments rally, which could have additionally helped draw in investors," Srikanth added.

According to the data by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi), a net sum of Rs 30,273 crore has been invested in mutual funds in the month of February.

The latest inflows have been mainly driven by contribution from liquid, income and equity funds.

Income funds attracted Rs 10,864 crore last month, while liquid or money market fund category saw net inflows of Rs 8,227 crore. Equity and equity-linked schemes saw inflows of around Rs 6,462 crore.

Liquid and money market funds invest mainly in money market instruments like commercial papers, treasury bills, term deposits and have a lower maturity period and do not have any lock-in period.

An income fund emphasises on current income, either on a monthly or quarterly basis, as opposed to capital appreciation. Such funds usually hold a variety of government, municipal and corporate debt obligations, preferred stock and dividend-paying stocks.

Total assets under management (AUM) of all the active 43 active fund houses soared to a record Rs 17.89 lakh crore at the end of February this year, from Rs 12.33 lakh crore at the end of preceding fiscal.