Retail MF assets top Rs 20 trillion for the first time in August

Assets under management (AUM) of retail investors putting money through the mutual fund (MF) route topped Rs 20 trillion for the first time, in August. Also, retail investors now account for more than half of the MF industry assets. Until August, the average retail AUM stood at Rs 20 trillion — 50.6 per cent of the industry AUM of Rs 39.5 trillion, data provided by industry body Amfi showed. 

In April 2020 — following the Covid-19 outbreak in the country —retail assets accounted for less than 40 per cent of the industry AUM. Since then, there has been a sustained rise in retail flows into the MF schemes, amid a surge in the equity markets. 

The Mutual Fund Sahi Hai awareness campaign launched by Amfi, too, has brought many new investors into the MF fold. Since April 2020, individual investor assets have jumped 2.2 times, even as the overall industry assets have grown by 68 per cent. More retail investors now take the MF route for investing rather than direct investing. 

At the end of June 2022 quarter, the value of shareholding owned by retail investors stood at Rs 17.58 trillion, as per Prime Database. For comparison, the average retail AUM for the month of June was Rs 18.1 trillion.