Inflows to equity MFs touch 11-month high of Rs 10,730 cr in February

Inflows into equity mutual funds surged to Rs 10,730 crore in February, the highest level in 11 months, even as the broader market witnessed heavy volatility amid concerns over the impact of coronavirus.

Overall, the mutual fund industry witnessed a net outflow of Rs 1,985 crore across all segments, mainly owing to withdrawal from liquid or money market category.

In comparison, an inflow of Rs 1.2 trillion was seen in January.

Net inflows into equity and equity-linked schemes rose from Rs 7,547 crore in January to Rs 10,760 crore in February, data by the Association of Mutual Funds in India showed on Wednesday.

This is the highest since March 2019, when equity schemes attracted an inflow to the tune of Rs11,756 crore.

The inflow is well spread between the category of funds such as large-cap, mid-cap, small-cap and multi-cap, among others.

Large-cap, mid-cap and small-cap funds saw inflows of Rs 1,607 crore, Rs 1,451 crore and Rs 1,498 crore, respectively during the month under review.

Besides, gold ETFs saw the highest inflows of Rs 1,483 crore in February amid selloff in the equity markets. This was in comparison to Rs 202 crore inflow seen in the safe haven instrument.

Interestingly, investments into gold ETFs have been rising for the fourth straight month.

The assets under management of the 42-players mutual fund industry dropped by 2.3 per cent to Rs 27.23 lakh crore in February-end from Rs 27.86 lakh crore in January-end.