MFs invest Rs 8,000 cr in equities in September

Mutual funds have pumped in over Rs 8,000 crore in equity markets this month, taking the total investment to more than Rs 21,000 crore so far in the current fiscal.

Industry insiders attributed the latest inflow to positive investor sentiment that was boosted after long-stalled GST Constitution Amendment Bill was passed in both houses of Parliament last month.

According to the data released by Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), mutual fund managers invested a net sum of Rs 8,106 crore in October.

This comes following an inflow of Rs 3,841 crore in September and Rs 2,717 crore in August. Prior to that, they had pulled out Rs 120 crore from markets in the preceding two months (June-July). They had infused Rs 7,149 crore in equities in May while they withdrew Rs 575 crore in April.

The latest inflow has taken the total fund mobilisation to Rs 21,118 crore in the stock markets in the current financial year (2016-17).

In the entire 2015-16, fund managers had invested over Rs 70,000 crore in the equity markets.

"Over the last few years, we have seen a shift in investment towards equity class as investment avenues like real estate and gold are not doing well," an expert said.

A mutual fund is an investment vehicle with a pool of funds collected from various investors to buy stocks, bonds, money market instruments and similar assets.