Mutual funds' asset base rises 8 pc to Rs 24 lakh crore till Nov-end

Mutual funds' asset base rose to a little over Rs 24 lakh crore by November-end, an increase of 8 per cent from the preceding month, on strong inflow in liquid schemes.

Going ahead, industry body Amfi is hopeful that many more investors will choose mutual funds as their preferred option to grow their wealth next year.

"As India becomes the fastest growing economy and with inflation rates slowing down, equities are expected to perform better in the near future.

We are hopeful that next year, many more investors will choose mutual funds as their preferred option to grow their wealth," Amfi Chief Executive NS Venkatesh said.

According to Amfi data, the asset under management (AUM) of the industry, comprising 42 players, climbed from Rs 22.23 lakh crore at the end of October, to Rs 24.03 lakh crore in November-end.

The total asset base of all the fund houses put together was Rs 22.79 lakh crore in November last year.

The latest inflow was mainly driven by contributions from liquid funds, equity and equity-linked saving schemes.

Liquid funds attracted Rs 1.36 lakh crore, besides, Rs 8,400 crore was invested in equity as well as equity-linked saving schemes and Rs 215 crore inflow was seen in balanced funds.

Interestingly, gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw a net inflow of Rs 10 crore after witnessing pull out in past several months. In contrast, income funds saw a pull out of Rs 6,518 crore.

Overall, mutual fund schemes witnessed an inflow of Rs 1.42 lakh crore in November, much higher than Rs 35,500 crore investment seen in the preceding month.

"We appreciate the maturity shown by retail investors in staying invested in the markets, in spite of the volatility over the last few months," he added.

Monthly systematic investment plan (SIP) contribution continues to remain strong at Rs 7,985 crore a month and the industry added over 1.5 lakh unique investors last month.