Sponsor banks boost MF flows as SBI, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank add heft

Bank-sponsored fund houses led by SBI, HDFC, and ICICI drove MF inflows in FY25, aided by their vast customer base and distribution networks

Net flows into regular schemes of large mutual fund (MF) houses went up sharply in 2024-25 (FY25) with net inflows coming through sponsor banks rising up sharply. The largest fund house, SBI MF, received net inflows of ₹38,429 crore in FY25, up from ₹17,857 crore in the previous year. The 115 per cent jump was driven by a nearly threefold increase in inflows through its parent, State Bank of India (SBI).

 

The bank, which is a sponsor of SBI MF, contributed 68 per cent of the total net inflows garnered by the fund house. Inflows through SBI rose from ₹9,253 crore in 2023-24 (FY24) to ₹26,027 crore in FY25.

 

ICICI Prudential MF and HDFC MF also saw strong inflows through their parent banks. Net inflows into regular plans of ICICI Prudential MF doubled in FY25 to Rs 32,789 crore, while HDFC MF’s rose 56 per cent to ₹32,783 crore. ICICI Bank reversed two years of outflows, adding ₹5,662 crore to ICICI Prudential MF, while HDFC Bank’s contribution grew 1.7x year-on-year to ₹5,034 crore.

 

 

Banks remain the largest distributor segment for MFs in the regular space, thanks to their reach across geographies and investor segments. Aggregate distributor data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India shows that clients of SBI, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank had nearly ₹3.5 trillion invested in MFs.

 

Sponsor banks sit on a goldmine of know-your-customer-verified, digitally enabled customers, which gives muscle to the growth of their sponsored fund houses, said experts.

 

“Sponsor banks are central to MF inflows in India, leading both by total assets and new investor acquisition. The largest fund houses by assets under management and inflows are typically bank-owned, and their dominance is expected to continue, given rising digital and retail penetration within their customer base,” said Sunil Subramaniam, market expert and former senior MF executive. 

 

The pickup in inflows through sponsor banks was also evident for Kotak MF and Axis MF. Kotak Mahindra Bank routed ₹1,050 crore into Kotak MF, up from ₹40 crore the previous year, while Axis Bank swung from a ₹5,186 crore outflow in FY24 to a ₹343 crore inflow in FY25. The lone non-bank among the Big Five, Nippon India MF, also leaned on distributor muscle, with NJ IndiaInvest channelling ₹2,800 crore into its regular plans, more than double the previous year. Net inflows into Nippon’s regular plans stood at ₹20,433 crore, up 51 per cent year-on-year.