45 million and counting: The unique rise of mutual fund investor

Revival on two fronts: Index surge by 25% in FY24, propelled by strategic fund launches and marketing blitz

The unique mutual fund (MF) investor count topped 45 million in April with the addition of 600,000 investors.

The MF investor count, which stood at around 38 million in April 2023, has surged by 19 per cent in the past year, according to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India.

MF investor additions saw a spike in 2023–24 (FY24) vis-à-vis 2022–23 (FY23) owing to a turnaround in equity market performance.

The benchmark indices — National Stock Exchange Nifty 50 and S&P BSE Sensex — surged over 25 per cent in FY24 after delivering near-zero returns in FY23.

Another contributing factor is the launch of funds in popular categories as promotion and marketing activities increase.

However, FY24 additions are still significantly lower than the 2021–22 tally, when nearly 11 million investors entered the MF fold.

In FY24, MFs launched 58 active equity schemes, compared to 32 in FY23.

The surge in investor interest in the equity market is also reflected in the systematic investment plan (SIP) data.

The number of active SIP accounts increased by 20 million in FY24, almost double the 10.8 million net additions in FY23.

Over 82 per cent of the active SIP accounts were in active equity schemes as of February 2024.

The total number of unique investors is determined by the total number of permanent account number registrations.

The unique investor count has doubled in the past three financial years.

The industry has set a target of 10 million investors by 2030, as it aims to take the total assets under management past the Rs 100 trillion mark.