India-dedicated fund outflows for CY20 at $7.4 billion, shows EPFR data

India-dedicated funds saw outflows to the tune of $486 million in August, taking total outflows for the CY20 to $7.4 billion, the EPFR data compiled by Kotak Institutional Equities shows.

Global emerging market (GEM) funds saw outflows of $51 million, taking the CY20 outflows to about $2.6 billion. Outflows from India-dedicated, GEM, and other categories of funds totalled $467 million in August and $10.4 billion in CY20. Assets under management (AUM) of India-dedicated funds have slid 26 per cent in the year to August to $32.6 billion. AUM of GEMs have remained relatively flat at $81.5 billion.

The EPFR fund-flow data primarily tracks mutual funds, ETFs, closed-end funds, variable annuity funds, and insurance-linked funds. It does not include investments from hedge funds, proprietary desks and sovereign wealth funds, which are tracked by NSDL.

The overall allocation to India by Asia ex-Japan funds increased to 9.8 per cent in August from 9.5 per cent in July, while that by GEM funds increased to 9 per cent from 8.9 per cent in the previous month.

Financials witnessed heavy buying in August, with inflows of $1.4 billion, followed by consumer discretionary ($427 million).