The jolt that broke the silence: NFOs lift MF investor count in July

700,000 investors floor the pedal in July, snapping a six-month lull

The pace of new investor additions by mutual funds (MFs) hit a six-month high of 700,000 in July, driven by a wave of new fund offerings (NFOs).

 

The total unique MF investor count reached 55.9 million at the end of July 2025, tracked through permanent account number registrations.

 

Investor onboarding regained strength in July after a six-month slowdown amid muted equity market sentiment. Unique investor numbers had risen just 5.2 per cent in the first half of 2025, compared with nearly a 12 per cent increase during the same period last year.

 

Experts say the pace of investor additions depends on equity market performance and the launch of new funds.

 

Investor additions tend to spike when fund launches are abundant, particularly from larger fund houses in the equity segment, where marketing and promotional activity intensify.

 

In July, 30 schemes completed their NFO period, raising a record ₹30,416 crore.

 

Even with the recent pickup in investor additions, monthly inflows remain below the levels seen in the second half of 2024, when the industry added an average of 1 million new investors per month between July and December.