Active equity regains folio addition lead as market sentiment improves

Active equity schemes have once again emerged as investors’ preferred choice in recent months, after briefly trailing commodity exchange traded funds (ETFs) in terms of new folio additions. 

Active equity schemes added around 1.5 million investment accounts, or folios, during the February-April 2026 period. Net folio additions in gold and silver ETFs slowed sharply over the same period, with commodity ETFs witnessing a net decline of nearly 20,000 accounts in April alone. 

Gold and silver ETFs saw record folio additions between September 2025 and February 2026, as investors rushed to gain exposure to precious metals amid a sharp rally in gold and silver prices. During this phase, commodity ETFs outpaced active equity schemes in monthly folio additions on three occasions — October 2025, December 2025, and January 2026. The trend was also aided by heightened volatility in equity markets, which dampened new account openings in active equity funds. 

However, the pace of folio additions in equity schemes has picked up in recent months, with market corrections offering attractive entry points to investors. Flexicap, midcap, and smallcap funds continued to account for the bulk of new folio additions.