October may have seen the highest exodus of foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) from the Indian stock markets but domestic retail investors remained upbeat about equity investments, ramping up their savings parked in mutual funds focused on investing in shares to a record high of almost ₹42,000 crore.
Data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) on Monday showed inflows into equity mutual funds were 21.7% over September’s fresh investment receipts of ₹34,419 crore. This was in sharp contrast to FPIs who appeared to have turned bearish on India, selling shares worth ₹94,000 crore in October, and whose net investments into the country this year turned negative during the first week of November.
The assets under management of mutual funds increased to ₹68.2 lakh crore last month from ₹67.7 lakh crore in September 2024, with inflows from Systematic Investment Plans or SIPs surging to a record high of ₹25,323 crore.
“The continued surge in SIP accounts, now exceeding 10.12 crore, demonstrates the growing preference for disciplined investing among Indian investors” said AMFI chief executive Venkat Chalasani.
“Strong flows across categories and asset classes are evident, with equity remaining positive across categories, driven by SIPs reaching an all-time high,” said Anand Varadarajan, chief business officer of Tata Asset Management.
“FPIs have been selling in India for the last few years now. So it’s not new. The selling has been strong this year and possibly some flows are going to China due to relatively attractive valuations and some funds heading to developed markets,” Mr. Varadarajan added.
Published – November 11, 2024 09:50 pm IST
