Mutual Funds’ Assets Rise 20% In April-June Quarter
Retail participation and an awareness campaign drive 20% growth in mutual fund assets.
Indian mutual funds’ asset base saw a 20 percent surge over last year driven by participation from retail investors and an ongoing awareness campaign by the industry.
The asset under management of the industry, comprising 42 players, stood at Rs 23.1 lakh crore in the January-March quarter, according to the data by Association of Mutual Funds in India. On a sequential basis, the asset base rose 1.5 percent from Rs 19.5 lakh crore in the previous quarter.
Growth has been attributed to strong participation from retail investors, especially from smaller towns. “Mutual funds will continue to see strong inflows, despite the recent volatility,” said NS Venkatesh, chief executive of AMFI. “Inflows through the systemic investment plans from retail investors and flows from B30 cities, continue to remain robust.”
Venkatesh added that the investor awareness campaign being run by the industry body is also paying off. The ‘Mutual Funds Sahi Hai’ campaign “has generated a lot of interest among potential investors, who are now looking at mutual funds as a preferred investment option,” he added.
Of the 42 fund houses, 33 witnessed growth in their asset base. The assets base of SREI Mutual Fund has not been included. ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund continued to be the largest with an asset base of Rs 3.1 lakh crore (excluding fund of funds) at the end of June, followed by HDFC Mutual Fund at Rs 3.06 lakh crore.