Investment in mutual fund schemes continue to grow strong in November

Investors pumped in over Rs 1.4 lakh crore into various mutual fund schemes in November, with liquid schemes accounting for most of the inflows.

With the latest inflow, the total infusion in mutual fund (MF) schemes reached about Rs 2.23 crore in the first eight months (April-November) of the current fiscal, latest data with the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) showed.

"We appreciate the maturity shown by retail investors in staying invested in the markets, in spite of the volatility over the last few months," Amfi Chief Executive N S Venkatesh said.

"Overall, both inflows and AUM have shown an upward trend. The industry added over 1.5 lakh unique investors last month," he added.

According to the data, investors poured in a net Rs 1,42,359 crore in MF schemes last month, compared to an investment of Rs 35,529 crore in October.

However, they had pulled out Rs 2.3 lakh crore in September, which market participants attributed to nervousness among corporate investors following the IL&FS default.

The latest inflow has been mainly driven by contributions to liquid funds and equity and equity-linked saving schemes.

Liquid funds attracted Rs 1.36 lakh crore, while Rs 8,400 crore was invested in equity as well as equity-linked saving schemes and Rs 215 crore in balanced funds.

Interestingly, gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw a net inflow of Rs 10 crore after witnessing pull-out in past several months.

In contrast, income funds saw a pull-out of Rs 6,518 crore.

Overall, the inflow has swelled the assets under management (AUM) of the 42-player mutual fund industry to Rs 24.03 lakh crore at the end of November from Rs 22.23 lakh crore in October-end.

(With inputs from agencies.)