Equity mutual fund inflows down by 23 percent in December, says Financial report

Net inflows into equity mutual fund schemes were down 23 percent on a month-on-month (MoM) basis in December 2018 at Rs 67 billion (6,700 crore), a JM Financial research report said on Tuesday. The report said that equity mutual fund flows including arbitrage mutual fund schemes was at Rs 45 billion (4,500 crores) in December, down from Rs 110 billion (11,000 crore) in November. "Unlike November 2018 (when liquid mutual fund schemes witnesses strong inflows), liquid mutual fund schemes saw large outflows of Rs 1.5 trillion (1.5 lakh crore) in December 18, while debt mutual fund schemes (ex-liquid) continued to witness outflows (Rs 34 billion in December 2018)," it said.

The report, however, noted that the inflows through the Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) were strong in December at Rs 80.2 billion (8,020 crore), higher by 29 percent on a year-on-year basis. On the insurance sector, the report noted that India's insurance sector registered a 14 percent growth in annual premium equivalent (APE) in December 2018 compared to 19 percent growth December 2017. The report said that the APE of private insurers grew by 15 percent year-on-year (YoY) in December 2018 as against 23 percent in the corresponding period of 2017, and that of state-run Life Insurance Corp grew by 12 percent in December. "In December 2018, the industry recorded APE growth of 14 percent YoY versus 19 percent in December 2017 with a decent performance by both private insurers (15 percent YoY APE growth versus 23 percent in 2018) and LIC (12 percent versus 14 percent in 2018)," it said.

(With inputs from agencies.)