SIP accounts and inflows hit records in Octover; inflows at Rs25,323cr
MUMBAI: SIP inflows hit a record Rs25,323 crore in October, surpassing the previous month’s Rs24,509 crore, as per the latest data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI).
In comparison, the SIP inflows stood at Rs16,928 crore in the same month last year.
The number of SIP accounts also reached an all-time high of 10.12 crore in October 2024, up from 9.87 crore in September, with 24.19 lakh new accounts added during the month.
This may reflect a lack of better alternatives for investments. “While bank deposits and fixed-income instruments are considered safer, their returns are relatively low, especially in an environment of falling interest rates,” said an investment expert while talking to businessbenchmark.news.
With inflation eroding the purchasing power of savings, many investors might be seeking higher returns from the equity markets despite the volatility.
Mutual funds offer a middle ground, where investors benefit from diversification and professional management of their investments.
44th month of growth
Equity mutual funds saw strong inflows, marking the 44th consecutive month of positive inflows. Open-ended equity mutual fund schemes recorded inflows of Rs41,887 crore in October, a 21.69 per cent increase from September.
Inflows were robust across all categories, with large-cap funds seeing a monthly rise of 100 per cent to Rs3,452 crore, midcap funds increasing by 50 per cent to Rs4,683 crore, and small-cap funds gaining 23 per cent to Rs3,772 crore.
These inflows came despite weak stock market performance, as both Sensex and Nifty dropped by 5.77 per cent and 6.22 per cent, respectively, in October.
Fixed income MFs
In contrast, inflows into sectoral and thematic funds declined by 7 per cent month-on-month, amounting to Rs12,279 crore. Meanwhile, fixed-income mutual funds also saw significant inflows, with debt mutual funds attracting Rs1,57,402.30 crore, and liquid funds receiving Rs83,863 crore in investments.
Himanshu Srivastava of Morningstar Investment Research India highlighted that Indian investors remained undeterred in their equity investments, with Rs41,886.69 crore pouring into equity-oriented funds – representing the highest-ever monthly net inflow and a growth of 21.7 per cent from September’s Rs34,419 crore.
