Equity mutual fund inflows surge by 44 per cent in March

Net inflows into equity mutual funds increased 44.45 per cent in March 2022, with multi-cap funds accounting for the majority of the increase. Continue reading to learn more.

In March 2022, net inflows into equity mutual funds soared by about 44 per cent as crude oil prices remained stable and Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) slowed their selling pace despite persistent geopolitical worries. According to figures issued by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), net inflows into equity mutual funds totalled Rs 28,463.49 crore in March 2022, up from Rs 19,705.27 crore the previous month.

We can observe that multi-cap funds have risen in favour, with net inflows of Rs 9,694.56 crore in March 2022 compared to Rs 585.27 crore in February 2022, a stunning 1,556 per cent increase. This rise, however, is highly focused and may be linked to the Rs 8,170 crore New Fund Offer (NFO) from SBI Mutual Fund, which launched SBI Multi-Cap Fund.

Due to market volatility, it appears that large-cap funds and large & Mid-Cap funds were among the preferred equity investments, with net inflows of Rs 3,052.24 crore and Rs 3,164.67 crore, respectively, in March 2022, compared to Rs 2,338.58 crore and Rs 2,035.58 crore, respectively, in February 2022. Equity Linked Saving Schemes (ELSS) and flexi-cap funds came in second and third, respectively.

Debt funds saw a massive net outflow of Rs 1.15 lakh crore in March 2022, compared to a net outflow of Rs 8,274.29 crore in February 2022 and Rs 52,528.07 crore a year before in March 2021. This is more than likely due to corporations withdrawing funds to make advance tax payments.

Contributions to the Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) reached an all-time high of Rs 12,327.9 crore. After decreasing to Rs 5.49 lakh crore in February 2022, SIP's Asset Under Management (AUM) returned to Rs 5.76 lakh crore in January 2022.