Equity MFs' latest picture shows small is beautiful

Equity mutual fund investments surged by 31% month-over-month in September, reaching Rs 38,306 crore, up from Rs 29,328 crore in August. Small-cap funds led the surge, attracting a record Rs 9,038 crore in September, a 13% increase from the previous month. Mid-cap funds received the second highest inflows of Rs 7,834 crore, followed by flexi-cap funds with Rs 6,701 crore inflows.

Large-cap funds, after two consecutive months of outflows, saw a modest inflow of Rs 859 crore. Contra funds experienced a net outflow of Rs 97.88 crore, with ELSS funds recording a 14th consecutive month of outflows at Rs 662 crore. Debt funds saw a significant outflow of Rs 1.83 lakh crore in September, driven by liquid funds outflow of Rs 95,743 crore and money market funds outflow of Rs 50,846 crore.

Hybrid funds saw an outflow of Rs 456 crore, while multi-asset allocation funds recorded the highest inflow of Rs 3,666 crore. Life cycle funds saw an inflow of Rs 143 crore, and index funds experienced a net outflow of Rs 4,400 crore. ETFs, including gold, silver, and hybrid ETFs, saw a net inflow of Rs 15,501 crore. The total assets under management in equity mutual funds dropped to Rs 82.49 lakh crore in September, down from Rs 86.92 lakh crore in August, with 28 new funds launched, collectively raising Rs 2,708 crore.