Equity mutual fund inflows at Rs 3,700 cr in September

Equity mutual funds witnessed an inflow of over Rs 3,700 crore in September, taking the total investment to more than Rs 22,000 crore in the first six months of the current financial year. This also marks the sixth straight month of positive inflow in equity schemes. Before that, such funds had witnessed a pullout of Rs 1,370 crore in March.

"Mutual funds continue to witness inflows in equity schemes because of positive climate and optimistic environment in both equity and debt markets.

"A slew of factors contributing to this buoyancy are better corporate results, smooth progress on GST (Goods and Services Tax) Bill and positive data coming from US economy," Bajaj Capital Group chief executive and director Anil Chopra said.

"Contribution towards monthly SIPs (systematic investment plans) also lead to higher positive net inflows in equity markets," he added.

That apart, Chopra said, sluggish trends in real estate sector are also attracting investors to equity schemes.

According to data from Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi), equity funds, which also include equity-linked saving schemes (ELSS), saw net inflow of Rs 3,743 crore last month.

Equity funds had seen net inflow of Rs 6,505 crore in the preceding month.

With the latest inflow, total mobilisation in equity schemes has reached to Rs 22,233 crore in the first half of the current financial year (April-September).

The robust inflow has pushed the assets under management (AUM) of equity mutual fund to a record high of Rs 4.68 lakh crore at the end of September from Rs 4.67 lakh crore in August-end.

Mutual funds are investment vehicles that make up of a pool of funds collected from a large number of investors. The funds are invested in stocks, bonds, and money market instruments, among others.