Mis-selling, dividend tax change spur outflows from hybrid funds

Balanced or aggressive hybrid funds saw sustained outflows last year as subdued performance and mis-selling led investors to pull out money.

Last year, the category saw outflows of over Rs 24,000 crore, data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) shows.

“Balanced funds were sold and misunderstood as ‘safe’ products. Last year’s market crash, however, led to significant capital erosion, which prompted investors to move out of such funds. A lot of investors had also invested on the premise that they would get consistent dividends, which did not materialise,” said Amol Joshi, founder, Plan Rupee Investment Services.

The funds were also