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The asset base of equity mutual funds (MFs) surged 55 per cent to Rs 3.72 lakh crore at the end of June, from a year-ago level as Equity assets under management rose from Rs 2.41 lakh crore in June 2014. Besides, nearly 0.9 million retail investors have come into equity mutual funds in the past one year, with the total number of folios for such schemes hitting 32.2 million. Experts said equity markets have delivered positive returns that attracted retail investors into such schemes and thereby pushing the asset base.
Moreover, many investors are moving away from poor performing asset classes such as gold. The BSE index, Sensex, has climbed nine per cent during the period under review. The rise in assets of equity mutual funds helped in increasing the overall assets base of the sector to nearly Rs 12 lakh crore mark at the end of June. MF is an investment vehicle that is made up of a pool of funds collected from many investors for the purpose of investing in securities such as stocks, bonds, money market instruments and similar assets.
