Mutual fund industry's asset base rose 7 per cent to all time high of Rs 19.52 lakh crore at the end of June quarter, driven largely by strong participation from retail investors.
In comparison, assets under management (AUM) of the MF industry, comprising 42 players, were at Rs 18.3 lakh crore during the January-March quarter, as per the data of Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi).
The industry's AUM had crossed Rs 10 lakh crore in May 2014, and is expected to soon reach Rs 20 lakh crore.
Growing participation from retail investors, especially from smaller towns, contributed to the upside. Besides, buoyant investor sentiment and phenomenal growth in systematic investment plans also helped in the growth of assets under management, experts said.
"Indian investors have now eventually assimilated mutual funds and the credit goes to awareness programs and endeavours by regulators and Asset Management Companies (AMCs)in mutual fund industry," Bajaj Capital CEO Rahul Parikh said.
"Systematic investment plans have also given investors a choice as well as flexibility of investing periodically or in lump sum as per their preference," he added.
SIP is an investment vehicle offered by MFs allowing people to invest in small amounts periodically instead of in lump sum amount. The investment frequency is either weekly, monthly or quarterly.
Of the 42 fund houses, as many as 35 MFs witnessed growth in their asset base, while five saw decline in their AUMs. The Amfi data did not include assets base of Sahara MF and SREI MF.
ICICI Prudential MF continued to be the largest with an AUM of Rs 2,60,225 crore (excluding fund of funds) followed by HDFC MF (Rs 2,53,044 crore), Reliance MF (Rs 2,22,964 crore), Birla Sun Life MF (Rs 2,05,715 crore) and SBI MF (Rs 1,68,816 crore).
Axis MF has entered in the top 10 league with an AUM of Rs 63,599 crore.
A mutual fund pools in assets of its investors and invests the money on their behalf. It provides diverse investment instruments like stocks and bonds without requiring investors to make separate purchases and trades.
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